Is Your House Clean and Organized at all Times?

Ever go to someone's house and find that its sparkling every single time?  Not one dust mite, not one sofa pillow out of place and you cringe remembering what you left behind in your house!  Well I find myself guilty!!! How do these women do it?  What's their secret?  If you're one of those women, I do hope that you will share your cleaning and organization regimen.

Being a working mom and wife, it's often times hard to keep my home as spotless as I would like.  Some may criticize and say that it's laziness but I can personally tell you it's more exhaustion!  Honestly, if I had the money, I would just pay someone to come in at least once a month to clean for me.  But alas, my budget does not permit.  So I find myself tidying up late at nights and on the weekends.  It's real hard to stay on top of the housekeeping, especially when your support system consists of just you and your husband.  Plus, it's hard to stay on top of a two year old and a four year old to make sure that they clean up their mess (although I will not stop trying)!  The funny thing is that I often times feel like my house can't stay clean for more than an hour when the kids are home!   

The place that gets the most clutter for me is my kitchen island and pantry.  Everyone comes home from work and school and dumps everything (toys, mail, papers, lunch boxes, etc) on or near the kitchen island.  My pantry can never stay organized because the munchkins are always moving things around as they swipe their snacks. My hubby and me are always on the go so we hardly have time to think about reorganizing it.  The constant clutter drives me nuts!  So I'm searching for a way to move a lot of the things that get put on the island organized into the pantry like - the backpacks, lunch boxes, important papers, etc. 

My hall closet is also a monster. We are a family that loves shoes so often you will find shoes spilling out of the closet into the foyer.  The kids will come home and just kick their shoes off right between the staircase and the closet. My goal is to find some sort of storage for their shoes on a daily basis.  Something that they can independently manage when they get home from school.  I've also been searching for storage solutions for guests to store their shoes since we request that guests remove their shoes upon entering our home. I definitely need an appropriate design solution for our convenience as well as our guests.

Recently I went to visit friends for the weekend and we got to talking about how hard it is to stay on top of the housekeeping and to stay properly organized.  I was relieved to find out that I am not the only one who struggles with keeping the house tidy and organized.  So lately I've been looking at various storage solutions to make organizing much easier.  Here are my latest finds and possible design solutions:

#1 - I love how organized this pantry is, the baskets in particular drew my attention. The wine rack is a cute idea!

#2 - I just thought this was the cutest pantry...had to share.  Look at the shelving on the outside, adorable!

#3 - Again, I love the idea of baskets on the shelves.  I will most definitely invest in some sturdy baskets and label them.

#4 - Again, I love the baskets and cereal containers.

#5 - I am kind of on the fence with this whole new trend of using the over-the-door shoe bags as additional storage.

#6 - Love this colorful storage solution for toys!

#7 - I currently use ottomans as storage for the kids toys but I'm in need of an upgrade.

#8 - I like this style of ottoman.

#9 - Again, I like the baskets and crate!  I could definitely use this idea for the lunchboxes.

#10 - So for my foyer and my shoe issues, I love the nooks, I love the drawers and the hooks would be perfect for the backpacks, briefcase and handbags. Problem solved instantly!

#11 - I like the idea of this but I'm not sure how I feel about it being in my foyer. 

#12 - Gorgeous Foyer!   I love the bench, the drawers, the lighting and the nooks.

#13 - Love this step by step project.  Baskets, cubbies and hooks are amazing.

#14 - Okay, so I guess I'm obsessed with baskets!  They seem to be the key to organization, especially for he kids shoes, hats, scarves, etc.!!!

#15 - Love this!

 So I think I am absolutely enamored with having functional storage solutions for my pantry, foyer and kids toys!  For our busy lifestyle, the following solutions seem to make the most sense for us #3, #7, #14 and #15.  Once we're done trying to coordinate storage solutions close to the above, I will post pictures. Wish us luck!

Oh and be kind, don't forget to share your cleaning and organization regimen as well! You know I absolutely love hearing from you guys. :-)

- All storage and organization pictures are courtesy of Pinterest.