5 Ways to Get Your Family Onboard with Organizing Your Home

We all strive to have a neat and well-organized home. However, if your family doesn't share your desires and is unwilling to cooperate, achieving this feat can be a pipe dream. Needless to say, finding ways to get your family on board with your organizing plans is vital.

And while it may seem far-fetched, it actually isn't. Regardless of what the personality of your family members is, with a bit of patience and the right approach, they will be onboard in no time.

Tips for Getting Your Family Onboard with Organizing Your Home

There are several benefits to living in an organized home, including:

• Better physical and mental health

• Simplicity in finding various items

• Simplicity in cleaning your home

• Income generation - the process of organizing your home, you and your family come across items that you no longer need that you can sell to earn extra cash.

Despite these benefits, convincing your family members to get on board with organizing your home can be a tall order. Below are a few tips that can help you convince them:

1.     Lead By Example

Let's face it: It can be difficult to deviate from your habits just because someone told you to do so. For instance, if someone told you to stop eating a given snack, the chances are that you wouldn't instantly stop doing so. However, if they led by example and stopped indulging in that given snack, the chances are that you would be more receptive to follow suit.

The same goes for organizing your home. If you pressure your family members into being more organized, they will likely resist. Instead, you should try leading by example. Picture your space and work towards decluttering it. Once your family members notice your efforts in making your home tidy and more organized, they will most likely feel inspired to do the same. 

That said, organizing communal areas will make it much easier for you to onboard your family into organizing your home. If you are not making any effort to organize your home, it will be challenging to convince your family to do so.

2.     Set Organization Goals Together

We all like to see progress. The best way of determining how much progress we've made is by comparing our efforts with our set goals. Setting goals and achieving them gives us a feeling of fulfillment.

Engage your family in finding decluttering goals that benefit everyone. For instance, if your goal is to earn extra money, you could convince your family to gather the items they aren't using so you can put them up for sale in a yard sale or a garage sale. You may also convince them to donate the items they aren't using to charity.

Another goal you could set is to sell some of your belongings and move to a smaller place. Inconvenient as it may seem, downsizing is a great way to get organized. With less stuff, you and your family will have an easier time organizing your home.

3.     Be Respectful of Everyone's Belongings

When organizing your home, ensure that you respect everyone's belongings lest you encounter resistance. Don't be pushy—be patient with your family member's spaces and belongings. You will find it challenging to get them on board if you insist on abruptly getting rid of the things they hold dear. 

Create dedicated spaces for every member of your family where they can keep things that are valuable to them.

Never forget this. Just because you think a given item is of no importance and should be tossed away, doesn't mean that your loved ones feel the same way. Give them time to get rid of their belongings that they may not need rather than forcing them to do so

4.     Involve All Your Family Members By Giving Everyone a Responsibility

You reside in your home as a team, so everyone should put some weight on the organization process. This means you should assign everyone a specific task and let them undertake it to the best of their abilities without meddling too much.

Doing this will make everyone feel useful and included, making the organization process smoother.

That said, you should exercise patience for everyone to get accustomed to the new arrangement, especially your kids. Show them that you appreciate their effort in helping make your home more organized rather than pointing out their mistakes every now and then. Such an approach will make them develop a positive attitude towards the new order instead of repulsing it.

5.     Take Small Steps First and Offer Help When Need Be

Don't expect miracles. Start small. Your family may need time to detach themselves from various items. And so, you need to respect their process. This means explaining the benefits of decluttering and organization and giving them time to do it independently.

Also, ensure that you look for any signs that your family needs help with the organization. Your kids, spouse, or other family members may be unwilling to admit it when they need assistance. So be on the lookout for any signs of struggle and help them whenever necessary.

Hire a Professional Organizer to Help 

Most people think that organizing a home is as simple as throwing away the things they don't need and then cleaning up. Well, that's not the case. Organizing a home not only involves decluttering and cleaning but also requires that you strategically place every item such that it can be easily located.

A professional home organizer can help you toward this end. A good home organizer will consider what matters to you and your family, the size of your space, the amount of clutter you have, how your home is currently organized, and so much more.

