Home organization ideas

Good organization is the key to productivity. So, help make your living space feel peaceful and organized with these home organization ideas! This post offers three simple strategies that will help you get the most out of your home: Decluttering, labeling, and maximizing storage space.

Keep reading for our tips and tricks!

Declutter: How to clear your home from clutter

Clutter is literally defined as “a collection of things lying about in an untidy mass” in the Oxford Dictionary. Having unsightly items left in a pile doesn’t just look untidy, though… Research by Saxbe and Repetti found that clutter also causes feelings of stress, anxiety, and depression.

So, tidying up doesn’t just help improve the interior design of your home, it improves the mental health of your entire family.

Professional organizer Marie Kondo also says that

When you put your house in order, you put your affairs and your past in order, too.

Marie Kondo in The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up

Now, clutter can easily build up in any home, so it’s important to take steps to remove it regularly. Scheduling organization time each month will help keep things more manageable. Set aside time when you can systematically go through every room and get rid of items that you no longer need or use… I’m looking at you, junk drawer filled with paper clutter, office supplies, and literally everything else…

Tips for decluttering

1. Systematically go through what you already have

There are two parts to this, in my opinion. There are spaces that you can easily see, like open shelving, baskets, and the coffee table, for example. Then there are the spaces that you don’t immediately see, like closets and drawers.

I would suggest going through the spaces that are immediately visible first and scheduling in time to go through the junk drawer and closets later on. This is because decluttering spaces that you look at every day will give you a more immediate feeling of accomplishment and will reduce stress and anxiety caused by clutter.

Also, if you’re like me (and so many others), those spaces are a bit more manageable. Drawers and closets that have accumulated too much stuff take more time and patience to go through. Tackling it all at once is way too overwhelming!

Working room by room, I suggest following advice by the Spruce. They say to start with having 5 bins, each designated for a specific purpose:

• Put away
• Fix/mend
• Give away (donate)
• Recycle
• Toss away (garbage)

Simply go through everything, being very honest with yourself about what you will actually fix or use again. This will help you efficiently declutter your entire home. Then, be sure to follow through! Donate items in the donation bin right away, set aside time to mend/fix anything you would like to keep, and put everything away in their respective homes. There are tips below for maximizing storage, too.

It’s also a good idea to go through the kitchen pantry every now and then, too. Get rid of any expired items and donate whatever you don’t need. Rotate whatever has to be used up to the front of the shelf.

2. Schedule it in

Life is wildly busy, and it can be tough to find time to declutter. By setting time aside specifically for this task, you can make the organizing process part of your weekly or monthly routine. Remember: You don’t have to declutter your whole house in a day! Rather, go for an entire room or category at a time.

3. New rule: One in, one out

Another simple tip is to put a limit on how many items you own, and whenever something new comes in, try to get rid of an old item. And, take advice from the KonMarie Method: If it doesn’t spark joy, give it away! Making space for only what you love (and actually use!) helps keep your home organized and filled with things that fill your heart.

Above, I suggested going room by room, as this is what works best for me. The KonMarie Method, on the other hand, suggests going by category. Whatever system works best for you, the important thing is once you’ve decluttered everything, keep it this way! Limiting the number of things you have is an easy way to prevent clutter from coming back, as is sticking to the organization system you set up.

Label Everything: How labeling can help you stay organized

Labels are one of the simplest home organization tools out there. Labels can be used to clearly identify what’s inside containers so you can easily grab the right item when needed. Place labels on shelves, bins, cupboards, drawers – anywhere where it makes sense!

BirchTree Organizing says that there are seven benefits to having a clear labeling system: Labels save time, provide clarity, increase chances of staying organized, reduce stress and frustration, increase productivity, save money, and are affordable. To read more on these points or get ideas for labeling systems, check out their article here!

Again, what is important here is the follow-through! Once you have a system in place, stick to it. Come back every once in a while to organize items that have fallen out of place, too.

For more home organization ideas, check out the video below!

