How to Teach Kids to Bee Organized: 4 Little Habits with a Big Impact
Organization is not a personality trait that kids are born with. It’s a skill! And like any skill, it can be taught, practiced, and improved over time. The goal is not to raise mini-perfectionists who keep their socks color-coded. It’s to raise capable humans who know how to manage their belongings and their time in a way that works for them. We regularly get asked how to help kids get (and stay!) organized, so we’ve rounded up our best ideas for developing life-long organizational skills in children of all ages. 1. Start with Systems Kids Can Actually Use If the system you are developing for teaching your kids to organize only works when YOU are involved, it’s not a system that your kids can maintain. We suggest involving kids in creating the organizing systems in the first place. Let them help choose bins, decide where things should live, and make the labels. The more ownership they have, the more likely they are to follow through. If you want kids to be able to put things “away” by themselves, everything needs to have an “away.” Every single item (or category of items) needs a home. And we cannot overstate how important it is to label your storage system in a way that makes sense for your age of kids. For example, labels for the youngest kids should use pictures in addition to words so that everyone can easily figure out what goes where. Make sure the system you design is simple and accessible. Kids need to be able to reach and maneuver bins by themselves. For younger children, use open bins that they can toss toys into without needing to fuss with hard-to-manage lids. Place hooks down low enough for kids to hang up their own jackets, backpacks, robes, and bath towels. And remember—, an organizing system that actually works for your kids might not be perfect or beautiful, and that’s okay. 2. Teach the Process Telling a kid to “clean your room” is a bit like telling someone to “get organized.” It can be absolutely overwhelming unless they have the ability to break big jobs down into manageable tasks. Help kids look at a larger project and think through all the steps along the way. For example, for tidying a room, we love the Five Things method. Encourage your kids to: Collect all trash/recycling from the room Take away all dirty dishes Pick up all laundry Put away things that have a home Deal with the stuff that doesn’t have a home Developing and teaching your kids organizing processes for cleaning out their backpacks, organizing their desk, or preparing their lunch box can help them build their self-sufficiency skills. 3. Make Routines Work for You One of the best ways for how to get kids to organize is to help them establish and maintain consistent routines. Children absolutely thrive with clear routines, as routines help kids feel safe, build independence, and reduce power struggles. Setting up clear morning and evening routines can be so empowering for kids. Establishing norms that everyone in the family follows can help tame the chaos too. For example: We always put away one activity before we start the next. We always pack lunches and backpacks the night before. We spend 5 minutes resetting our bedroom each night. Our whole family takes part in a Weekly Reset every Sunday. We find checklists to be so useful when helping kids think through routines. Work with your kid to write a checklist for dailiy/weekly chores, their bedtime routine, packing their lunch or backpack, or any other predictable event. You can also establish routines that help kids understand and manage their time. Tracking deadlines, assignments, practices or rehearsals, competitions, and more is such an important skill to master! Depending on their age, a dry-erase weekly or monthly calendar on their wall, a spiral-bound day planner, or Google calendar on their phone can all work well. The ability to project themselves into their future is an incredible life skill that will benefit them their whole lives. For example, realizing that a Thursday evening event means they’d better start their Friday assignment early can prevent buckets of stress. Some of us grown-ups are still learning to care for our future selves, but the next generation can do better in implementing strategies for organizing their time and task list! 4. Coach, Don’t Control! This might be our hardest piece of advice. If you value having an organized home, it’s very tempting to step in, take over, and just do it yourself. It’s certainly faster and easier, but it’s not helping in the long run! Your role is not to be the manager of everyone else’s stuff. It’s to be a coach and a cheerleader. That might look like asking your middle schooler what they need for practice, rather than telling them what they need to bring. It might look like allowing mistakes to happen, because that’s how we learn. We need to let go of the idea that perfection is the only thing worth celebrating and that every kid’s space has to be organized the same way. Part of this process is regularly clearing out the clutter together since kids outgrow clothes, toys, and interests very quickly. Normalizing the process of saying goodbye to things that no longer serve you can help prevent kid clutter from building up. Teaching kids to be organized isn’t just about having a less cluttered house … although that is a pretty great benefit! Helping your kids develop organizational skills will help reduce stress and last-minute scrambles, build independence and confidence, and create more time and space for the activities you love to do together. If your home is feeling a little too chaotic right now, you don’t have to figure it all out on your own. As professional home organizers, the Bees are always here to help create systems that work for your whole family, including your kiddos!
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Sentimental Decluttering: Keepsakes and Trophies and Art … Oh My!
Every May, households across the country are inundated with stacks of worksheets, dioramas, self-portraits, participation certificates, and a million other items that kids of all ages produce throughout their school year. If you find it overwhelming, you are in good company! This is the season of milestones, and every milestone (even just moving from second to third grade) comes with the pressure to save everything. We feel this deep, internal need to document every spark of genius or athletic prowess, often because we’re afraid that if we toss the paper, we’re tossing the memory. Let us remind you that memories live in your heart and mind, not in a box! Keepsakes are a wonderful way to reconnect with those memories—but only if you are keeping what matters instead of everything you’ve ever smiled at. Why Keepsakes Are a Family Sticking Point Why is it so hard to throw away a pinch-pot that your kid doesn’t remember making and doesn’t want to keep? And why does there seem to be a force field around the recycle bin when you try to toss a stack of scribbles from when your youngest was learning to hold a marker? In most cases, one or more emotions stand in the way. It’s normal to feel nostalgic when you see items from your children’s early years … and it can also be normal to have that wistful sense of missing the younger and snugglier versions of your beloved humans. Some of the clients we work with even talk about a feeling of grief or loss when sorting through items from their kids’ childhood. In other cases, we keep things because we want to “legitimize” our kids’ hard work (or the fact that we were fascinating humans before we became parents!). We imagine a future biographer or grandchild marveling over a program listing a choir solo in 6th grade. These complicated feelings are part of why we end up just keeping everything. We aren’t sure what will matter to our kids (or ourselves) after years or decades pass. The problem is that when you keep everything, it stops being treasure and becomes meaningless. It’s just one more crate to haul around and take up space. Reframing Your Thinking: The Who and Why Test for Organizing Sentimental Items Before you add another stack of graded spelling tests into a crate, asking yourself a couple of key questions can help you gain some clarity. First, ask yourself who you are keeping the item for. If that crayon family portrait makes your heart swell every time you see it, it’s a parent keepsake. Save it with your treasures. If it’s a varsity letter, diploma, or something that you imagine will travel with your child into their future, save it with their treasures. The second question to ask yourself is why you are keeping the item. We often see our clients keep an item only because of its age or they remember where they got it, not because it’s meaningful or valuable. Keeping a stuffed animal from your childhood even though you never liked it is not a good use of your space! Practical Strategies for Decluttering Sentimental Items at Every Age As our kids grow, the nature of what they bring home evolves from messy finger paintings to stackable academic achievements, and our systems need to grow right along with them. The Early Years: The Art Avalanche Toddlers and preschoolers are prolific artists. If you kept every “About Me” board, macaroni necklace, and crayon doodle, you’d need a warehouse! Here are a few keepsake decluttering tips for reducing the chaos at this stage: Create a holding tank for keepsakes (such as a pretty basket or crate under the bed) to delay your decision-making. You don’t need to decide the fate of a painting the moment it is handed to you. It’s okay to wait a few weeks or months until the initial excitement fades, and then you can more objectively decide whether to keep it or toss it. For 3D projects like cardboard castles and mobiles made of recycled items, snap a photo of your kid holding their creation. That photo will help you capture the creativity without collecting the dust. Use your refrigerator as a temporary gallery and follow the one-in, one-out rule. Every time a new piece of art comes home, it replaces the old one. The retired piece can be recycled, dropped in your holding tank for a later