Our Favorite Home Organizing Essentials

We’re sharing our favorite home-organizing essentials today. These items help keep our home neat and tidy all year!

We probably all have a friend or family member who says, “You have GOT to help me get organized this year.”

Or they boldly announce, “This is the year, I’m going to get organized. I’m serious this time!” with complete conviction every January.

And despite their best intentions, they say it again while spring cleaning.

Then again just before school starts.

And again at the end of the year.

Maybe that’s how you feel sometimes too.

No matter what time of year it is or what season of life you find yourself in, it is possible to have an organized home.

I know sometimes the thought of being organized can seem overwhelming though.

Especially, if you have a busy and active family life, an intense job, are the parent of littles or teenagers, or you’re trying to organize 2 separate households in 2 different cities.

But don’t worry, there’s hope.

The Secret to Getting and Staying Organized…

I truly believe anyone can be organized.

You just have to know your priorities, find the right tools, and have a system in place that specifically works for you and your family.

Organizing is not one size fits all!

Once you have those systems in place, gone will be the days you put up with clutter and chaos. It just won’t be an option for you and your family anymore.

We live a mostly organized life. 

I say mostly because we aren’t perfect.

There are definitely things we’re working to improve all the time.

Our garage, for example, is a hot mess right now.

It’s taken some effort for the rest of the house to get to this point.

But now that we’ve been living an organized life for several years, we can’t imagine living any other way.

Here’s a look at our favorite home organizing essentials and tools that have helped us cut the clutter and organize our home…

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*This post was updated in January 2024

Calendars, Planners, and Journals

In the past, I’ve used the Planner Pad, the Day Designer, and a customized planner from Plum Paper all of which I appreciated for different reasons.

In addition, I’ve also used the One Year PowerSheets Goal Planner for goal planning and The 5-Minute Journal for journaling.

This year though, I created my own planner because I needed a way to simplify my home life, business life, and personal life.

For even more simple ideas, you can read, 7 Tips For A Successful Week. It’s been one of the most popular posts, I’ve ever written!

Planner Pads, File Folders, Boxes, and Sticky Notes

I write our monthly meal plan on this refrigerator magnet calendar in our kitchen.

Several of my friends use this meal planner pad.

And this daily task list planner pad got great reviews as well.

This jumbo wall calendar is not framed but it’s similar to the DIY framed wall calendar my Mom gave me and you know I adore our DIY framed quarterly calendar too!

My bestie S uses these tabbed sticky notes, and expanding file folders.

I use these photo boxes for storing office and craft supplies. You might be able to find photo boxes similar to these for less at places Michaels or Joanns. So, keep your eye out!

Colored Pens and Pencils

I like to be able to find things in my calendar quickly which is why our calendars are all color-coded. It really helps me stay on track throughout the day.

These mechanical colored pencils and these erasable pastel highlighters are both easy to use if you like to highlight or make notes in the margins of your favorite books.

I use these erasable gel pens and these erasable markers in my calendars and planners because they don’t bleed through the pages.

I’ve also heard good things about these ParKoo Erasable Gel Pens and about these Paper Mate Felt Tip Flair Pens too.

Baskets, Bins, and Totes

I could sing the praises of baskets all day long! 

They’re great for storing everything from pantry items to sheets in the linen closet.

Baskets, bins, totes, and containers are some of my favorite home organizing essentials because they can be used in almost every room of the house.

You can choose natural baskets, metal baskets, cloth baskets, cubes, or caddy-style totes whichever best fits your lifestyle.

Jars and Containers

We use jars like these in the pantry for storing dry goods and these glass jars in the laundry room to store laundry supplies.

We also use glass jars similar to these to organize our spices and our cereals are stored in these containers.

In addition, we use lidded bins similar to these to help organize our refrigerator and this clear turntable for milks, creamers, and other refrigerated drinks.

If you have littles, mischievous pets, or elderly parents you may want to consider using a plastic or metal alternative to glass jars and containers. 

They can help keep you just as organized as glass containers and could be a safer option.