Maximize storage space – Tips for getting the most out of every space

Having enough storage space is essential for home organization, especially in small homes. To optimize your home’s storage, consider investing in adjustable shelves and integrating drawers into cupboards and closets. You can also add hooks to walls or underneath shelves for items like bags, coats, and other accessories that won’t fit inside a drawer.

Home organization is all about finding creative ways to use the space you have – And here are some organizing tips to help!

Take advantage of vertical space

By taking advantage of wall space, shelves, cupboards and storage solutions that are higher off the ground, you can create much more organized and efficient living spaces and save space, too.

Wall-mounted shelving and hooks are a great way to organize items suc, h as books, electronics or decorative pieces. Adding vertical storage to closets and cabinets can also help maximize the space you have available. With thoughtful design, you can make the most of your vertical storage, helping keep everything organized and easy to find.

Here are some ways to create an organized space with vertical storage:

• Install shelving units: If you have the space, install shelving to help create more surface space for storage
• Use over-the-door organizers: Sometimes used to organize shoes, these are also helpful for storing personal items, linens, or cleaning supplies. This is one of the most effective and affordable ways to create more storage space!
  • Check out this post for quick and easy house-cleaning tips
• Use wall hooks: If not using an over-the-door organizer inside a closet, hang frequently used items with command hooks
• Make sure it’s easy to access items: By making it easy to see exactly what is on the shelf, you won’t need to rummage around while searching for something specific

Be sure to take advantage of the floor space underneath, too! Now you will have more storage space for small bins or baskets. Get ideas for storage with bins and baskets in the next section of this post.

Use storage bins and baskets

Storage bins and baskets are a great way to add storage. If you’re looking for DIY solutions, you can also use shoe boxes! These help you take advantage of otherwise unused space, like under the bed or under clothing racks in the closet.

Another thing to consider is your closet system. Storing seasonal clothes in a separate area helps reduce the number of things hanging in your closet. I usually put mine in boxes on the top shelf of the closet or in organizers under the bed.

Storage bins are also great for storing lots of small items, like craft supplies or admin supplies. Whatever you are storing, be sure to label the bins so you can easily access exactly what you need!

Get more advice for organizing craft materials here!

Drawer organizers

Drawer organizers are a total game-changer! You can buy them online. or in most department stores. There are three places I find using them to be especially helpful: the bathroom, the office, and in the sock drawer.

• Bathroom: Many of us have small toiletries and personal items that can easily make for messy drawers. I like to have a container for each small item, like bobby pins, hair ties, and makeup brushes
• Office: Similarly, there are lots of small office supplies that benefit from organizers, like paper clips, push bins, and the massive amount of pens that somehow accumulate over time
• Sock drawer: Use an organizer to separate small items inside of your dresser like socks and undergarments

For more tips to organize your office, check out our post!

Create a filing system

Whether you need to organize paperwork or the many beautiful drawings your littles create, having a designated spot to store them makes a big difference! I suggest using large binders with clear sheet protectors to file everything. This will help reduce paper clutter significantly!

Conclusion

Getting organized at home doesn’t have to be complicated! With these three home organization tips – decluttering, labeling everything, and maximizing storage space – you’ll be able to make the most out of your home while creating an environment that’s peaceful and productive.

When deciding how to set up your storage spaces, consider how you can find spots for extra storage by using bins and baskets and where you can utilize vertical space with hooks and hanging organizers. By labeling everything once you have organized, it will be easy to quickly find exactly what you need.

We hope that these tips have helped you take advantage of extra space in your home and effectively use what you already have, too!

FAQs

Resources

For more organization tips and tricks, check out some of these articles:

• Changing table organization ideas
• Nursery organization & baby room ideas
• Montessori toy storage: Room organization for kid’s spaces
• Ideas for sorting, organizing, and storing kid’s toys
• Snack storage ideas for organizing and packing snacks

References

No Place Like Home: Home Tours Correlate With Daily Patterns of Mood and Cortisol, by Darby E. Saxbe and Rena Repetti.

The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, by Marie Kondo