decision, or tucked into an envelope to be mailed to a lucky grandparent! The Elementary Years: The Achievement Era This is the age of participation certificates, spelling bees, and “Student of the Month” ribbons. Here are a couple of keepsake decluttering strategies to get you through it: Give each kid a sturdy crate for their elementary archive. By limiting the physical space from the start, you are naturally helping your kid keep their favorite things from each grade level, rather than everything they bring home. Some of our Bees swear by using one folder per grade level to keep it even simpler! At the end of every school year, look through the crate with your child, adding the most important pieces from this year and weeding out a few things from prior years that no longer feel relevant. This is not only a fun time to reminisce together, but also helps teach the valuable life skill of curating what you keep. The Teenage Years: High School and Graduation Between band programs, softball rosters, and prom tickets, the paper trail becomes a mountain! We have a couple of things to try: Milestone events like graduation creates a massive influx of cards, Class of 2026 decorations, and other related items all at once. Put everything in a graduation holding box for a couple of months, and then once the emotional high of the ceremony has settled, you and your new grad will be in a better position to decide what’s worth long-term storage. As they approach adulthood, start helping your kid move official documents like a diploma, social security card, or passport into a fireproof and waterproof safe. These are the documents that they will need for the rest of their lives! Twenty-Somethings and Beyond: The Hand-Off Whether they go to college, start their professional lives, or move into their first apartment, there comes a time when the collections need to face their owner: Once your child has settled into their own home, it’s time for the great hand-off! Bring out those bins and help them decide what they actually want to move with them into the next chapter of their lives. Encourage them to photograph and digitize papers and other items that they want a record of without using space for the physical item. A cloud-based folder for “grade school memorabilia” is much easier to move from apartment to apartment than five heavy-duty crates of old notebooks and trophies. The secret to preventing a keepsake pile-up is regular organizing and editing. Just because something goes into the keepsake box doesn’t mean it has a lifetime lease! Make sure you check your bins periodically, because as your kids grow, you’ll find it easier to let go of the “good” to make room for the “great.” If you’re staring at a mountain of school year leftovers and feeling overwhelmed, don’t forget that you can give the Bees a buzz! We can help you sort through the sentimental layers, design a sustainable system for everyone’s keepsakes, and clear out the clutter so that you can focus on making new memories.
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From Piles of Paper to Peace of Mind: How to Organize the Paperwork in Your Life
You walk into your home and drop the stack of mail on the kitchen counter, along with an ad that a solicitor stuck in your door. Your teenager is just finishing “cleaning out their backpack,” which means a whirlwind of flyers, graded assignments, and miscellaneous scraps now rest on the dining room table. Your youngest hands you a pile of this week’s drawings and doodles from her after-school program. Your spouse is unboxing a new kitchen gadget and leaves behind the manual, the receipt, and a few brightly colored “read this first” sheets. And just like that, you’ve got an entire mountain of paper to deal with. Again! When we work with families and business owners across the country on organizing projects, we regularly come face to face with these avalanches of paper. It’s one of the most common sources of stress because paper represents “To Dos” that haven’t been done, there’s so much uncertainty about what to keep, and more paper enters our lives every single day … even in this so-called digital age. Follow our steps for organizing important paperwork below to help you find your way back to a clear countertop! Step 1: Purge and Sort Any paperwork organization project with a hope for lasting survival must start with a Power Purge. Don’t waste your time creating storage solutions for items that you don’t need or want to keep! As we purge, we find it helpful to categorize papers into these four groups: The Keep Forever Papers These are the most important papers that you’ll carry with you throughout your life. Keep the physical, original versions in a waterproof and fireproof safe or a safe deposit box at the bank. Keep copies of all of these documents in a 3-ring binder with sleeves or an accordion folder for easy access. Birth, marriage, and death certificates Social security cards Passports (keep these accessible but secure!) Adoption records Military records Wills, living wills, and powers of attorney Property deeds Retirement/Pension documents The Rotation Papers These are the documents that you need for a season or a few years, but not for a lifetime. This includes insurance policies, retirement account quarterly statements, tax documents from previous years, receipts for major purchases, mortgage and bank information, vehicle titles, etc. Again, an accordion file, a 3-ring binder, or a dedicated file drawer are the perfect storage spaces for these types of paper. When an updated document arrives, you can add it to the front of its section and shred the oldest version in the back. If you need a reminder on how long you need to keep various types of items, check out our handy guide! The Precious Memories This category includes kids’ artwork, school projects, greeting cards, photos, event programs, and other memorabilia papers that feel too emotional to toss. Find ways to display some of your absolute favorites, take photos of others and then toss, and store the rest in keepsake bins. The Action Stack You need to establish a single, designated spot for papers that still need attention. This is where you put the wedding RSVP, the bill you need to pay, the car registration you need to mail, the statement you need to file, and the permission slip you need to sign. Perhaps it’s a functional tray on your office desk, a basket that you can move around with you, or a red folder or envelope that is hard to misplace. Kate Moore (Bee Organized West St. Louis) advises, “Set aside a time to handle these items weekly. Put it in the calendar!” By making the emptying of the Action Stack part of your Weekly Reset, you can prevent the paper pileup from beginning. Step 2: Stop Paper at the Source To truly manage your paperwork problem, you’ve got to stop it from landing on your countertops in the first place. We find in our professional document organizing work that the majority of household paper comes from just a few predictable sources. The Mail The USPS found in a recent study that each home receives an average of 700 pieces of mail per year, and more than half of it is junk mail! Here are our best tips for nipping it in the bud: Sort your mail over your recycle bin. Toss out everything you can and put the papers you must deal with in your Action Stack. Kate Roberts (Bee Organized Boston) gives her clients a Guard Your ID roller stamp that scrambles personal information. That way, you don’t need to set aside items to shred. Unsubscribe your address from catalog mailing lists. CatalogChoice.com is a nonprofit that helps folks unsubscribe from mailing lists. Just make a stack of the offending catalogs for a month, then spend a few minutes on the website removing yourself from their lists forever! Go paperless whenever you are invited to do so by banks, utilities, the DMV, medical practices, and more. Backpacks Kids (and adults!) bring home an astonishing number of miscellaneous papers each week in their backpacks, totebags, pockets, and laptop bags. Managing the chaos proactively will prevent those papers from stacking up and attracting more papers! We advise our clients to: Empty backpacks and work bags next to the recycling bin as soon as you get home. Toss anything you can before it has the chance to look around your house for a place to linger for weeks. Put anything that must be handled into your Action Stack. Encourage the person who brought the papers into the home to help create a system for where their papers should go. (Shall we hang up every day’s art on the fridge and pick our favorites to keep each week? Should we put a storage bin under your bed for graded assignments or notes from friends? Should we repurpose a cute basket for you to toss all your job, volunteer, or hobby-related papers in when you get home?) New Purchases Any time you buy a new item, it comes with a whole set of papers that seem too important to toss. But are they really? If something were to go wrong with your appliance or you needed to know how to replace the lightbulb, would you dig out the manual … or would you hop onto Google? For major purchases, file the receipt in your Rotation Papers and recycle the rest. We know that paperwork is one of the most challenging categories to tackle because it requires constant diligence! If you are one of our Just-in-Casers who wants to hold on to every scrap, ask yourself how hard it would be to replace. In our digital world, bank statements, utility records, and medical receipts can be easily accessed through secure portals. Christina Kjar (Bee Organized Northwest Austin) recommends converting as much as possible to digital: “Having an electronic filing system for paperwork eliminates the need to store the physical paper. Once you scan it and save it in a secure location, you don’t need to worry about losing it.” Putting these systems into place (and managing what enters your home) is the only way out of the paper avalanche. And if your paper pile becomes a mountain you can’t climb, remember that you can call in the Bees! We can help you sort through the backlog and set up sustainable systems that work for everyone.
