5 Organizing Tips for Your Home
Whether you live alone or in a family of five, keeping your house organized can be a challenging task. This post outlines 5 organizing basics to get your home under control and help you gain some victories over your organizing challenges.
We know how easy it is for clutter to pile up by the day. The bigger the mess, the lower the motivation to get things done.
Figuring out where to start is half the battle. And, it doesn’t have to be complicated.
So, it’s time to take a look at 5 organizing tips to help you get on the pathway to becoming more organized.
Organizing Tip #1: Have a Place for Everything
One thing I enjoy doing is putting things away where they belong.
Consider playing some music, or, listening to a podcast, while putting things away. Before you know it, you’ll be finished. It’s worth a try.
The best thing to do to avoid clutter piling up and seeing a mess in every corner of the house is to have a place for everything.
Keep toys in toy boxes, tools in toolboxes, laundry in the laundry hamper. Even having a junk drawer is helpful.
This way, if you end up tripping on a toy firetruck in the living room, you know where it goes. Or even better, encourage your little ones to put their toys away when they’re finished playing. This creates good habits for the future.
Organizing Tip #2: Declutter Regularly
If you declutter as you go, you’ll be on the way to a more organized home.
Clutter build-up is real. Especially with more people working from home and kids attending school online.
As you know, clutter can multiply quickly.
Are there items piling up, such as paper clutter, that you haven’t gotten to yet?
Or, maybe there’s a spot, or, two in your home where things accumulate that you don’t pay much attention to, because they’re known as “hot spots”. You’ve become accustomed to seeing clutter in these areas.
So, stop clutter at the source by decluttering regularly.
Make a plan to create a new spot for these items that you will keep organized. The garage, a drawer, a box, or a basket.
If you haven’t already done so, download the Declutter Starter Guide to get some control over this.
Decluttering doesn’t have to take hours, it can be done quickly. You can even set a timer or turn it into a game with the family to see who can finish their area first. Nothing like some healthy competition while tidying up!
You’ll be relieved when that spot is decluttered. It’s amazing how you can develop a new sense of appreciation for your home when it’s not cluttered with stuff.
Organizing Tip #3: Keep an Updated Shopping List on your Smartphone
Get organized with your shopping by having an updated list.
I don’t know about you, but I find this tip extremely helpful, especially in these times. Rather than continuing to add items to an already used list, keep your list up to date. This way you won’t end up buying duplicates or triplicates, for that matter.
As mentioned earlier, stop clutter at the source.
Now, it’s important to save for a rainy day and to have some extra supplies. The critical piece is to be mindful of the space you have, rather than buying multiples of something and not having any place to store what you purchased.
Over-purchasing could be how you ended up with clutter in the first place.
Use what you have and then update your list for more, specifying the quantity.
To make this tip even more useful, check items off your list, as you put them in your shopping cart when you’re at the store.
Organizing Tip #4: Purchase Dual-Purpose Furniture
There’s something to be said about dual-purpose furniture. For example, ottomans and benches with built-in storage, provide both a stylish touch and storage space.
You’ve got the decorative aspect and the space to store things like extra cushions, throw blankets, you name it. And, the versatility doesn’t end there. Ottomans add functionality for leg rest when you just need to put your feet up after a long day, or perhaps you haven’t had a long day, but, need some good old couch potato time.
Now, here’s another benefit of benches and ottomans. Let’s say that a friend just called to let you know that she’s on her way over to your home for a visit (provided that visits are now okay, given the times we’re in). And, let’s also say that your place is messier than you’d care to admit. You’ve got very little time to tidy up, however, there is time for a temporary storage solution. And, you’d be surprised how much this storage can hold in ottomans and benches.
Remember, this is a temporary solution! You’ve got to put things back where they belong. As previously outlined, it’s important to have a place for everything.
At the end of the day, the goal is to keep your home organized so that when someone shows up without much notice, there’s no frenzy!
Organizing Tip #5: Use Drawer Organizers
Drawer organizers are dividers placed inside your drawers to divide your particular items into separate compartments. Using these organizers is a much better option than throwing your belongings inside the drawers and rifling through everything in search of what you’re looking for.
Drawer organizers also save time as you will able to open the drawer and get what you need after a quick look.
You will now be able to make better use of space as you can place related items together.
In addition, some kitchen items can removed from the counter when there is a dedicated space for them in a drawer.
Drawer organizers can help you achieve the goal of putting everything in its proper place.
Also keep in mind they are aesthetically pleasing. Everything looks tidy inside drawer organizers.
Drawer organizers come in a variety of sizes and configurations. Many of them can be made to fit in any size drawer.
You can get drawer organizers that will hold a variety of items such socks, underwear, cutlery, and much more.
Finally
So, there you have it – 5 organizing tips to get your home under control.
It’s helpful to have these on hand to help you get organized.
Just to recap, here are the 5 organizing tips:
- Have a Place for Everything
- Declutter Regularly
- Keep an Updated Shopping List on your Smartphone
- Purchase Dual-Purpose Furniture
- Use Drawer Organizers
Remember to enlist help, AKA delegate to your family. Perhaps your organizational skills will be transferred to your little ones. And, they’ll develop a life-long habit.
Nevertheless, have fun tidying up together.
Eventually, your home will look exactly like you envisioned.