tell me if the same thing happens to you. you spend time cleaning one room and in the meantime all the other rooms in your house look like no one has put anything away. ever. or, if you clean the upstairs, the downstairs is suddenly messier than it has ever been. as if your kids are rebelling against the clean upstairs.

why can’t i just feel like i have more than one thing in order at a time?

the fact is, i can breathe easier when things are in their place. clutter free is a LITTLE thing for me. i know not everyone is like this. i have friends who can think and function just fine amidst clutter. i cannot. but it is impossible to organize all the things all the time. i do know this {and i hope my husband is reading}. but sometimes it is nice to feel like i have it together in at least a few areas. like maybe three areas. three areas is doable.

i told myself this recently, as i walked through the house silently adding to my mental list of all the things that are bugging me. this is a bad habit, i know, because the list in my head is actually impossible.

i decided my new plan would be to start with just three areas that were bugging me, and then give myself permission to ignore the rest for a bit. and you know what? my whole house was not organized. but those three simple steps made a big difference.

for each area, i followed my favorite 5 steps to organize any space. here’s a super cute cheat sheet for you to print so you can save the steps for your own home and family. i am the first to admit that sometimes organization overwhelm prevents me from starting projects. this list helps me stay on track because I KNOW how well organized spaces can work to allow my family more time doing the things we like to do together, and less time wasted on clutter and inefficiency. uncover the joy in your own organized spaces with these helpful steps.

{1} tupperware

i thought about organizing our tupperware for at least a year. thought about. not actually did. i looked on pinterest for ideas. there were plenty but none of them looked like they would last more than a week in my house. my husband is the one who unloads the dishwasher. so i needed a system that would be quick and easy. otherwise he wouldn’t use it.

i asked friends if they had any magic solutions. they didn’t. it seems tupperware is one of those things that remains messy in most houses.

but our messy tupperware was causing me to lose time. i could never find the lid i wanted. and every time i went to get a container, i found myself trying to do a quick organization so i could at least open the drawer. something had to be done.

after at least a year of thinking about this, i was in our storage room and spied these rectangular totes from target that i used to hold bottles on my counter. at my wits end, i decided to try them for my tupperware lids.

i first took everything out. then i matched up all the lids with the containers and recycled all the remaining lids and containers. {yes, i came across just a couple containers later that i may have recycled the lids for, but that’s ok. i recycled those containers and moved on.}

deciding on spaces. i decided that my containers were best organized in a stacked layout. it is not a fancy solution, but it is one i am sure you can use as well. it takes some discipline to restock in ways that keep the containers fitting the space. but some organization strategies do take a LITTLE work to maintain.

as it turns out, the rectangular target bins worked great for our lids. i used what i had {seen here in the pics} and treated myself to some aqua ones that match my kitchen when they went on sale.

this system is one that works for my whole family {meaning my husband will use it when he unpacks the dishwasher}. it is also easy to maintain with a quick rearranging of lids if things get tight or stacks if we somehow take on new tupperware {which happens, inexplicably, far too often}.

{2} your junk drawer

the junk drawer. everyone has one. or maybe two or three. for time’s sake, i suggest choosing the one that you either use the most, or that drives you crazy the most. we use this one in our island the most. i open it every morning to get out the comb and rubberbands to do K’s hair. so every morning it used to bug me. a lot.

like with my tupperware, and if you’ve read any other organization posts here on the blog, you know my favorite first step is always take everything out. everything. and i say favorite not because this part is easy, but because it is necessary. because if you don’t take absolutely everything out first, you will leave that one thing in that one corner that is probably bothering you the most because it is hardest to sort through. and that one thing will continue to bother you, even when you half organize the rest. right? you’re never actually going to want to sort through that one LITTLE thing. so better to just do it now and get it over with.

after everything is out, group like things into piles. chapstick. loose change. hair bows. command strips. whatever you have. if you come across something you didn’t even know was in there? throw it away. i promise you will not need it. and if you do need something like it, even tomorrow, you will find something else in your house that will suffice. i promise.

after you have your piles, make sure they are things that need to go in that drawer. that need to be accessible in that room of your house in that space. if they aren’t, then they belong in another drawer or space somewhere else in your house. so move them. now. not later.

finally, splurge on some organization tools or find unused ones in your house. small baskets. interlocking containers. boxes from other items in your home {jewelry boxes, stationary boxes, or the wooden boxes some toys come in are often great for repurposing}. the dollar store is also one of organizations best kept secrets. look in their kitchen or even tupperware aisle. homegoods and target have options for a bit more money. it is worth it to get something that works well for your space so you don’t find yourself organizing that drawer all over again in three months. i got these at homegoods and also used them to organize my small desk space and a couple other drawers in the kitchen.

after i organized this junk drawer, i found myself casually opening the drawer for no reason at all. just to look at the non mess. yay.

{3) your freezer.

i know what you’re probably thinking. organize my freezer? seriously? who does that? well. me. because when i used to open my freezer, heavy frozen things would fall out on my feet. it would also take me 20 minutes to find the meat i was looking for, and as i looked i would have to pull everything out and then put it all back in. my fingers were cold and my time was wasted and so was my money because there were things in there i didn’t even know i had. {on a side note, the blog happy humble home has the most amazing tips for saving money on groceries!}

the first step in this project for me was a trip to the dollar store. i have to tell you, i do not even like the color orange. at all. but i knew these would fit in my freezer because i measured. i knew i could get two in per shelf and orange was the only color they had enough of. so orange it was. i will also tell you that ikea has good plastic storage in white. but it is not $1 so i am saving up to buy it some other day.

next step? you guessed it. everything out. i guarantee there are things in your freezer you can toss. things from the waaaaaaay back. then, like your junk drawer, group things together. i had meat, veggies, fruit, and bread as some of my piles. and ice cream.

last step, load your food into your bins and slide them back in the freezer. you can add a label if you are obsessed with them like i am. it made the orange more bearable for me. i will say, i can fit a LITTLE less food in my freezer with this system. but at least i am not wasting the things i can’t even find.

my husband’s reaction the next time he opened the freezer? whoa.

what will your three things be? the key is to pick things that bug you throughout the day. for me, i am constantly opening the tupperware cabinets, freezer, and junk drawer. maybe you have other spaces that bother you. the key is to just pick three. even if there are twenty three on your mind. having just three areas done will make you feel more organized all around! and don’t forget to grab your copy of 5 steps to organize any space. keep them handy to remind you that anyone can become more organized and creating a space where you and your family can thrive is important!

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