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Moving Tips for Seniors: How to Navigate Downsizing
There are few transitions in life as emotionally layered as helping a loved one move from a longtime home. For many seniors (and their families), downsizing isn’t just about boxes, movers, and floor plans. It’s about saying goodbye to spaces that hold decades of laughter, milestones, and memories. It’s about facing the next chapter with courage, gratitude, and hope. Whether you are a senior beginning to think about this change or an adult child preparing to support a loved one, it’s natural to feel a swirl of emotions - excitement and fear, relief and grief, anticipation and uncertainty - all at once. Seniors Are on the Move If you’re thinking about (or supporting) a senior move, you are certainly not alone! According to the U.S. Census Bureau, three million people over the age of 65 move every year. That number is expected to grow as Baby Boomers redefine what retirement and “home” look like. There are many reasons for these moves - some joyful, some practical, some heartbreaking. More seniors than ever are moving to be closer to their kids and grandkids, or for easier access to doctors, community activities, or friends. Others are looking to simplify with less upkeep, fewer stairs, or less snow to shovel. And sometimes, the move is prompted by a major life event such as a new medical diagnosis, the death of a spouse, or the need for additional support. Whatever the reason, these moves often represent an important turning point in people’s lives. These transitions aren’t about just changing addresses, they are about beginning a new chapter. The Emotional Nature of Moving as a Senior Moving is emotional at any age. It can feel exciting, scary, nostalgic, hopeful - and often all of those at once. But for someone leaving a home filled with decades of memories, it can feel especially tender. Every object tells a story…the dining table that hosted countless holidays, the framed family photos lining the hallway, the chair by the window that was always their spot. There’s the bookshelf of well-loved novels, the kitchen doorway marked with children’s heights, the travel souvenirs and handwritten notes tucked in drawers. It’s never just stuff. It’s proof of a life well lived. For many seniors, this transition can stir up difficult feelings - fear of losing independence, grief over what’s being left behind, or even a loss of identity. When decisions start being made about them instead of with them, it can feel like losing more than square footage - it can feel like losing control. Relocation stress syndrome is a well-documented phenomenon that describes the disorientation, fatigue, and sadness that can accompany a major move. The best remedies? Empathy, patience, and pacing. Moving slowly, listening closely, and creating space for both memories and emotions helps make the process gentler for everyone involved. 5 Practical Moving Tips for Seniors Every family’s situation is unique, but these tried-and-true senior moving strategies can make the process more peaceful and positive for everyone involved: Start the conversation early (if possible): The hardest moves are often the ones that happen suddenly. Starting the conversation months or even years before a move helps everyone emotionally and logistically prepare. Of course, sometimes health changes or unexpected events accelerate the timeline, but even then, compassion and open communication go a long way. Start small and simple: Resist the urge to start with the biggest or most pressing items. Instead, pick a small drawer or crate that you are reasonably certain won’t be too difficult or emotionally charged to sort through. Early successes build momentum and confidence for tackling more sentimental items later. Work together: Sorting through a lifetime of belongings can actually be a gift when approached as a shared experience. These moments can spark wonderful stories, laughter, and reflections when approached with curiosity instead of urgency. Set realistic timelines: If you or your loved one has lived in their home for multiple decades, it’s unrealistic to think you could get everything sorted and moved out in a weekend. Build in breaks, celebrate progress, and remember that reminiscing is part of the process. Honor the memories: Not everything meaningful can (or should) make the move. But that doesn’t mean the memory has to disappear. Photograph cherished items, create a memory book, or pass down pieces to family members who will treasure them. Letting go can feel a little easier when you know the stories will live on. Getting the Support You Need Senior moves involve both logistics and emotions, and sometimes that combination can be overwhelming for families. The good news is that you don’t have to manage it alone. Our wonderful Bees can help every step of the way by: Sorting and finding new homes for items with empathy and respect Coordinating donations for items that can serve others Packing and labeling moving boxes so they are clear, accessible, and easy to unpack Unpacking and setting up the new space so that it’s welcoming, safe, functional and comforting from day one In some situations, we also partner with Moves for Seniors, the nationwide leader in senior relocation services. Together, we can coordinate professional movers, arrange the shipping of furniture and other heirlooms to family members, and work directly with senior living communities to make the transition as seamless as possible. A New Chapter, Not an Ending It takes real courage to make a move like this. It’s not just a relocation - it’s a redefinition of home, identity, and independence. But with the right planning and support, downsizing doesn’t have to mean loss. It can mean lightness. Less upkeep. Less stress. More connection, more comfort, more peace. If your family is preparing for this kind of transition, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Call in the Bees and we’ll make your move smoother, lighter, and filled with the same judgment-free compassion that guides everything we do.
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Love Lives Here (Along with Everyone’s Stuff)
Real-life love looks less like roses and chocolates and more like piles of belongings on the kitchen counter. Backpacks that never quite make it on the hook. A stack of mail and papers that migrate from room to room like it’s searching for its true purpose. Shoes that somehow multiply overnight. Clutter isn’t just a physical issue. It’s an emotional one. Our homes hold our relationships, our habits, and our histories. They reflect who we are, who we live with, and what we care about. And this is exactly why clutter can feel so charged when more than one person shares the space! How Clutter Impacts Relationships More than 70% of homes today are juggling more than one person (and all of their stuff!), often with multiple relationships living under one very full roof: partners, young kids, adult children who have moved back home, roommates, aging parents. Each person brings their own belongings, routines, preferences, and emotional attachments along with them. It should be no surprise that clutter is one of the most common sources of tension at home. In fact, almost 80% of Americans report arguing with someone they live with about household clutter and chores. (If that number feels low, it’s possible that some people were too tired to argue.) can create resentment: “Why am I the only one who notices this mess?” or “Why does all of this end up being my responsibility?” Clutter can create misunderstanding: “Why can’t you just get rid of it?” or “If you leave a mess, does that mean you don’t care?” Clutter can create emotional distance: “I just can’t relax with all the chaos” or “I don’t feel at home in my own space.” The tricky part is that the attempt to get organized can further strain relationships. One person’s vision of calm and order can feel like criticism or control to someone else. Those on the receiving end of an organizing spree may be thinking “Why does everything have to be perfect?” or “Why are you getting rid of things that matter to me?” or “Why is your system the only right system?” or “Why can’t I feel comfortable in my own home?” Suddenly, the argument is no longer about the pile of papers. It’s about identity, autonomy, and feeling seen. When Styles Collide Sometimes you have mismatched organizing styles with others in your household and that can add a layer of friction. Some style mismatches will take more negotiation and communication than others - for example, maybe you need to see everything to remember it exists, while your partner finds visual clutter overwhelming and wants everything tucked away. Or maybe you are a minimalist at heart who is living with someone who likes to hold on to every single sentimental object they have encountered in their entire life. If you’ve ever taken a Love Languages quiz, you’ll know that people express care in very different ways. If you live with someone whose love language is Gift Giving, they may show love by bringing things into the home. Thoughtful things. Meaningful things. Things that now need to live somewhere. On the flip side, if your love language is Acts of Service, you might show care by organizing shared spaces, clearing counters, and streamlining systems, even if the other person does not experience that as love! Understanding these differences doesn’t magically eliminate clutter or the tension it can cause. But it does build compassion, strengthen communication, and hopefully reduce friction. Relationship-First Organizing Principles In many households, one person carries the emotional labor of order. If that is you (and we are guessing it is since you are the one reading this blog post!), here are a few reminders for making progress without sacrificing the relationship: Prioritize peace over Pinterest. A home does not need to look magazine-ready to be successful. It needs to feel livable and welcoming for the people who live there. Build systems with people, not for them. Whenever possible, involve the people who use the space. Collaboration creates buy-in, and buy-in creates systems that actually last. Allow for flexibility and evolution. What works in one season of life may not work in the next. Systems should grow and change as people do. Celebrate effort, not compliance. Offer support without policing. Remember that trying counts! Progress beats perfection! Always. Not everything needs consensus. Shared spaces benefit from shared agreements, but personal spaces are personal. It’s okay for someone’s drawer, desk, or room to look different. Safety matters more than tidiness. A home should feel emotionally safe before it ever feels organized. At the end of the day, love is more important than label-makers. Organizing should support relationships, not strain them. It’s an act of care, not control. Homes are shared ecosystems, not showrooms. They hold real people with real emotions, real histories, real differences (and sometimes a real difficulty remembering to hang up their darn backpacks!). When we keep that in mind, we make better choices about what to keep, what to change, and how to treat each other along the way. If clutter is creating tension in your home, you don’t have to navigate it alone. Sometimes an outside perspective can remove the emotional charge. The Bees can mediate without judgment, design systems that work for multiple people, and help families move forward together. The goal is not a perfect home! It’s a home where everyone feels like they BEElong!
