Back when Instagram was the only platform I spent time on, I shared a lot of small organizing tips.
Short videos, a minute or two, one idea at a time. People found them useful.
Recently Jo, a mom of two and an engaged subscriber, left a comment on my post about repurposing my kids’ notebooks: “Ann, you have the best ideas! You need to do a video on this. People here would love it.”
It got me thinking about another way to repurpose.
Every Sunday, I’ll share a tiny tidy tip from my video archive. Some are things you can try showing your kids. Others can help bring you a little relief, so you have more capacity for everything else already on your plate.
I do have a disclaimer.
I used to love sharing these tips, until I noticed a pattern from my clients. Before working with me, most of them had tried piecing together tips that brought short-term relief. But they still ended up reorganizing the same spaces, trying out different containers, or accepting that they had to live with the mess.
When the same spaces keep falling apart, no one has failed. There are often several reasons it isn't working, and they're hard to see when you've been living with or working around them for a while.
It's a little like when something gets messed up and you ask your child, "Why did you do that?" and get silence. If they knew, they would have done it another way. The same is true for us.
That’s why I stopped making those videos. A tip can’t address what’s happening in your home. On its own, it won’t make a lasting difference or develop long-term habits and internal motivation. Still, I understand now that a small step can matter.
Sometimes one thing goes a little easier, and something else shifts. You feel a bit of hope. You think, maybe we can do more.
So I’m sharing these videos again, this time with more context.
Closing a bag in a certain way won’t fix a pantry that keeps getting disorganized, but it can be a first step.
Every family starts somewhere. This could be one place to begin.
If you find yourself wanting more than small steps, a way for your family to feel “done” with organizing, so you’re no longer the only one carrying the care of the home, that’s the work I do with families.
And maybe you’ve never worked with a home organizer. Or you have, but not with someone who centers the parent-child connection (not many people have). You’ve tried to do it on your own, but something still doesn’t feel right and you can’t figure out why.
Let's chat. Together we can get to the root of the chaos, and I can show you how I'd help your family find harmony in your home that lasts, with kids who know how to care for their things and a parent who has the skills to confidently guide them.
