Ariel Kaye's 5 Golden Rules For Staying Organized With Kids

Ariel Kaye, CEO and founder of Parachute Home, has a house that looks just like you’d imagine. Calm and peaceful with an abundance of gorgeous neutrals and textures. It’s a vibe, and from the first step through the door you can tell that she lives and breathes the essence of her company. What you can’t tell at first though, is that two tiny people under the age of three live there. As you look further, you’ll notice clues: a small wooden espresso maker nestled next to the real one in the kitchen. A beautifully designed baby seat in the corner. A basket of blocks expertly hidden behind a cabinet. Ariel loves being a parent (you should see her with her kids, she absolutely lights up), but she doesn’t necessarily love all the stuff that comes with having kids. As someone who is visual and very affected by her surroundings, Ariel and her husband Trevor made a conscious choice from the beginning to bring their kids into an organized home.

And that’s where we come in. I met Ariel a few years ago when she was pregnant with her daughter Lou. She and Trevor were living in a tiny Venice bungalow at the time, and I came to help Ariel clear out the guest bedroom to turn it into a nursery. We decided to get the garage in shape first, and then we were able to store anything extra (baby clothes to grow into, Ariel and Trevor’s wedding mementos, etc.) there to make space for a crib and a few essentials inside the house. On the morning Lou was born, I was actually there adding a few baskets to her nursery. I had texted Ariel to ask her opinion on something, and Trevor responded to say she was literally having the baby at that very moment. The timing worked out perfectly, Domino Magazine came to shoot photos of the room the next day while Ariel and Lou were still in the hospital, and then they came home to a magazine-ready nursery.

Fast forward a couple of years. Ariel just had her second baby (a boy this time!) and it’s time for a little more space. She and Trevor move into a bigger home and my team and I come in to help them unpack and get settled quickly. We collaborate to set up systems in the kitchen, the garage, the bathrooms and the closets - and when it comes to toys, Ariel has made our job simple: there aren’t too many. Baskets are set up in each kids’ room with stuffed animals. In Lou’s room, she has a few more things: a mini kitchen, some musical instruments, a wooden eyeshadow palette (really!). There’s a landing upstairs that will eventually become a family hangout space, but for now it’s minimally decorated with a few bins of toys, a Montessori bookshelf (more on this later) and a small table for Lou to sit at.

When it comes to her kids, Ariel is very involved. She knows what tiny toy pieces go together, and exactly what they play with and how they play - she pays attention, and because she keeps the toys to a minimum, she doesn't get overwhelmed. Ariel seems to have unlocked the secret code to keeping kids organized and (lucky us!) she’s agreed to share it with us!

Ariel makes it a point to clean up before she goes to bed every night. “I think it’s important for kids to get in the habit of cleaning up after themselves, so we do the clean up song. Lou is really excited about cleaning up.” The key to success here is to make sure every item has a home (basket, bin, shelf, etc.) and to keep toys as pared down as possible.

You can make the most of having less by moving toys around in your home. “I learned early on that if you move toys to different rooms or even to different places in the same room, it feels completely new and fresh to kids.” Ariel makes a regular practice of swapping upstairs toys with downstairs toys, or even packing a few toys to take to the park. It’s all part of the philosophy of “thinking of ways to do more with what you have.” Another key element in this is reading. Books are easy to organize and a great way to keep kids entertained for chunks of time, “Lou now will sit in her room and just flip through her books for like 20 minutes.”

RULE #3: Organize so Kids Can Entertain Themselves

The beauty of this concept is that if kids can get toys out themselves, they can theoretically put them away themselves too. Lou is only two and a half, but she can get to all of her toys without help from an adult. They’re stored in baskets or bins near the floor, and her books are in montessori bookshelves that allow her to see the full covers and easily pick one out (which is especially useful for kids who are too young to read). “I think she feels very in control over her things, and her experience, and her fun, and that’s a really empowering thing for a 2 and a half year old.”

RULE #4: Introduce Gifts Slowly (Not All At Once)

On birthdays or holidays, Ariel makes it a point to tuck some of the gifts away in the garage to dole them out slowly. This keeps Lou from getting overwhelmed with too many at once, and it allows Ariel to keep the toy situation from getting out of control. If Ariel wants to introduce something new or buy herself some quiet time in the future, she can easily pick out a new toy for Lou.

“I think it actually can be overwhelming and too much for a little kid’s brain to have too many choices,” Ariel told me. Focusing on fewer, better options will foster a calm and creative environment for kids and makes staying organized so much easier.

Running a business while raising two kids will have its share of chaos no matter what, but following her basic principles helps Ariel keep her spaces as simple and stress-free as possible. Less time cleaning up = more time for enjoying the good things in life. That’s a win for Ariel and it can be one for you too.

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