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A Few of Our Favorite Things
If you are just getting started on your mission to organize your life, the sheer number of gimmicky organizing products can be overwhelming! Some of them seem too good to be true, some are ridiculously expensive, and some are straight up confusing. We asked our Bees to cut through the noise and share the products they swear by. This is NOT a list of sponsored links, so we are not selling or getting a kickback for promoting these products. These are just the tried-and-true tools that our professional organizers reach for day after day in real homes and businesses across the country. There’s Nothing Lazy About a Lazy Susan Turntables are one of the hardest working tools in the organizing universe. One spin and suddenly everything that used to lurk in the back of the cabinet (the soy sauce, the baking powder, the face serum you forgot you bought) is brought into the light! Turntables help you see what you actually own instead of letting items disappear into deep, dark corners that haven’t seen daylight since they were built. Our Bees see the biggest impact from Lazy Susans in the pantry, corner cabinets, under the kitchen and bathroom sink, and in the fridge. As Sara Munoz, the Bee Organized franchise owner in Peoria, Arizona, told us, “When space is somewhat limited or you have a narrow space, a turntable houses more items and yet you can see every item!” They are perfect for anything that tends to topple, roll away, or vanish into the abyss, including: Cooking oils and vinegars Salad dressings and condiments Vitamins and supplements First aid and pharmacy items Baking essentials Arts and craft supplies Coffee pods, teas, and sweeteners Cleaning products Hair products or skin care collections Every Bee has their favorite style, but most agree that clear acrylic is the MVP behind closed cabinet, pantry, and fridge doors because they are transparent and wipe clean without a fuss. If the turntable will be visible, like on the kitchen counter or desk, bamboo will give you a warmer, more natural look. Many of our Bees especially like the divided, high-walled turntables that keep taller bottles from toppling over if the spinning gets a bit aggressive! To Divide is to Conquer The problem with an undivided drawer is simple: the constant movement shoves everything together on a daily basis! When every item has a clear home, your drawers stop becoming junk magnets and start becoming functional spaces that you can easily maintain. Here’s how to whip your drawers into shape: Take everything out of the drawer. Yes, everything! Purge without mercy. Toss the trash, relocate the misplaced, and release anything you haven’t used in forever. Sort “like with like” so you have a handle on how big of a container you need for each set of items. Add organizers that fit each category. Our Bees use both acrylic and bamboo drawer organizers to create micro-zones that keep categories separate and prevent items from sliding around. As Sherry Gangel, our Bee Organized owner in San Diego, noted, “Drawer organizers create zones and make it obvious to the client where their items belong. Without them, things get jumbled and have a tendency to pile up.” Think about the different drawers in your home that would be most beneficial for you to organize - from the famous (or infamous?) junk drawer in the kitchen to the chaotic drawers in the bathroom, playroom, or utility room. Once a drawer is organized well, people are shocked by how easy it is to keep it that way. A little structure goes a very long way! More Than Just Hanging Out There is something almost magical about switching to matching hangers. This might sound silly, but they are a sneaky little game-changer. Closets instantly look neater and more intentional, clothes hang more evenly, and the whole space feels calmer and more inviting. Our Bees choose the hanger material based on the clothing type, closet size, budget, and style. They sometimes select velvet hangers because they save space and keep clothes from slipping. Wooden hangers are perfect for coats, blazers, suits (and guest closets!) because they hold shape beautifully. Most often, our Bees find themselves selecting slim acrylic hangers for their clean, modern look and functionality. Lori McKeever, our Bee Organized franchise owner in Carmel, Indiana, told us, “Our go-to is the clear acrylic for most everyday clothing. It brings uniformity and is literally a game-changer in the look of a closet.” Stop fighting with hangers that regularly drop your clothes like fall leaves or are constantly tangling with each other. If you want a quick organizing win to start out the new year, upgrading your hangers might be the simplest way! Starting the year with new systems does not require a marathon of decluttering. Sometimes all you need is a well-placed turntable, a thoughtfully divided drawer, or a set of sleek matching hangers to make your home more functional and less chaotic. And if you want help choosing the right products or setting up systems that fit your life, you can always call in the Bees!
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Is Workplace Clutter Holding You Back?
