5 Ways to Keep Your Home Organized During Summer Break

Summer is meant to be fun, long days, spontaneous adventures, and memory-making with your family. But let’s be real: it can also be chaotic, messy, and filled with snack wrappers and wet swimsuits in all the wrong places.

Here are 5 ways to keep your home organized during summer break to make it smoother, saner, and way more manageable. These are not going to make your life Pinterest-perfect (summers never are). They’re real-life tested and mom-approved.

How to Keep Your Home Organized During Summer Break

1. Create Summer Stations That Work for You

Summer always looks a lot different than your typical school weekdays. The goal in creating stations is to get fewer questions, fewer messes, and give your kids more independence. Here are a few ideas:

• Hang scissors right on the fridge with a magnetic clip (goodbye daily popsicle-wrapping battles).

• Place a small garbage can next to the fridge — kids can toss wrappers right away.

• Set up a charging station in the garage for scooters, hoverboards, and toy cars. Use labeled cords so everyone knows what belongs to what.

• Hang helmets directly next to the bike or scooter they belong to. No more scrambling.

These small tweaks create smoother routines without a million reminders from you.

2. Use Hooks Everywhere

And I mean everywhere! Summer comes with stuff from swimsuits, to wet towels, to hats, to bags, and much more. Using hooks will help create homes for the clutter that inevitably builds up. Here are a few locations where I have used hooks in my home:

• Bathroom for towels and swimsuits

• Garage for beach bags and gear

• Outside for towels or wet clothes

• Entryway for backpacks and hats

Designate a hook for each kid (bonus points if you label them) so there’s no excuse for things ending up as clutter on the floor.

3. Simplify Summer Laundry

The biggest laundry problem in my home is the insane amount of towels that accumulate. Let’s end the “six towels per day” madness!

• Assign one towel per person, per week (it helps if each person has a different color).

• Store all sunscreen by the door so it’s easy to apply before heading out.

• Keep a “summer drawer” or bin near a door with swim gear, goggles, and flip-flops ready to grab and go.

Less laundry = more lemonade time!

4. Pack Once, Use Often

Spontaneity becomes way easier when you're prepared. Create a few pre-packed activity bags that stay ready to go:

• Picnic bag: blanket, utensils, wipes, paper plates

• Pickleball bag: paddles, balls, sunscreen, water

• Pool bag: towels, sunscreen, goggles, swim diapers

• Hiking bag: snacks, bug spray, mini first-aid kit

Restock after each use so you’re always ready for another adventure. Your future self will thank you!

5. Make Meal Cleanup a Breeze

Eating outside in the summer is pure magic and it's practical too. Here’s a few systems you can implement in your home to make meal cleanup easier for everyone:

• Put a wipeable tablecloth on your outdoor table for fast cleanup.

• Serve meals picnic-style: paper plates, easy-to-clean trays, or even bento boxes.

• And most importantly: declare it a no-cup summer. Everyone gets their own labeled water bottle, and that’s it. No more 14 half-empty cups on the counter.

You don’t need a massive overhaul to make your summer run more smoothly. A few small shifts, some labeled hooks, pre-packed bags, and good systems, can give you more time to enjoy the season instead of cleaning up after it. The truth is, summer doesn’t have to feel like survival mode. It can be fun, functional, and even (dare we say it) relaxing.

Let’s stay organized this summer so we can actually enjoy it.

Jen is the founder of Reset Your Nest, a Professional Home Organizing Business in Utah (servicing Salt Lake City, Park City, Ogden, Alpine, Highland, Mapleton, and St. George). She loves creating order and systems out of chaos and is known for bringing a beautiful aesthetic as well as easy to maintain function to any space. She shares her tips and tricks on Instagram @reset_your_nest.