Last Updated on September 8, 2022
Do you have an organized home? Some people think they have an organized home, but upon closer inspection, they just happen to know where everything is, rather than having a specific place for each and every item.
Clutter and disorganized cabinets, surfaces and drawers actually make us more stressed–both mentally and financially. You’re stressed because you can’t seem to find anything, and since you don’t know what you’ve got, your wallet feels the burn because you keep buying stuff you already have.
To help you get organized, we’ve outlined some of our favorite ways to clear the clutter and take back your space.
In the kitchen
The kitchen is easily the biggest area of improvement in terms of organization. Most homes could benefit from a better organized pantry, fridge, drawers and cabinets.
First and foremost, you should be going through your fridge on a weekly basis and evaluating the contents. Purge what’s out of date and throw whatever’s salvageable into dinner, so you’re not throwing away food that can be saved.
Beyond clearing out your fridge routinely, you can easily organize a mess by purchasing clear containers to store like items. Once you’ve got everything organized, make sure to label each bin, so everyone else in the household can easily identify where things go.
Moving on to your kitchen counters, start by decluttering the space. You want to focus on only keeping the items you really need on a frequent basis. Once you’ve identified what needs to stay, find decorative jars and/or containers to neatly contain your items.
Trust us, once you organize your pantry, you’ll never let it go back to its former decluttered state. Just like with fridge organization, you can easily access everything you have when you group like items. The trick here is to take inventory of what you have first and then buy containers for your pantry staples.
- Clear slim containers work best to store items like oatmeal, cereal, flours and flaxseed, as they take up less space.
- While large plastic bins work well to store grab and go items.
- Use a lazy susan in an underutilized corner of your pantry to provide a place for condiments to go.
- Don’t forget about using the back of the door space–everything from oven mitts to brooms and even pot lids can be cleverly stored there.
Create space for shoes, backpacks, coats and hats
Not having a space to store coats, backpacks and shoes can quickly make your house look like an unorganized mess. Don’t have a mudroom? No problem! Here are ways to create one with what you’ve got:
- Place a simple bench by your back door and either place coat rack next to it or install hooks above the bench. Add baskets below the bench to keep shoes organized.
- Convert your small coat closet to a mudroom by taking off the doors and adding a bench, hooks and baskets for storage.
- Use a corner of the garage to create a mudroom.
Find somewhere to store papers
Loose papers stacked on various surfaces throughout your home can quickly make even the cleanest homes feel dirty.
- Even if you don’t have an office you can use file folder for important documents
- Hang up a tiered organizer by the back door to store mail and lose papers
- Use an attractive linen storage box to collect papers on a console table
Too many toys
Parents of young children often find themselves exhausted by the mess too many toys bring. Take back your home by sorting through toys on a quarterly basis and make three piles-keep, store for later and donate.
Children don’t need toys in every room, and actually spend more time playing and are more engaged when there is less to play with. By storing toys away for later and only keeping out a few key play items, you’ll constantly be circulating “new” toys in the mix.
Store toys in attractive baskets or even check out some of the inexpensive bookcases and corresponding baskets to corral the clutter.
Keep reading: How to organize your garage
