The end of a school year is packed full of classroom parties, teachers gifts to put together, summer camps to schedule, trips to plan, bags to pack…shall we go on? While a home organizing project might not be on the top of your list of to-do’s, we feel confident that creating peace and order in your home will help you achieve your goals.

Summer Travel Tips

Where are you headed this summer? Whether you’re taking a lavish vacation to somewhere dreamy or packing the family up for an adventurous road-trip, how you pack can be a game-changer in your travel experience.

Our method? This might surprise you, but it’s actually not packing lightly. We’re not light packers over here so we definitely don’t expect the same for you! OUR SECRET TO A RELAXING VACATION? A WELL-ORGANIZED SUITCASE.

invest in the right travel gear

For frequent travelers, the right suitcase can make or break your travel experience. There’s nothing worse (other than completely losing your luggage!) than a zipper breaking or a wheel falling off while you’re in route to your destination. We have a few suitcase favorites, however, Away suitcases are our co-founders go-to’s!

PRO TIP: Fearful of losing your luggage? Place an Apple AirTag somewhere in your suitcase so that you can track it during your travels. If you’re prone to leaving your carry-on luggage or handbags in the airport, it wouldn’t hurt to throw an extra Air Tag in those bags too;)

We recommend investing in packing cubes for each member of the family and you can even consider purchasing a different color for each child, especially if they are sharing a suitcase. Empower your kids by giving them small packing tasks from a young age (ex: packing socks and undies in a packing cube) and as they get older they’ll be fully packing their own bags in no time! The packing cubes also come in handy while you’re on vacation because you can use them for dirty laundry.

Trust us, when you’re on vacation with the family, opening up an orderly suitcase each day to get dressed makes the world of difference.

Keep beauty back stock

Christina’s #1 travel tip? Create a travel zone equipped with your go-to travel beauty products and essentials! She recommends keeping your travel case fully stocked with your everyday hair products, your daily skincare routine products, razors, perfumes, etc. That way if you need to hop on a plane in a jiffy your beauty products are already packed and ready to go!

When you return from your vacation, make it a part of your unpacking routine to replenish your travel case. If you’re a frequent traveler, even keeping extra makeup products in your travel case eliminates one extra task from your to-do list.

create travel zones

One of our favorite zones to incorporate into our clients’ homes is a travel zone. Whether you’re a frequent traveler or not, designating space specifically to travel will drastically decrease the amount of time it takes you to prepare for your trip.

Things to consider:

If you do not travel frequently, consider creating a travel bin for your packing cubes, travel accessories, etc. and store it in a guest room closet, hall closet, or even in the garage or attic. If you do store it in a non air conditioned space, opt for a heavy duty storage solution.
For frequent travelers, we recommend storing your travel zone in an easy to access location such as your primary closet.
If you do not have space in your home to store the entire family’s travel items together, incorporate a “travel” bin in each family members closet for their personal packing cubes, headphones, chargers, etc. If space allows, store each family member’s suitcase at the top of their closet making it easy to grab and go.

Summer Organization for Kids

There’s nothing better! The kids are home, the house is packed full of littles rummaging through the snacks and games, and tons of memories are being made! Let’s be honest though. Day #1 of summer is going to end with your snack drawer in disarray, markers and crafts all over the floor and summer clothing leading up the stairs. How does all happen so quickly?!

We can easily assume that kids won’t appreciate an organized space but time and time again we see otherwise in our clients’ homes. Kids appreciate systems. They love the labels. With clear expectations and boundaries your kids might surprise you!

Here are a few areas in your home to consider creating systems and solutions for before the summer months arrive:

crafts & activities

We have one word for you: micro-categorize. Kids crafts and activities are the perfect opportunity to get as detailed and specific as possible with your labels.

Use clear bins to prevent your children from needing to pull down multiple bins to find what they need.
When using larger bins, such as The Home Edit bins, be sure to use tall inserts for smaller items. For example: a bin labeled “art supplies” should include smaller bins inside to ensure each of your categories don’t bleed together. One small bin for markers. Another bin for crayons.
DON’T feel pressured to color coordinate. You won’t set anyone up for success by expecting red crayons to stay together.

Clearly labeled and easy to read multi-purpose bins are great for categories such activity books and stickers. To ensure smaller items don’t easily bleed together, our team recommends micro-categorizing within these larger Home Edit bins using tall organizers.

shop craft zone organization

Games & Toys

Let’s be honest, this topic deserves its own blog post because we know for so many of you this is the most overwhelming area in your home. But it doesn’t have to be! Not with the right systems and solutions in place, routines to keep you on track, and the right professional organizing team to make it all happen if you need the extra set of hands.

