Let me just say it, one of the most hectic things about the summer holidays is keeping organised.
I’m human. I’m neurodivergent. And yes, there are shortcuts even a professional organiser and cleaner takes in their own home. I’m not above it. None of us should be.
The Holiday Washing Spiral
Over the holidays, keeping on top of washing is genuinely difficult. The kids are home, changing three times a day, throwing their PJs in the wash after one night. If you miss just one of your two loads a day, suddenly you’re two weeks behind.
And it’s not just “doing the washing.” It’s the gathering, the sorting, the washing, the waiting, the forgetting, the washing again, the dryer or hanging, the folding, and the putting away. When you’re doing that for three or more people, plus being a mum, keeping the kids occupied, cooking, cleaning, baking, trying to keep sane, it gets tough. Really tough.
My shortcut during the holidays? I stuff. I start to stuff clothes into drawers. Then when I see the rest is already stuffed, I just keep stuffing until everything is overflowing. Not pretty. Not Pinterest-worthy. But survival.
The key is, I know that in February when routine comes back, I sort again. Fresh start. Clean slate. Until the next December-January chaos rolls around.
The First Weekend After They Go Back
So, that first weekend after the kids go back to school. I sit down and I sort.
Here’s exactly how I do it, step by step. It’s not complicated. It doesn’t need to be.
Step One: Pull Everything Out (10-15 Minutes)
I pull out all the clothes. Every single thing. Then I create piles of different types:
- Shorts
- Skirts
- Pants
- Dresses
- Jumpers
- PJs
- Undies
- Socks
- Long sleeve
- Short sleeve
As I’m sorting, I take out anything that’s too small. This is the first cull. It happens naturally as you handle every piece.
Grab the Extras (Another 10 Minutes)
Then I grab down last year’s “too big” pile and sort through any that will fit them now. Whoever I’m actually sorting for at the time, I go to the laundry and grab all their clothes and chuck them in the washing machine, ready to add to the pile once they’re clean.
Then I walk away.
I do all the other things that us parents need to do on a weekend. Have a coffee. Make snacks. Make lunch. Unpack the dishwasher. Put other people’s clothes away. Yell at my children to stop yelling.
Once the washing is done and dried, I add those clothes to the piles.
Step Two: The Quality Check (10 Minutes)
Now I check over all the clothes that are left. Stains, rips, worn out, faded. I take out anything that needs to be binned or donated.
The stained ones? If I like them, or my kids really love them, I set them aside to give a proper clean later. (I’ll share my cleaning tips for stained clothes in a future post, stay tuned.)
Step Three: The Second Cull (10 Minutes)
This is where I always get more brutal. I count how many they have of each item and make a decision about how many they actually need.
Do they really need 14 t-shirts? Probably not. Eight? That’ll do.
This second pass always surprises me. I find things I missed the first time, duplicates I didn’t notice, items that are technically fine but never get worn.
Now It’s Time to Put It All Back
Time to fold and make sure the kids can actually see their clothes easily.
My daughter has nine drawers, and the hanging rod in her room is almost too high for me. So this part is about planning, where should everything go so it’s accessible to her and as user-friendly as possible?
If you’re like me and forever changing, evolving your spaces, this is the part where I empty the cupboard entirely and figure out the best configuration. If that’s not your thing, you can absolutely skip the rearranging and just fold everything back in neatly.
The Playroom Factor
We have a playroom that’s sectioned pretty evenly between my daughter and son. Things that are mostly one or the other get stored in their rooms. For my daughter, that’s Barbies and her dolls.
Making Way for School Uniform
My daughter is now in prep (cue the tears) so I need to make space for school uniform. My plan is to install another rod and hang all her dresses. That frees up drawer space for uniforms.
Her cupboard didn’t need a huge overhaul since I’d organised it not long ago. But her baby doll stuff? That had been annoying me. She knows to put them back in the bags, but we’d just been popping them next to her tallboy, and it was not pretty.
Working With What You’ve Got
I pulled all her Barbie stuff out and grouped it together, then organised everything into different containers she can actually reach.
This is my biggest thing, if I can avoid spending money and utilise the things we already have, I always will. Sure, it might not always be Pinterest perfect, but everything has a home, and that means it can always go back neatly.
I organised all her hair accessories and “makeup” and made sure to put the non-slip material underneath, this stops her getting frustrated that she can’t open the drawer. Small detail, big difference.
I put all her baby doll things in the cupboard underneath the new rod for clothes. Out of the way, but still accessible for play.
The Fold and Put Away (30 Minutes)
Ready to fold and put away! This took me about 30 minutes, folding and putting away every single piece of clothing, tucking all the “too big” items at the top of her cupboard for next time.
The Real Test
Next is the real test. It’s the one where my daughter comes in and assesses my work.
Did I do okay? Will she approve? It is her room after all.
Lucky for me, she LOVED it. She instantly pulled out her step to grab some Barbies down and started playing. Started talking to her babies and feeding them.
That’s the moment that makes it worth it. When the system works for them, not just for you.
One Down, One to Go
That’s organise number one done! Now to tackle the stained clothes, which is part of the daily to-do anyway.
Next week, my son’s room! Subscribe to get notified when it drops.
The Bonus: My Laundry Rearrange
I ended up rearranging my laundry and linen closet too. Plot twist. I had no idea what to do with the shelf that was in Sophie’s closet, so I repurposed it in the laundry.
It needs a couple of tiny tweaks and then I’ll take some photos and share it properly. But here’s the gist of my laundry setup:
This is my base station. I keep my everyday cleaning supplies here, with the bigger stuff out in the garage. It’s my grab-and-go station. Making life easier is the whole point.
A few things that work for me:
- Kmart bucket strainer for soaking clothes, cheap and does the job
- Clear benchtop - when the laundry area is clear, I actually want to get laundry done and put away. Clutter breeds avoidance
- Double washing baskets - I have three sets, so laundry gets sorted the moment it comes in. They’re labelled so everyone knows where to put things: dark, light, white, black, towels, bedding
- Plants everywhere - the laundry gets the most humidity in the house, so my plants live in here and they’re thriving
- The dryer - I would genuinely not survive without it
Need help with your post-holiday reset? I’m a professional organiser who actually gets it, the chaos, the overwhelm, the ADHD brain that makes it all harder than it should be.
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