Easy, Budget-Friendly Home Organization Ideas

Just spend a few minutes scrolling through Instagram, and you’re likely to stumble upon at least one account featuring a beautiful, meticulously clean home. And, if you’re anything like me, seeing that perfect image can make you feel like your home is more than a little lacking. It’s especially frustrating when you’re looking for home organization ideas on a budget.

With two small kids, my home is far from perfect these days. Something that helps me keep my sanity on that front is having some good organizational systems in place. Yes, there will be crumbs on my kitchen floor multiple times throughout the day, but at least everyone knows to take their shoes off and put them in a basket when coming in the door.

If you’re looking for some great ways to organize your home, here are a few things to consider:

6 Easy Tips To Declutter and Organize Your Home

Follow this simple process to get your house organized in no time at all.

1. Get the Family On Board with Organization

Making sure your family is on the same page is critical when it comes to home organization. You can spend hours getting the perfect system in place and designating a spot for every item, but if your family doesn’t follow that organization system, everything will fall apart pretty fast. Before you organize a shared space, think about how different family members use that space. You should even ask for their input. Then after you organize, gather everyone in that space and go over the system you’ve created. Talk about how everyone can play a role in keeping that system intact and brainstorm about potential roadblocks.

2. Create an Entryway ‘Drop Zone’

At our house, the act of leaving the house or coming back home can either be chaotic or…less chaotic. To help achieve more order, we created an organizational landing strip system right near our most frequently used door (the one to our garage). Every family member has a basket for small items and hooks to hang backpacks, car keys, etc.

We also put a bench right next to the door and basket for shoes below it. Everyone knows to use that space to either put on shoes before leaving or to remove them when arriving. There are also lots of great benches with built-in shoe storage too. Plus, you have a place to sit while putting on or removing your shoes. Having this drop zone system in place means our house doesn’t look like a shoe bomb exploded when we get home.

3. Store Loose Items In Baskets and Bins

Use baskets and bins to organize loose items. Without baskets and bins at our house, everything would be scattered everywhere! We use them to store toys in the kids’ playroom, for organizing in the pantry, to keep the kitchen shelves organized, beside the door in our drop zone, under our coffee table to keep blankets tucked away, etc. It’s easy to build up a big and affordable collection of baskets and bins. Look for them on sale when you’re shopping and you can save significantly, since the cost of these bins can add up fast!

4. Reuse Quality Boxes

When you buy something or receive a gift that comes in a good-looking and sturdy box, don’t toss it. Think of a way you can repurpose the box to bring some organization to your home. Recently, I bought a new paper planner and it came in a gorgeous black box. I used the box’s top and bottom in a kitchen drawer that had always needed a bit more organization. This helped SO much and allowed me to group similar items in a helpful and visually appealing way. Not only is reusing boxes an economical way to organize, it also helps the environment by repurposing an item instead of sending it to a landfill.

5. Use Vertical Space When You Can

When you’re organizing your home, use vertical space in small spaces to clear up floor space. For example, install shelves for over-the-toilet storage or in your laundry room to add more space. Vertical storage options can also be really helpful in the kitchen or garage. We installed some heavy-duty hooks on the garage wall for our baby’s stroller when it’s not in use. Using vertical space clears up room on the floor, making the garage not only easier to navigate but much more attractive as well.

6. Get Rid Of What You Don’t Need

Paring down your possessions is an important part of home organization. With fewer things, that’s less stuff to find a home for. Go through spaces in your home and really think about which items you and your family use regularly. Of course, we all know this one of those “easier said than done” tasks. If you haven’t used an item in more than a year or two, do you really need to keep it? It can be a time-consuming process, but if you break it into bite-sized tasks it’s less overwhelming. It will leave your house feeling lighter – literally and metaphorically – on the other side. Consider scheduling a space on your calendar for this task once or twice a month so you actually make time for it. Make the process fun by listening to music or a favorite podcast as you go. One tip: Don’t get rid of things that aren’t yours without asking first, so check with your kids or your spouse. It makes the process take longer, but it doesn’t violate any trust in the process. Donate or sell what you don’t need.

Home organization isn’t just a one-and-done activity. Keeping a home tidy is a constantly evolving process that will be most successful if everyone in the family is on board. Though keeping up with organizing seems daunting, only a few moments at a time can keep your home clutter-free. Without clutter, you can free up more energy to play and relax in your home.