If your workplace feels busier than ever but not necessarily more productive, clutter might be the culprit. From overflowing supply closets and paper piles to chaotic shared drives and break rooms, disorganization quietly eats away at time, focus, and profit every single day. Studies estimate that the average employee spends an hour each day looking for items, information, and coworkers. When you multiply that lost time and productivity across your entire team, your workplace clutter problem is more than just an inconvenience! Why Clutter Piles Up in Businesses Clutter doesn’t usually appear overnight; it sneaks in slowly, one empty binder and 20-year-old plaque at a time. Then, one day, the supply closet is bursting at the seams, and the shared drive has 15 copies of the same presentation. Here are a few of the biggest culprits for office clutter: The ownership gap - That pile of cords, those stacks of old files, the random office chair with one wobbly wheel—they don’t belong to anyone, so no one feels like they have the authority to get rid of them. Turnover trouble - When people move on, change roles, or switch to a remote site, their stuff often stays behind. Old binders, equipment, and even personal items can linger for years, quietly taking up valuable space and hiding what you are actually looking for. Just-in-case thinking - Many items are kept past their prime on the very slight chance that they might be useful someday. That’s why so many companies have closets and cabinets filled with outdated manuals, old technology, broken equipment, and paper files that have already been digitized. Dumping grounds - Breakrooms, supply closets, and empty offices have an almost magnetic pull that draws in office clutter. Need to stash a box of swag for a conference? Don’t know what that charger is for? Did someone move offices and leave a mountain of items behind? Suddenly, your shared spaces are doing more storing than serving your team. Fear of tossing - No one wants to be the one who accidentally throws away something important, so everything stays. That’s why shared drives end up with endless duplicate files and break rooms have an assortment of chipped, stained, and never-used mugs. The risk of tossing the wrong thing can feel scarier than just letting everything stick around. The result is a slow build-up of clutter that eats away at time, space, and sanity until your clutter starts running the show! Clutter Hurts Wellbeing and the Bottom Line Clutter doesn’t just crowd your workspace; it drains your team’s energy, focus, and productivity. Every messy supply closet, overstuffed file cabinet, and chaotic shared drive has a hidden cost. Think about how much time your employees spend searching for things each week: someone hunting for printer paper or the “good scissors,” another trying to remember where the extra batteries are kept, or a manager scrolling through old emails to find the latest version of a document. Each minor delay feels harmless, but they add up to hours of lost focus each day, and that’s time your team could be using to serve clients, collaborate, or innovate. In addition to losing time and productivity, office clutter often results in wasted money. When no one can find what they need, they often end up ordering duplicates of items the company already owns. Our favorite story is the office that purchased three separate label-makers in various attempts to get organized over the years, but couldn’t find any of them until they brought in the professionals! Clutter quietly chips away at morale and focus. Neuroscientists at Princeton showed that messy environments increase stress and cognitive overload and noted that when people “cleared clutter from their work environment, they were better able to focus and process information, and their productivity increased.” When every surface, drawer, and shared folder feels chaotic, it’s harder to concentrate, make decisions, and feel calm at work. It also sends the message to employees that disorganization is normal and that the details aren’t important. The clutter in your workplace doesn’t just affect the people inside your organization; it affects how others see you. When clients, partners, or investors walk into a disorganized reception area or a new hire finds their desk piled with someone else’s folders on their first day, it undermines confidence in your company’s professionalism before anyone says a word. Advice for Getting Started Trying to tackle every disorganized space at once can be overwhelming, so here are a few tips to get you started: Organize a Free Sale: Ask everyone in your office to sort through their workspaces and look for things they no longer need but that might be useful for someone else: Extra staplers, folders, cords, travel mugs, office decor, dry-erase markers, etc. Arrange a location and time for everyone to drop off their excess and then encourage your employees to shop for items they need in their office or home. The remainder can be organized and then either stored or donated. Use our Power Purge: Our process has been tested in thousands of homes and offices around the country. Gather a small team of motivated workers, order some coffee and bagels, and put the Power Purge to work! Tackle one zone at a time: Focus your energy on one supply closet, shared drive, or breakroom at a time. Succeeding at bite-sized projects creates momentum that can lead to real, sustainable change. Label and contain: Clear bins and labels are our most powerful weapon when it comes to fighting chaos. For organizational systems to work, everyone who might need the item needs to be able to quickly see where and how it is stored. Set limits: As you are making your way through the clutter, keep track of the types of items that tend to pile up. Establish retention policies for files, unused equipment, and supplies so that everyone has permission to clear out items once they've been kept for the agreed-upon time. Partner with experts: Sometimes, the smartest move is bringing in an expert with an outside perspective. Your team is busy and you hired them for their specific areas of expertise not their organizing prowess! The Bees can quickly get to work helping you sort and remove items you no longer need, and then build new organizing systems that will work for your entire team. Consider assigning ownership: If possible, designate a person or team to be responsible for maintaining shared spaces once they are organized. If that’s not possible, it might make the most sense to plan on an annual maintenance visit from the Bees. All Workspaces Need Attention It’s not just supply closets, reception desks, and break rooms that need the occasional TLC. Over the years, we’ve organized artist studios, restaurant kitchens and pantries, hair salons, lifeguard shacks, and more. Every workspace, no matter how unique, functions better when it’s organized. Even remote employees can benefit. The National Association of Productivity and Organizing (NAPO) suggests that employers support home office organization to boost productivity and reduce stress. Whether it’s at work, at home, or somewhere in between, clear spaces create clear minds! The bottom line is that a cluttered workspace slows everyone down. When your office is organized, productivity soars, morale improves, and your employees can focus on the work you hired them to do. If your business feels more like a storage unit than a productivity hub, it might be time to call in the Bees!
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Cheat the Holiday Prep
Every year, we promise ourselves that THIS will be the year we simplify the holidays. The one where the cookies are baked early, the gifts are wrapped with care, and the mood stays merry and bright. And then December happens. Suddenly, we’re knee-deep in wrapping paper with no tape in sight, we’ve lost all but one guest towel, and we watch our To-Do List expand at a furious pace in the days before the festivities begin. This year, let’s do things differently. Let’s cheat. This year, think about what parts of the holidays you love and what parts you can jettison, what menu items you can buy and what you’d rather make from scratch, what tasks you can delegate to others and what you have to do yourself, and what you can do in advance and what must wait until the last minute. Cheating the holidays is about reclaiming your time, energy, and joy. It’s about focusing on what truly matters and letting go of the rest. Cheat the Prep The secret to a smoother holiday season? Do yourself a few favors before the chaos hits. A little preparation now saves you from the last-minute scramble later. Set it and forget it: You can set the table a week in advance (although if you have pets, you might want to keep the dishes upside down until the big day gets closer!) Round it up: Don’t wait until the night before to locate all of your hosting bits and pieces. You can match and wash linens, polish silver, count water glasses, and round up all of the serving utensils weeks in advance. Decide then duplicate: Choose a lovely gift for teachers, neighbors, or hosts this season, wrap several, and keep a stash ready to go. Pick a go-to appetizer: Find one dish that always delights and keep the ingredients on hand. You can quickly whip it up to bring to work events, potlucks, or neighborhood get-togethers. Take photos of your decor: Snap photos of your mantel, tree, or front door so you don’t have to reinvent the wheel each year. Keep a "holiday basics" list: We like to keep a running list on our phone so that nothing crucial slips our mind, like foil pans, paper towels, and as much butter as possible. Get your kitchen ready: There are so many things you can do in advance to help prepare every part of your kitchen for holiday cooking. Revisit our kitchen organization blog for some of our favorite strategies. Stock a gift wrapping crate: Load up a crate with wrapping paper, tissue, gift bags, tape, scissors, tags, ribbons, and bows. Every minute spent putting this crate together will save you oodles of time later! Declutter before you decorate: Make space for the sparkle instead of layering tinsel on top of clutter. Skip unnecessary cleaning: When was the last time you invited a dinner guest into your basement storage room or your bedroom closet? Focus your energy on areas where your guests will actually be! Cheat in the Kitchen You don’t have to cook like you’re on a Food Network special for your holiday to be meaningful. Give yourself permission to simplify, outsource, or just plain cheat a little. No one is going to love you less if your mashed potatoes came from the deli or your cookies started life in the freezer aisle! Share the cooking: Choose one or two signature dishes to make and then delegate the rest. Most people are thrilled to contribute to a holiday meal! Buy pre-cut cookie dough, gingerbread kits, and ready-made pie crusts: You can focus more on the fun part and less on the technical details. We can state with absolute authority that children care more about the color of the sprinkles than whether the cookies were made from scratch. Keep "emergency appetizers" stocked: Whether it’s a Costco-size box of frozen mini quiches, a tub of pimento cheese and a box of the fancy crackers, or some golden goodness you can quickly toss in the airfryer, having emergency apps on hand is a lifesaver. They are perfect for when you run low on food at a party, have people stop by unexpectedly, or you get a last-minute invitation to an event. Decorate with food: Putting peppermints in jars, oranges and cloves in a vase, or cranberries and greenery around serving trays are simple but lovely ways to add some holiday spirit to your table. Take it down a notch: Make the pie weeks in advance and then freeze it. Or buy the pie crust and make the filling yourself. Or buy the whole darn pie. Or ask your cousin to bring it! You don’t have to do it all. Consider disposable plates: Before you immediately reject this bullet point, remember that disposable plates come in all levels of fanciness and price points … and they all save you from mountains of dishes. Just think about it. You don’t have to commit this year. Cheat Expectations The holidays aren’t a performance. They are a gathering of people who love each other, even when things get messy. Imperfect meals are still nourishing, and imperfect joy is still joy. Let "good enough" be great: The napkins do not have to match the table runner. The cookies do not have to look like the photo. Let go of tired traditions: Not every tradition needs to be sustained, so you can keep the ones that fill you up and let go of the ones that drain you. Say YES to help: You do not have to run the whole holiday show yourself. Be open to offers for help (and even to hiring some!). Give jobs to guests: Let the kids set the table or roll the crescent rolls. Ask your uncle to be in charge of answering the door and hanging up coats. People love to be involved in creating the celebration together. Focus on connection over perfection: People remember laughter and stories, not whether the napkins match or the lattice on the apple pie is perfectly golden. Simplify greeting cards: Maybe you can skip sending Christmas cards this year. Or if you do, send a postcard instead of one that needs an envelope. And maybe send New Year’s greetings instead so that you have more time! Streamline your wrapping: Use gift bags instead of wrapping paper and ribbons. Or if you prefer using wrapping paper, consider writing the names directly on the packages in a festive paint pen instead of dealing with tags that often get separated from their packages. The holidays are for connection, not exhaustion. You have our permission to buy the pie, delegate the side dishes, and use the pretty paper plates. You deserve a joyful season that feels doable, not depleting. If you need a hand getting your home holiday-ready, call in the Bees. We’ll help you find calm, clarity, and cheer in every corner of your home!