Utilize zippered vinyl bags for puzzles, games, Lego sets, and cards. For board games, cut off the title of the game on the box, tape it to the front of the bag and place the instructions inside the bag with all of the pieces. Want to hold onto the box? Wrap it with a rubber-band and store vertically.
DON’T color coordinate your Legos. This is a category that can stay general. A “Legos” bin that your kids can throw all the Legos into will suffice.
Early readers benefit from block letters on labels. Kids who haven’t started reading yet can still keep up with the system by following picture cues. You can buy illustrated vinyl labels or print pictures and use adhesive photo sleeves to attach them to your system.
Play costumes: Have a closet in the playroom? Buy a set of garment bags and label them by child or category. This frees the closet from being filled with sequins and tulle and makes it a special event when the costumes are unveiled. No closet, no problem. A decorative basket is a great spot for dress-up clothes and accessories.
In drawers, we recommend organizing items into micro-categories using shallow acrylic containers to avoid items getting mixed up in long drawers. These are available in multiple sizes allowing you to customize the solution to your space and items.

shop toy organization

clothing & accessories

Kids are remarkably adaptive. With the right system in place—one that meets their needs and clearly identifies what goes where—it’s entirely possible for little ones to maintain order and take responsibility for their own space.

Before the summer season arrives, be sure to go through all of your kids’ clothes to pull items that no longer fit or are damaged.
For maintain order in drawer space, utilize drawer dividers and don’t forget to label the drawer!
Put labeled bins up high to help make your next seasonal swap a breeze. “Next Season,” “Next Size,” “Sell,” “Donate” and “Activity” bins help control inventory that doesn’t need to be a part of the daily rotation.
If your child loves treasures and enjoys holding on to “things” (moms you get it…the random rock from the playground, the toy from Chick-Fil-A) we recommend creating a bin labeled “treasures” for these special collections. When it gets full, the child has the responsibility of choosing what goes to make room for new treasures.

shop kids clothing organization

Snack Station

Admit it, it’s true. the first place your kids are heading when summer arrives is the SNACK ZONE! If your little people are in your pantry day in and day out, asking for food, moving things around, and eating their way through your supplies, a designated snack station may be just what you need to reinstate order and reign in the chaos.

Chaos comes when you try to combine several different categories (if you’ve ever had a general “Snack” bin, you’ll know what we mean). The more you micro-categorize, the more successful you’ll be in establishing a system that will last for the long haul. The key is to ensure every category has a clear and distinct place.

shop snack zone solutions

Looking for kids organization inspiration? The Graceful Spaces Stylish Sanctuary Home Tour featuring fashion and lifestyle blogger Nasreen Shahi is packed full of inspiration! It’s a must-see! Click here to take the full tour!

Summer Hosting

If you've been following Graceful Spaces for a while, you’ll know that we’re pretty passionate about hosting guests in our home. Over the years, we have compiled a list of different ways you can ensure your guests have a restful and enjoyable experience as a guest in your home.

The “Help Yourself” Basket

Traveling takes a lot of your guests, so we love to put together a basket stocked with essentials someone might need during their stay. This is also one of our favorite things to put together in our clients homes too. Curious what we include? Find the full list here.

Go Above and beyond

We like to include these items in the guest room to ensure visitors have a comfortable stay:

A welcome note with the WiFi password
A robe and slippers (especially if the bathroom they will be using is not attached to the bedroom or will be shared with others)
A small fan
An extra phone charger
Snacks and water bottles (we asked what you would want to see in a guest room and this was the #1 answer!)
A blow dryer
Extra towels, including a Weezie towel (to ensure your white towels stay white!)
A simple flower arrangement or orchid

The Graceful Spaces Casa Sirena project included sourcing, ordering, fully stocking and installing over 3000+ home essentials into our clients secondary beach home. This home was designed for hosting and it’s packed full of inspiration!

Tour Casa Sirena Project

Summer Outdoor Organization

A well-organized garage and outdoor space can be a game-changer! Our biggest tip? Don’t skip the most important step in the organizing process— labeling. Once you get your items categorized, edited and in their proper homes, the key to sustainability is labeling. Without the visual reminder for the entire family, items will get put back wherever space is found…and that’s a recipe for clutter.