Organized Home Inventory System

Last updated on March 6th, 2024

Inside: All the organized home inventory system basics. Find out how to set up an organized home inventory system that works for your household to guarantee you won’t ever run out of anything again.

Why A Home Inventory System Is Important

Is there anything more annoying than realizing you’re completely out of a household staple? Like when you realize you just used the last of your shampoo and you’ve got none left. It’s the worst! Especially when you know you won’t have time to run to the store that night for more.

Well today I’m going to share my home inventory system with you so that this won’t happen to you anymore! Say adios to those late night trips to Walmart after a busy work day.

Setting up a home inventory system that works for your household is crucial to staying organized and always having the supplies you need to run your home effectively. I’m talking household cleaners, laundry supplies, toiletries and makeup, and even kitchen staples.

First, Get Organized

The very first step towards developing a home inventory system is to get organized. You cannot possibly keep track of which toiletries to buy if you’ve got body soap in 5 different cupboards and closets of your home. Create a list of which areas need organized and just tackle these spots one at a time.

Areas that might need some organizational TLC:

• Linen Closet
• Bathroom Closet
• Bathroom Cupboards (all bathrooms)
• Kitchen Pantry
• Kitchen Cupboards
• Basement Shelving Storage
• Mudroom or Garage Shelving Storage
• Under Kitchen Sink
• Laundry Room Shelves or Cupboards

Basically, anywhere that you store:

• Cleaning supplies
• Toiletries
• Laundry supplies
• Baking supplies / cooking supplies

1. Organize

If you missed my Kitchen Pantry Organization Post, be sure to check it out. In that post, I detail the 5 steps to take when tackling any organizational project in your home. You’ll need to follow those steps to organize your spaces prior to being able to set up your home inventory system.

Once you’ve organized your spaces and grouped your items together, it’ll be so much easier to routinely take inventory of what you’ve got and what you need. I like to line things up in rows when it comes to organizing my cupboards and closets, similar to how a retail store would organize their products.

Lining things up like this gives each item a ‘home’ so that you always know where your stuff is. For bathroom stuff, I line it up in the way you’d use things, such as: shampoo, conditioner, soap, shaving stuff. Or for cleaning supplies, I might line things up in groups: toilet cleaners, shower cleaners, window/mirror cleaners, carpet cleaners, etc. For my vanity cupboard, I line things up in the order I complete my bathroom routine. For example: eye makeup remover, face wipes, face cleanser, eye lotion, acne cream, face lotion. Just all in a line and ready to go one by one.

Once you’ve got things organized the way you like them and in a way that makes sense, it’s time to move to step two.

2. Keep One Extra

The next step towards maintaining your home inventory is to constantly keep one extra. It’s that simple. Keep one extra of just about everything in your house and you’ll never run out of anything again.

For example: Toothpaste. Keep a toothpaste by your toothbrush and another in your bathroom closet. When you run out of toothpaste, grab the new one and put it out, but set the old one aside until you have a moment to add it to your shopping list. Do not throw this item away until it is on your list. Having that visual reminder of the empty tube of toothpaste will help hold you accountable when it comes to ordering more.

Make an effort to add it to your ongoing shopping list that day. You’ll end up with trash everywhere if you don’t keep up on adding your items to your shopping list. So be punctual here and take the two seconds to add it to your list within the day.

Shopping List Options

I don’t love the idea of paper shopping lists. Paper lists can get lost or forgotten about or spilled on. They also, aren’t always where YOU are. You might leave your list upstairs, but run out of something downstairs. Chances are you won’t feel like running upstairs to jot it on your list.

If paper lists are your thing – go for it. But I like to just utilize my online shopping apps for keeping track of my shopping lists.

For me, I can’t live without Target free delivery, Amazon Prime, and Curbside Grocery Pick Up. Whenever I use the last of something, I just pull out my phone (which is pretty much glued to my hip) and add it into my online shopping cart.

Everyone is going to be different with this based on their household needs or size, but for me, I place the order once I have enough items to warrant a delivery. For some people, this might be once a week or once a month. For us, it’s every couple weeks or so.