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Perfectly Imperfect Gratitude
As the leaves turn and the days shorten, November nudges us toward reflection and gratitude. But let’s be honest: Life isn’t picture-perfect, and neither are our holidays! Gratitude doesn’t require perfection, it’s about pausing to notice the good stuff even when (or maybe especially when) life is a little chaotic. At Bee Organized, we know that gratitude can shine the brightest when things are a little messy, mismatched, or unexpected. So this year, we’ve compiled our list of things that we are truly grateful for: We are grateful for sunshine streaming through the windows … even if it shows off every dust bunny in the room. We’re grateful for mismatched table settings … especially when bringing out the extras means that our table is packed with people we love. We’re grateful for the chance to make Grandma’s “famous” cranberry dish for another year … even if most people politely take just the tiniest spoonful. We’re grateful for leftovers that keep us fed all weekend long … especially when finishing the last slice of pie means we finally reclaim a little counter space! We’re grateful for family piling into our homes … even if it takes a week of cleaning, furniture shuffling, and a lot of Tetris-like creativity to wedge everyone into our space. We’re grateful for board games after dinner … especially when the laughter is louder than the arguments about the rules! We’re grateful for the chance to take a family photo … even if someone we love is missing and someone always has their eyes closed. We’re grateful for each and every holiday we get to celebrate … especially the ones that don’t require wrapping presents. We’re grateful that we finally got those donations dropped off … even though we drove around with them in our trunk for two months! We’re grateful that there are zero calories in desserts that we share with others … especially pecan pie at Thanksgiving. We’re grateful when we find a working pen deep in the junk drawer … even though that means that we still haven’t gotten around to organizing the junk drawer. We’re grateful for pets underfoot in the kitchen … especially when they do an excellent job of keeping the floor clean. We’re grateful for holiday traditions … even when they’re quirky, outdated, or not quite “us” anymore. We’re grateful for road trips to see family … especially when the singalongs, snack stops, and backseat negotiations turn into cherished memories. We’re grateful for a house filled to the brim with laughter and footsteps … even though we’ve started to really enjoy the peace and quiet of our empty nest. And of course, we’re ALWAYS grateful for stretchy pants … especially when it’s time for seconds of mashed potatoes and stuffing. Gratitude doesn’t cancel out the mess. It doesn’t un-burn the overcooked rolls, silence the sibling squabbles, or sweep away the clutter. But it does remind us that even in the chaos, there’s joy worth noticing. This season (and always!), let’s embrace the imperfection and focus our energy on soaking up the good in our lives. We’re grateful each day that we are in the business of serving people like you in every season of your life. If you need our judgment-free, compassionate, and confidential help to sort out your sticky spots, you know you can call in the Bees!
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The Things That Haunt Your Home
You know those things lurking in the dark corners of your home—the ones you swear you will use someday, but instead they just gather dust and give you the heebie-jeebies every time you notice them? We’re not talking about ghosts or ghouls—we’re talking about the clutter that refuses to leave! From ancient cords to mysterious kitchen tools, from special occasion shoes to the costume your youngest hasn’t been able to fit into since preschool, these items haunt your basement, attic, and everywhere in between like poltergeists. And just like in any scary story, the first step to breaking the curse is to shine a light on what’s really hiding there. This October, we’re discussing the most spine-chilling items that tend to haunt our clients’ houses. We know that what people hold on to is closely tied to their Organizing Profile. (If you don’t know or remember your Organizing Profile, you can take our short Profile Quiz!) Understanding your profile can help you lift the spell these items have over you—and reclaim your space from the ghosts of clutter past! The Space Giver: Keeper of Other People’s Skeletons What haunts you: Boxes of your grown kids’ memorabilia Your neighbor’s motorcycle because your garage is bigger Your sister’s crates “just while she’s getting her new apartment sorted out” Family heirlooms you don’t want but feel bad giving away Why you keep it: You feel guilty saying “no”. Decluttering spells: Set a “pick-up by” date for all of the stored items that aren’t yours. Offer to help your loved ones sort through the items you are storing for them—and to find new homes for the things they don’t want back. Remember that your home isn’t a haunted storage unit—you are allowed to reclaim your space! The Memory Keeper: Haunted by the Past What haunts you: Large-format canvasses Framed pictures Envelopes and cards from Christmases past Special event programs Costumes Special event clothing (wedding guest dress, prom gown) Cassettes, CDs and DVDs from yesteryear Sentimental hats and event T-shirts Entire sets of china or dishes Yearbooks Why you keep it: Every item feels like it holds a piece of the past—and getting rid of it feels like erasing the memory. Decluttering spells: Keep one talisman from a set—for example, hold on to one teacup instead of the whole china set. Snap photos of sentimental items so they can live in the cloud instead of your attic. Display only what you truly love and donate the rest to a good home. Create a memory box with a defined limit (one crate or one shelf). This lets you honor the past without drowning in it! The Money-Minded: Cursed by the Cost What haunts you: Unused exercise equipment Hobby supplies like craft kits, art materials, musical instruments, sports gear Kitchen gadgets Expensive makeup and beauty products Jewelry Things that are too valuable to use—like special glasses or dishes Special occasion clothes that no longer fit Why you keep it: Throwing it away feels like throwing money away. Decluttering spells: Remember that money is a sunk cost—so keeping the item doesn’t get the money back. You can sell high-value items to recoup some of the cost. Flip the script! Remind yourself that space has value too. Keeping things you don’t use is like paying rent to store ghosts. The Just-in-Caser: Prepared for the Zombie Apocalypse What haunts you: Expired medications and vitamins Duplicate appliances Condiment packets Storage containers without lids (and lids without storage containers!) 17 contact lens cases Stacks and stacks of instruction manuals Office supplies Extra screws and allen wrenches Vacuum attachments you’ve never even tried to use Why you keep it: "What if I need it someday?" Decluttering spells: Store things at the store—and don’t buy them until you truly need them. If you can replace the item for less than $20 or in less than 20 minutes, you don’t need to keep it. Keep a reasonable limit on duplicates (do you really need 48 extra lightbulbs?) Remember: In the event of a Zombie apocalypse, extra potato mashers won’t save you anyway. The Acquirer: Victim of the Siren Song of the Sale What haunts you: Decorative seasonal items Reusable shopping bags Cleaning supplies Gardening pots and containers Cute packages of themed food (like pumpkin-and-ghost-shaped pasta!) Clothes you never wear Why you keep it: The thrill of acquiring is addictive and every deal feels too good to pass up. Decluttering spells: Ask yourself: Would I buy this again at full price today? Pause before buying to allow the spell to wear off. If the item still calls to you after 24 hours, consider buying it—otherwise, let it fade into the mist. The Crammer-Jammer-Stacker: The Master of the Monster Closet What haunts you: Mystery cords Piles of office supplies Half-used candles Seasonal decor that never gets displayed Vases Receipts and old paperwork Office supplies Water bottles and coffee tumblers Pillowcases from sheet sets you threw away long ago Why you keep it: Out of sight, out of mind—until the closet door bursts open in the middle of the night! Decluttering spells: Empty one hidden space at a time—you’ve got to face your monster head on! Use clear bins with labels so nothing can hide from the light. If you haven’t used it in a year or more, it’s not worth keeping in the dungeon. The Aspirer: Bewitched by the Someday Self What haunts you: Unopened art supplies Musical instruments you’ve never learned Exercise gear for a routine you never started Golf clubs Unread books Specialty baking pans and kitchen appliances Stack of cookbooks for cuisines you’ve never made Why you keep it: The items represent a dream or version of yourself that you want to be someday. Decluttering spells: Keep only the supplies for one active project or hobby at a time. Donate or sell items for hobbies and activities you’ve lost interest in—let them enchant someone else! Create a future wish list instead of stockpiling items you may never use. Clutter has many disguises—nostalgia, guilt, just-in-case thinking—but the end result is the same: Your home feels more like a haunted house than a haven. By understanding your Organizing Profile and why you keep the items you keep, you can banish the fear of getting rid of what’s haunting you and make room for the life you want now. And if the clutter feels too scary to face alone … you know you can call in the Bees!