Plastics can be kind of tricky so make sure you’ve researched which material is best for your family (i.e. BPA-free) before purchasing.

Tags, Labels, and Label Makers

I’m a huge proponent of labeling everything, even if it seems kind of obvious. 

That way, everyone from family members to guests will have an easier time finding things and putting them away.

There are so many different kinds of labels to choose from depending on the size, shape, and material of the containers you use.

You can purchase chalkboard style labels like these, use ID tags/luggage style tags like these or use a label maker tool like this one and this one.

You can also use your home computer, printer, PicMonkey, or a Cricut Joy Cutting Machine to create pretty labels as well!

If DIY labels aren’t your thing, we use these labels in our pantry and spice drawer.

Meal Prep and Lunch Containers

We’ve been using these meal prep and food storage containers and these bento box-style containers to keep meals and leftovers as easy as possible.

We also use bags similar to these instead of sandwich bags and these wide-mouth mason jars to organize medium-sized items like fruits, nuts, granola, and salads.

For grocery shopping, we use these reusable mesh produce bags and these reusable market bags. It seems like such a small change but both have helped us cut down on using plastic bags.

Drawer, Makeup, and Shoe Organizers

My bestie S uses these drawer dividers. to keep socks and undergarments organized.

I got my sister something similar to this makeup organizer to help keep all of her makeup organized.

We’re currently in the process of switching all of our drawer organization systems to these because they’ve worked out so well in our kitchens, bathrooms, bedrooms, and offices.

I use an individual shoe container system similar to this one.

But my mom uses a shoe cubby system like this one and says she likes the convenience.

In addition, we use three-drawer organizer systems like this all over the house.

This stackable organizer is great for organizing earrings and rings. I used them in my small closet makeover!

Tech Gadgets to Keep You Organized 

I’m totally a pen-and-paper kind of girl. But my bestie S who helps run the website is into technology that makes life more efficient.  

She uses this charging station, and I plug my devices into one similar to this one every night and by morning they’re good to go.  It’s definitely like having a command center for phones and tablets.

These Amazon Smart Plugs have saved us so many times! We pair them with lamps and have Alexa turn them on for us anytime we’re running late.

S got these extra-long charging cables in her stocking for Christmas. We need them at the cabin and Loblolly because the plugs are in weird spots. Here’s the link for extra-long charging cables if you’re an Android user.

Another purchase inspired by Loblolly! These outlets not only provide surge protection and USB charging capabilities, but you can also plug multiple devices into them at once. There’s even a slot up top to hold your phone or tablet.

Looking back, I have no idea how we survived without an Echo. We use it for everything from hearing the morning news to traffic reports to playing music to reordering our favorite tea.

This was one of those products I didn’t know I needed until I needed it.  My camera’s SD card always seems to be full.  This Toshiba 1TB External Hard Drive helps to provide extra storage for my photos and the business of the blog too.

Speaking of products we didn’t know we needed, S loves this reusable notebook so much, that we gave a few out as Christmas gifts!

Finally, several of the people in one of the masterminds I was a part of used this visual timer to help them stay on track.

Favorite Home Organizing Essentials Books

Although I’ve always been a fairly organized person, this book helped me cut the clutter for good.

This book was a Book of the Month pick last year and I try to read this book every December to prep for yearly organization projects.

I also appreciate how this book is pretty and practical.

These authors have a loyal following and their books and series on Netflix are great!

Making Progress on Your Organizing Goals…

We probably all have goals to be more organized in specific areas of our lives. 

I know I definitely do!

Keep in mind, that small changes each day will make the biggest impact over time.

You don’t have to be perfect – you just have to get started.

Make this year the year you not only get organized but you stay organized too. 

As always, I’m cheering you on!

Let us know if you have any favorite home-organizing essentials. Until next time, I’ll see you on Instagram, Facebook and Pinterest.

Other Organization Posts to Enjoy:

Our Favorite Cleaning Essentials

52 Weeks to a Simplified and Organized Home Challenge

Small Closet Makeover Tips and Tricks

Many blessings,

CoCo