Online shopping is especially helpful for difficult seasons of life. Whether that be the newborn stage, a difficult pregnancy, when the household is sick, or when you’ve got a hectic week, etc. If you aren’t doing your shopping this way, I highly recommend giving it a shot! As a parent, I can’t live without it.

If you want to get really tech savvy, you can even go ahead and utilize Amazon’s Subscribe & Save program. I use this for diapers, wipes, vitamins, and any other product that I use every single day and can pinpoint when exactly we run out. This takes all the work out on your end. You’ll never even have to think about diapers, they just arrive at your door right on time.

An alternative to online shopping carts, is using the notes app on your phone. Just like using a paper shopping list, but always on hand. And it won’t ever get lost!

Keeping An Extra

So back on topic here with my toothpaste example. So you use up your current toothpaste, pull your extra from stock, and order your replacement toothpaste. Once it arrives, you put the new one where the ‘toothpaste gap’ is in your closet. Remember, everything has a ‘home’ so you’ll know exactly what needs ordered and where things go once they arrive.

This same rule can be applied to every area of your home. For example, I buy two mascaras. One I use, the other is still in the package. When I use up the last of my open bottle, I will jot it on my shopping list, open the waiting mascara, and once the new one arrives at the house, it’ll sit in wait until I need it. A constant rotation of products.

When looking at your baking or cooking supplies, again, this same rule will be applied. Have two vegetable oils, two jars of honey, two jars of jam, two bottles of ketchup, two bags of chocolate chips, two jars of bread crumbs, two bottles of vanilla, etc. When you use one up, pull the new one out, jot it on your shopping list, and buy it that week. Place the new product in the gap left behind when it arrives at your house.

Same Products for Multiple Rooms

A quick note on areas in your home that each need to be stocked with the same things…

So if you’ve got a couple bathrooms in your house and you like to store bathroom cleaning products under each bathroom’s sink, that’s totally fine. I do this too! What works for me in this regard is to keep each bathroom sink cupboard stocked exactly the same. They each have a bottle of Windex, paper towels, Clorox wipes, shower cleaner, and toilet bowl cleaner, etc.

But I keep a ‘master’ supply of these products in an overall cleaning supply closet. When I use up a product in one of my bathroom cupboards, I rotate items the same way I would anywhere else. So I would jot down the empty product, pull from my cleaning supply closet, and stock the bathroom cupboard. Once the replacement product is ordered and shipped to my house, I put it right back in the missing spot in the cleaning supply closet. Simple!

Start Up

At first, it might be a little costly to start this system up. But just slowly work your way around each room until you’ve covered every space. I promise, it’ll make your life so much easier. You won’t be left frustrated when cooking and running out of something or running to the store for laundry soap before work the next day.

It’s an easy system to maintain long term. I’ve been running my household this way for years. What’s great is that anybody else in the home can easily figure out this home inventory system. Your spouse can easily get on board with remembering where each product ‘lives’ and can add the last of a product to your shared online shopping apps.

Getting Far Ahead

One thing I love about this system, is that it’s so organized that if you wanted, you could get super far ahead with it. I do this when preparing for difficult or chaotic seasons of life, such as bringing home a new baby or honestly, even Christmastime. This year I’ll have both a newborn and Christmas at once! So I’ll be using the ‘get far ahead’ tactic for sure.

All this means, is that instead of having one extra of each item, I’ll keep a few extras. Not for every single thing in our house. But for the stuff that won’t expire and that we’ll use up fairly quickly, such as laundry soap, shampoo, conditioner, soap, dish tabs, garbage bags, etc. I’ll buy a couple extra so that I won’t have to worry about those basic household and toiletry needs while I’m navigating through the newborn stage and winter holidays.

You could also do this for great sales! I like to stock up on items when there is a great sale and it’s always so nice to not have to worry about purchasing replacements for awhile.

That’s a Wrap

I promise that utilizing these home inventory system methods will make your life so much easier. It’ll become second nature in no time and the rest of the household will easily jump on board. If you’ve got any questions about home inventory, please leave me a comment or a message, I’d be happy to answer any questions you might have!