Their job is to organize your home in a way that suits you and your family members in the shortest time possible to help you avoid the burnout and fatigue that comes with this task.

If you are looking to get your home organized by professional organizers, they’re are many options out there that can handle all different types of organizational projects. Some of our favorites include:

• H2H Organizing

• Professional Organizers BR - Olivia Parks

• KonMari - Marie Kondo

Professional Organizers can make your home a clutter-free sanctuary where you are in control and help keep it that way. Whether you are looking to get your home’s organization project started or looking to have it fully completed, professional organizers can help you and your family reach your home organization goals. 

How To Handle an Ever-Growing Family

Maybe your kids are growing up. Maybe you're taking in grandma or welcoming a new baby. There are many reasons why your family situation might be changing, but the good news is that you can modify your home to meet your evolving needs. Here are just a few ways to make it happen.

Modular Furniture

When you're pressed for space, modular or multipurpose furniture can free up some room. It's often foldable, stackable, or collapsible in a way that allows it to be put aside when not in use, like a trundle bed that can be pushed beneath a bigger bed. Another option is modular furniture that doubles as storage space. For example, a table might have cabinets or bookshelves underneath it, or a headboard might be hollowed out to hold linens. Don't be afraid to get creative with modular furniture ideas.

Flex Rooms

Flex rooms are a growing trend in urban homes. As their name suggests, they're built to be flexible and to change according to the needs of a growing family. They might be a nursery for a few years and a playroom after that. They might be a den when the kids are young and in need of a communal space, and then they might transform into a home office or crafting room for empty nesters. The key element of a flex room is that it's meant to be plain and therefore multipurpose. It isn't bogged down by traditional design elements that designate "living room," "bedroom," or "guest room."

Home Renovations

There are a number of home renovations that can expand your usable living space without impacting your square footage. You can convert an attic into a bedroom, for example, or turn a basement into an entertainment area or mother-in-law studio. If you want to increase your square footage, you might consider room additions or detached accessory dwelling units (DADUs). Another option is a bump out, which is a small space built to accommodate something like a window seat or a water tank closet.

Vertical Space

Vertical space is often underutilized in home design. Many walls, ceilings, and staircases can be used to stash things; you just have to take advantage of the extra room that they can provide. The space under a staircase, for example, can be converted into a cupboard or pantry. Walls and ceilings can be adorned with shelves, cabinets, and hanging hooks to get objects off cluttered desktops. Even things like beds can be raised, bunk bed style, to create room for desks or play areas beneath them.
These are just a few home design tips for growing and evolving family units. Whether you're thinking about simple changes or extensive remodels, there's always something that you can do to make your living situation a bit more comfortable.

4 Home Additions to Enhance Family Time

If you find your family outgrowing your present home, then making home additions can be a better option than relocating. Besides increasing your home value, additions also increase the square footage of your home, making it more spacious for your family. Regardless of your motivation, there will be plenty of home addition ideas you can use to enhance your family time. These additions include the following suggestions.

1. Sunroom Addition

There's nothing as good as enjoying a good time with your family as the sun rises in the morning or settles in the evening skies. To fully enjoy moments such as these, it's recommended that you create a sunroom addition to your home. These rooms often have glass walls that allow sunlight to penetrate in. In addition, the rooms do offer an ideal place to spend time with friends and family, enjoy meals, or grow house plants.

2. Bedroom Additions

As your family grows, you'll probably start running out of space. Instead of relocating to a new bigger house, you can think of making bedroom additions. But how can you achieve this? Well, you can opt to build another room on the side of your home or create another floor on top. However, be sure you remain compliant with the local building codes as you think of this. For instance, your extra bedroom should have at least one bedroom and an open window to act as potential fire escape routes should such disasters occur.

3. Home Theater Room Addition

If you are thinking of ways to transform your home to feel more enjoyable and luxurious, then you should consider making a home theater room addition. Depending on your taste and preference, you can always have these rooms customized to offer optimum luxury, replenishment, and entertainment for you and your family. Whether you want to bring the blockbuster movie experience home as you enjoy good family time, a home theater will always give you a touch of luxury, complete comfort, and convenience. Plus, they'll put you at the right-center of action of sights and sounds.