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The Ultimate Guide to Fridge & Freezer Food Storage
This spring, the Environmental Protection Agency released its latest estimates of how much food Americans waste each year. According to their research, the average family of four spends $3,000 per year on food that ends up in the garbage. For every three grocery bags you carry into the kitchen, one of them ends up in a landfill. Ouch! The good news is that the overwhelming majority of this wasted food and money is within our control. A chaotic fridge and freezer makes it harder to track what you have, easier to buy unnecessary duplicates, and much more likely for you to forget about food until it’s covered in fascinating mold specimens. We have advice on how to whip your refrigerator into shape—and how to change your behaviour surrounding food so that you can make the most of your grocery budget! But First—Purge and Wipe Every successful fridge reset starts with a clean slate! Take everything out of your fridge and freezer, arrange it by type on your kitchen counter, and toss out everything that is obviously spoiled, expired, or just plain unrecognizable. Then, wipe down each shelf, wall, and drawer. It sounds so simple, but depending on how long you’ve let it go, this could take an hour or more, so pop in some high-energy music or your favorite podcast and get to work. When it’s clean, line the bottoms of drawers with paper towels so that your next clean-out goes more quickly. Organize for Visibility The golden rule of refrigerator organization is that if you can’t see it, you won’t eat it—and that’s how good food goes bad. Here are a few of our favorite tips for keeping the fridge organized: Make an EAT FIRST shelf or bin—This is where you should place leftovers and any items reaching the end of their lifespan. Make sure it’s clearly labeled and in your direct line of sight! Create and label zones—Group similar things together so that you can see what you have, avoid buying duplicates, and reduce time searching endlessly for ingredients. In the fridge, consider zones for condiments, easy-to-grab snacks, dairy, beverages, fruits/veggies, and meal prep ingredients. In the freezer, we often start with zones for fruits/veggies, sweets, proteins, pre-made meals, and grains. Label everything—How many times have you put something in the freezer and think you’ll remember what it is only to find it two months later and think you’ve never seen it before? Make a rule for yourself that you can’t stick anything in the fridge or freezer that isn’t labeled. We like to keep a roll of masking tape and a Sharpie near the fridge. Just be sure to stick your label on the side, not the top, so that it’s easy to spot. Use clear glass containers—We rarely urge you to buy a bunch of new organizing products when so many of the things you already own can be repurposed. But if you don’t have clear glass bins or containers for fridge storage, they are worth every single penny. You will quickly recoup any money you spend on clear bins with less wasted food! Freeze bags flat—Whether it’s leftover soup, pureed tomatoes from your summer harvest, or bags of frozen veggies, freezing items flat will save space in your freezer and allow you to see what you have immediately. Lengthen Your Food’s Lifespan Another way to reduce your family’s food waste is to help your items last as long as they can! Here are a few pieces of advice that you can put into action: Manage your temperature—According to the FDA, our freezers should be set to 0℉ and our refrigerators should be set to 40℉ or below. If you suspect your fridge isn’t keeping your items as cool as it should, you can pick up an appliance thermometer for less than $10 at a home improvement or big box store. Lower shelves tend to be cooler, so that’s where you should keep your meat and dairy products. And the temperature of the door fluctuates the most, so that’s a great place to store things that aren’t too fussy, like condiments, pickles, nut butters, and non-dairy beverages. Preserve your herbs—Fresh herbs are such a delight, but since we rarely use an entire container for one recipe, they are at the top of the list for items that are lost in the fridge and then ultimately wasted. For fresh herbs, either store them in a glass of water in the fridge like a bouquet of fragrant flowers or roll them in a damp paper towel and seal in a freezer bag. Use mason jars with airtight lids—Remember that oxygen is the enemy of food preservation. The more airtight your containers are, the longer your food will stay fresh. That’s why leftovers stored in a glass jar with a reusable airtight lid will last significantly longer than something stored in a zipper bag or container with a loose-fitting lid. Stock from the back—When you unpack groceries, make sure you take the extra minutes to tuck new items behind the older items in your fridge or freezer, rather than just shoving them wherever you can fit them in the front. If you just bought a new box of 12 yogurt cups from Costco, make sure each and every one is tucked behind the 3 cups you still have left from your last trip. Prevent the squish—Damaged food spoils faster, so hang on to a few clamshell containers from spinach or berries—they’re perfect for protecting delicate items like peaches that come home in a produce bag and would quickly bruise in the mosh pit of your fridge. Manage humidity—Things that like to wilt dramatically (think leafy greens, carrots, and cucumbers) need high humidity to stay fresh. Either keep them wrapped up or put them in a high-humidity produce drawer in your fridge. Keep things growing—If you’ve got a sunny spot in your kitchen, use it to keep your greens growing. If you’ve got the root ends of green onions, celery, or even romaine lettuce, pop them in a glass with an inch of water and set it on your kitchen counter. Change the water every day or two and you’ll be amazed to see fresh growth appear—ready to snip and enjoy as needed! Use Every Last Bit A little creativity goes a long way when it comes to using up odds and ends in your fridge and panty. Here are a few of our go-to methods: Second chance meals—Miscellaneous leftovers of protein, vegetables, and cheeses are the perfect addition to pastas, soups, omelettes or frittatas, and sauces. These everything-but-the-kitchen-sink dishes often turn out to be family favorites! Smoothies—The last big spoonful of yogurt. A couple of inches of orange juice or milk in the bottom of the jug. The browning banana on the counter. The six strawberries someone didn’t eat from their packed lunch. We love the flexibility of smoothies for making delicious treats out of things that are just taking up space or on their last legs! Croutons—Stale bread makes AMAZING fresh croutons. Take whatever you’ve got—whole wheat, bagels, sourdough, hot dog buns—and cut it into one-inch cubes, saute the cubes on medium heat for 10-15 minutes with a couple cloves of garlic, salt, and butter or olive oil, and you will be shocked at how utterly delicious croutons can be! Herb ice—Dice leftover herbs, tightly pack the herbs into ice cube trays, add water or olive oil, freeze, then toss the frozen flavor cubes into a freezer-safe bag or jar. Don’t forget to label them! Now you’ve got a wonderful flavor boost you can add into soups and sauces all year long. Keep a USE IT UP list—Keep a dry-erase board and marker near the fridge. Keep a running list of items that you’ve only partially used or will soon expire so that you remember to use that half container of feta or the rest of the cilantro before it winds up in the garbage! Shop Mindfully Shop from a list, not from your heart (or stomach!). Keep a grocery list in the kitchen and make sure everyone who lives there knows to add items to the list when they run low or run out. Knowing exactly what you need when you go to the store (rather than just guessing) keeps you from buying the fifth jar of mustard just in case. Reset weekly—We’ve talked before about the importance of a Weekly Reset in your kitchen. If you are doing this, you will know how many meals will need to be prepared at home and how many people will be eating at each meal. Are you hosting any guests this week? Are you eating any meals out? Will any of the meals in your plan create ideal leftovers? Having a finger on the pulse of what you can expect each day will help you only buy the groceries you need when you shop. One Last Thing… It may not be glamorous, but if your fridge feels like it’s working too hard—or isn’t cold enough—it might be time to check the coils. Pet hair and dust bunnies can clog airflow. Give the coils underneath or behind your fridge a quick vacuum so it can keep your food cooler for longer. If this sounds daunting to you, watch a YouTube video or two first! A clean, organized fridge and freezer is one of the most underrated ways to save time, money, and stress in your week. It means fewer wasted groceries, more delicious meals, and the confidence of knowing exactly what you have on hand. You’ve got this! And remember—if your fridge project turns into a whole-kitchen project, you know you can always call in the Bees!
