Keri from One Mama’s Daily Drama: Take Small Steps First
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You know that kid that is naturally organized? That was Keri. Now she is a mom, inspiring parents on One Mama’s Daily Drama to discover how to take small steps and accomplish an organized life.
Wondering where to begin? Get our FREE guide, The 30-Minute Organizing Secret, and discover easy ways to overcome the chaos of clutter – even with kids at home!
Meet the Organizing enthusiasts that inspire you
This is part of an on-going series where we interview professional organizers and home organization enthusiasts. There are so many people that inspire tidiness and order every single day. Where would we be without them?
If you live in their area, you can even find a professional organizer near you from these interviews. Life gets chaotic, but these organizers are here to help.
These business owners and bloggers are rockstars! They have a serious talent for creating order out of chaos. And that deserves a standing ovation!
Keri houchin – one mama’s daily drama
Keri is the owner of One Mama’s Daily Drama, an inspirational blog that encourages people with simple DIY tutorials and free printables.
One Mama’s Daily Drama started out as a hobby for Keri, but it soon grew to a place where she regularly reassured and inspired people to live organized and happy lives.
She currently lives in Texas with her husband and their two kids. She has been a blogger and freelance writer for 10 years, so she has lots of things to share with you.
We are thrilled to share some of her secrets with you!
What Are the most common questions you are asked?
People always ask me how I have time to do what I do. I always tell them that you have to start small with just one or two little things. Even as a naturally organized person, I get overwhelmed when my task list gets too long.
Usually, when that happens, I do a brain dump and write down everything that’s on my mind. I try to group it into categories – like chores, projects, errands, and “housekeeping” things like calling the dentist or sewing a button back onto a shirt. Then I estimate how long each item will actually take and give it a priority. I usually do a few of the fastest items first to get motivated and then tackle one of the big ones.
What are your favorite storage hacks?
While I love all the gorgeous organizing products at places like At Home and The Container Store, a lot of my best storage items have been recycled.
I’ve turned cereal boxes into magazine organizers, cut down cardboard to make drawer dividers, and painted empty glass jars to hold pens. If your budget has room for designer matching storage containers, go for it! But if it doesn’t, you can still get organized with things you already have around the house.
What made you really enjoy organizing in the first place?
I think I’ve always been an organized person. Growing up, I shared a room with my sister, who is 3 years younger than me. Our parents joked that we were Felix and Oscar from “The Odd Couple” because we’re so opposite in our tidiness. I was always coming up with ways to keep all our stuff organized and I’d do things like sort our LEGO bricks by color or alphabetize our bookshelf.
I feel like an organized room is calmer and I want my home to be a place that I can relax. I’ll make a big mess on a project, but at the end of the day I feel good knowing that everything can go back to its “home.”
Who is your inspiration?
I grew up watching Martha Stewart on PBS, and she inspired my love of cooking, crafting, and organizing. She was sort of the original lifestyle blogger (although I’m sure she doesn’t see it that way) and she really set the trends for how people decorated and organized their homes.
I love her entrepreneur/DIY spirit and I feel like that’s something I always related to.
You have to start small with just one or two little things. Even as a naturally organized person, I get overwhelmed when my task list gets too long.
– Keri from One Mama’s Daily Drama
What is your favorite way to label things?
Despite being a neat freak, I’m also pretty creative. I love to DIY label designs on my computer using Photoshop and print them out on Avery label paper. They make a lot of label sizes, but I’ve even printed on the full sheet labels and cut them out with scissors for a custom size/shape.
What are some of your favorite “must-have” storage products?
When my kids were little, I sorted all their toys into clear plastic shoe boxes. We still keep our LEGO pieces that way. I think the small containers are much easier for kids to work with than big toy bins.
I also love over-the-door shoe hangers. In my house, they hold all kinds of things – shoes, cleaning products, office supplies, etc. I prefer the fabric kind because they hold up a lot better than the cheap plastic ones.
What is the most popular thing you organize?
The biggie on my blog is my printable planner. I’ve been making one each year since 2015. It started off as something I wanted to make for myself because I couldn’t find one that did exactly what I wanted it to.
It’s sort of modular with daily, weekly and monthly pages. This year for the 2020 Printable Planner I added quarterly planning sheets too. I want it to be something that people can build and use in a way that works best for them.
The design is fairly lightweight, so if you’re a minimalist it will be appealing and if you love to decorate your planner pages, there’s plenty of room for creativity.
Has anything funny or memorable happened to you when you were on a job?
I once cleaned a pantry and found spices that expired in 2008.
Several years ago my dad brought me a box of miscellaneous papers that he’d found while cleaning out his garage. It had a photo of me on top, so he brought me the whole box without looking through it.
When I started sorting, I found photos of my mom and both my grandmothers! None of them are with us anymore, so it was a wonderful surprise. The photos now hang in my upstairs hallway.
If you could give everyone one piece of advice or word of encouragement, what would it be?
Like any project, organizing your home takes time. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by how much is left, but remember how far you’ve come. Even just sorting through one little shoebox a week can make a big difference in the long run. And remember that even bloggers with pretty photos on social media have clutter!
Keri’s Best home organization blog posts
Now that you know a little bit more about her, go check out some of her work! Her blog is so relatable. She has so many years of experience organizing her own home, you’ll love her stuff.
1. 2019 Printable planner
Keri split up the entire year into super easy-to-plan chunks. You’ll have to-do lists, year-at-a-glance, and weekly planning pages.
And you can store it all in a 3-ring binder! It’s such a fantastic tool that helps you stay organized.
Print out the 2019 planner.
2. How to Organize Your refrigerator and freezer
Keri shares lots of step-by-step pictures and tips in this post. One of them is to keep an inventory of what is in your refrigerator and freezer so you know when to clean it out.
3. LEGO Storage with printable labels
Are you overwhelmed with LEGOs? Then this post is for you! Keri shared some really easy LEGO storage tips. The best one is to sort them and label them. Your kids will be able to find the bricks they need in no time at all.
4. Organize Your Entire House with 10 Things
What are the 10 products that Keri uses the most in her house? Discover the 10 things that will organize your home in her post.
5. 6 THings to put in a family command center
Keri loves her family command center. It helps her entire family know what is going on and keeps all her schedules in one place. Read about her essentials for a family command center.
Where To Find Keri
She blogs regularly on One Mama’s Daily Drama.
Follow her online for updates and valuable organizing tips.
- Instagram – @KeriHouchin
- Facebook – One Mama’s Daily Drama
- Pinterest – @KeriHouchin
Struggling to get motivated? Sign up to get our FREE guide, The 30-Minute Organizing Secret, and discover easy ways to overcome the chaos of clutter – even with kids at home!
More Home Organization Guides
Learn how to organize your home like Keri. Here are some in-depth organization guides that will walk you through every step.
- Basement Organization Guide
- How to Organize Your Closets
- Complete Guide to Organizing Your Medicine Cabinet
Be sure to also check out the other home organizing experts we have featured. Follow them and pick up a few tips from their years of organizing experience.