4. Playroom Additions

Playrooms are fun places meant for kids to play when they want some time alone. Until they reach a certain age, kids can be playful and untidy. As a concerned parent, you wouldn't want to limit your young one from playing and exploring the environment. In fact, it is more fun if you become their playmate. Therefore, aside from enhancing your quality family time, these home additions also help keep the rest of your home clean.

Besides making your home more valuable, home additions also increase the square footage of your home, making it more spacious for your family living. While there are several home addition ideas you can think of, the above-mentioned ones will enhance your family time but also make your living much more enjoyable.

6 Ways to Make Your New Nooks and Crannies Cozy Quickly

Seniors often move into smaller homes to cut back on costs, eliminate maintenance, or to be closer to family. But even if the move is a much-anticipated event, it takes time to settle into a new house — and this is especially true if you’re running a business while you’re moving. Fortunately, House To Home Organizing is here to share five tips on how to make your new walls feel as welcoming as the ones you left behind.

1. Make safety a priority. Maybe you’ve just begun to notice little twinges of pain when you walk, or perhaps you’re already using a mobility device. Regardless of your current abilities, if you don’t feel completely safe in your new house, you won’t feel at home. Before moving in, evaluate potential dangers such as high bathtub walls and stairs that are too steep. Home Security List explains that simple modifications can make your home much safer. These include grab bars in the bathroom, extra lighting in dim areas, and making repairs to torn or uneven carpet. It’s also important to have your locks changed. Search for locksmiths in your area who get top marks and have been in business for a while. 

2. Consider the things you can’t see. Lead, mold and undiscovered rodent or roach infestations can all trigger health complications ranging from allergies to decreased brain function. The presence of airborne particles can cause respiratory disorders and exacerbate other conditions.  The EPA reports that moving into a new home may cause serious health effects and notes that indoor pollutants may be caused by human activities – you have no way of knowing what went on in the house before you arrived, making this danger almost impossible to determine until it’s too late. ScienceDirect reports that, “Seniors spend 95 percent of their time indoors,” and that means prolonged exposure to potentially toxic air. 

Have your new home’s air checked for issues; even if none are currently present, the easiest and least expensive way to prevent air quality problems is by simply replacing your HVAC filter. Failure to do so will allow harmful dust and debris to pass right through ducts and circulate throughout the interior. If you can’t locate the size, simply use a tape measure to determine each number.

3. Organize your space. One of the best ways to settle into your new home is to get everything organized and put in its place. This includes knick-knacks and decorations you want to show off (more on that in a minute). If you have a lot of important documents and paperwork taking up a considerable amount of space, consider digitizing that content into a PDF file. You can store PDFs on your computer, allowing you to quickly access the info whenever you need. PDFs file sizes can get pretty big, so use free tools online to reduce PDF file size whenever necessary.

Don’t forget that if you want to give your organizing efforts a professional touch, then you need to get touch with the pros at House To Home Organizing.

4. Showcase your favorite things. You might be proud of your new home and want a clean and modern look, but empty walls and barely cushioned couches don’t make a home. Tossing all of your personal belongings in lieu of impersonal décor is a huge mistake.

5. Host a family dinner. Nothing endears a location more than making memories with the people you love. And there are no better ways to make these memories than by cooking and eating a meal together. As soon as you get settled, ask your friends and family to come for Sunday supper. A long afternoon surrounded by smiles and laughter will infuse the atmosphere with happiness and joy.

6. Get involved with the community. Aside from the interactions you enjoy under your new roof, you’ll also feel more at ease by getting to know your neighbors and meeting other like-minded seniors. A quick online search for local senior centers will open up a new social network that can enhance your quality of life both at home and when you’re away.

It’s possible to get comfortable in unfamiliar surroundings. Make safety your top priority and don’t neglect the issues that can blindside you later down the road. Keep your beloved personal items close and your family even closer. In no time, your new home will feel like you’ve had it forever.