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Should I Hire a Professional Home Organizer?
Many of us can relate to the anxiety and chaos of an unorganized home. It happens for many reasons, ebbing and flowing throughout the year. Some people are naturally messy. Some people cannot organize their thoughts and don’t know where to begin. Some just cannot focus on their space and see it in different ways. No matter the reason, struggling to organize your house, and keep it that way, is a challenge for many people. You are not alone. Whatever the reason for your struggle, hiring a professional home organizer like Bee Organized to organize your Hive might be the right solution for you. 6 Questions to Determine If You Need a Professional Organizer It may be tempting to go the DIY route for your home organization project. Saving money by doing this project yourself is appealing. The idea of a finished project is appealing, too. For many people, finishing an organizational project, and learning to maintain it, is the hardest part. This is what makes professional organizers worth the cost. Professional organizers are pros at teaching you how to organize and maintain clutter, even when life gets hectic. If you are struggling with one of the questions below, it is time to consider the benefits of hiring a professional organizer. 1. What Is My End Goal? Asking yourself this question is a great place to start when deciding if you should hire a house organization company. A professional home organizer is your partner in this process. Think of us as accountability partners—we are there to listen and coach you through the process. The process of organizing your home is a team effort, and you are an important part of that team. We work with our clients every step of the way. Staying organized is a life skill and a commitment. Working alongside an expert gives you the opportunity to create a home for everything and learn tips and tricks from some of the best in the business. This also helps you develop a system of keeping things organized that works for you. This goes a long way in helping you maintain the work long after the initial process is complete. Hiring a professional home organizer has some other benefits, as well. Roughly three in ten women report that their mornings are less stressful when they have an organized closet. That feeling can carry over into many parts of your life. When you are in an organized, stress-free space, it is easier to carry that attitude out into the world with you. 2. Do I Feel Stuck in the Process? Feeling stuck and overwhelmed is common when facing a large project. Maybe you don’t even know where to start. If you are standing in your own home feeling unorganized and overwhelmed, it may be time to start searching for a professional home organizer in your area. A professional organizer will help you take that first step, or maybe a giant leap feels more appropriate. If you find yourself feeling stuck, don’t be afraid to ask for help. Choosing to hire a professional home organizer allows them to come into your Hive with a fresh perspective. They are not emotionally attached to your things in the same way that you are. At Bee Organized, our Bees can see things you can’t and envision ways to organize your space you may never have considered. 3. Do I Have the Skills to Organize Myself? Fortunately, organizing is easy to learn. It requires some critical reasoning and thinking outside of the box, but anyone can do it. There are plenty of helpful books, YouTube videos, and how-to articles to give you ideas and tools. But if you're like most people, you're still reading this because you need help and motivation. That's when hiring a professional home organizer may be necessary. Your friends and family may have skills and want to pitch in to help, but they can sometimes be critical and judgmental, which is exactly what you don't need when things are disorganized and chaotic in your home. You need a professional partner who won't judge you or your clutter. Hiring a pro is like having a private teacher, teaching you tips and better habits for an organized life, so be sure to soak in their knowledge. Learning how to be and stay organized, or teaching your kids/partner new organizing skills, might just be the best reason to hire a professional home organizer. Even if you have all of the skills to successfully organize your house, a professional organizer brings you some extra support, motivation, and a gentle push when you need it. A professional organizer will work through your clutter with you, helping you decide what to keep and what not to keep. This can be an emotional process and it can be helpful to have a professional organizer that has done this work numerous times. 4. Do I Have the Time to Organize Myself? Time is a precious commodity in our modern world, and many of us just don’t have the time it takes to organize our house. This is another great reason to hire a professional home organizer. Time can be our biggest enemy in getting things organized and maintaining that organization. Lack of time is also one of the biggest reasons our homes become unorganized in the first place. Most people estimate that they could save up to an hour in their day if they were more organized. An extra hour of free time can make a huge difference in most people’s lives. Consider how much time it would take for you to declutter your space on your own. Most of our clients are blown away seeing how much two Bees can accomplish in a three-hour session. When you schedule focused time with a pro, you maximize the time. Think of the synergy, accountability, and follow-through accomplished when you’re paying for an expert! A key benefit of an organized home is that once you have systems in place, you’ll save time in the long run. Simply put, you’ll spend less time looking for items as well as saving time putting things away. 5. Am I Coming Up on a Deadline? Are you having a party soon? Moving? Downsizing a family member? Deadlines are often great motivators for getting things done around the house. When you need to declutter and organize your space in a pinch, hiring a team of professionals with the expertise and the connections for services you may need, can make all the difference. If moving soon, clearing out years of accumulated stuff can be a challenging process, and a good organizer will discuss your goals and timeframe up front, then keep you on track and support you when making hard decisions. Bee Organized takes pride in managing your project from start to finish when time is of the essence! 6. Will I Really Finish the Project After I Start It? Are you good at pulling everything out and moving the piles of stuff, but get sidetracked along the way and never reach the finish line? We get it! Life happens and sometimes we get in over our heads. Professional home organization can add some much-needed (wo)manpower to your project. We can offer a few extra hands and a lot of experience to help you finish your project and give you the organized space you’ve been dreaming of. Hiring a professional home organizer will also help keep you on track in your project. We've seen many projects started by clients, but they become distracted and the project stalls out halfway through. If this pattern sounds familiar, and you have a habit of starting but never finishing, maybe it's time to hire a professional. Making the decision to hire a pro or DIY is a personal one. If you're on a tight budget, feel comfortable organizing and enjoy the work, then by all means dive right in! But if your superpower doesn't align with organizing, you're stretched for time, or finally ready to finish the project once and for all, give Bee Organized a Buzz today...we're ready to Simplify Your Hive! If you are ready to see what all the Buzz is about, reach out to Bee Organized, and let’s chat about how we can help you meet your organization goals. We are currently in 20+ cities across the United States. Reach out to the location nearest you to schedule a free consultation and get you started on your organization journey. It would be our HONOR to serve you!
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