We've all seen photos of perfectly organized spaces and swooned over how crisp and clean they look. Many of us have probably also wondered just how anyone manages to keep a space that clean for any length of time! The answer is simple: being tidy is a habit—a habit that anyone can develop.
Our top two home organization ideas
Simply deciding to declutter is the first (very big) step on your journey to becoming an organized person. The next step is to actually start the decluttering process! We've put together some great ideas to help you get started on getting your home tidy and organized.
1. How to organize your kitchen cabinets
Kitchen cabinets are another space in the home where clutter tends to build up quickly. With so many utensils, pots, pans, dishes, and small appliances all needing to fit into your cupboards, it’s no wonder things can get a little crazy in the kitchen. When you’re ready to tackle the task of organizing your kitchen, you’ll want to start in a similar way to cleaning out your closets—pull out everything from your cupboards and sort them into groups of like items. (organize “piles” for each thing, such as mugs, dishes, cutlery, cooking utensils, etc.)
Once you have all your groups sorted, go through each group and decide on what items to keep and which to get rid of. Don’t keep anything that is broken or anything you just never use. Even if it’s an expensive juicer, it’s not worth keeping if you never use it! If they’re in good condition, you may be able to resell or donate your items. Create a separate pile for things you’re getting rid of.
Next, it’s time to put away everything you plan to keep. For most items like dishes, glasses, and mugs, they will be relatively easy to stack up and keep organized. However, for trickier things like cutlery and food storage containers, you may want to find some clever ways to keep everything together. For drawers, you can find all different types of drawer organizers designed to fit cutlery and other kitchen gadgets. You can also use a desktop letter organizer to keep all the lids for your storage containers together. It’s also a great idea to invest in clear stackable storage containers for dry goods in your pantry.
2. How to organize your clothes closet
The closet is often where people start when it comes to the process of decluttering, likely because most people tend to let clothes pile up over time and don’t necessarily get rid of anything as they add new items to their wardrobe. To get started, you should pull everything out of your closet. (Yes, we mean EVERYTHING.) As you pull it all out, sort items by items by garment type: jeans, T-shirts, sweaters, jackets, shoes, etc. Next, sort through each pile and carefully consider each item: when was the last time you wore it? If you haven’t worn it in the past year, it might be time to get rid of it.
As you sort through each section, create a separate pile of things to get rid of: for donation, to sell, etc. Once you’ve sorted through everything, start putting all the items you’re keeping back into your closet. Keep like items together as you put them back into the closet - this will make it much easier to find things as you’re getting ready every day. Finally, to keep things organized once you’re finished, commit to putting everything back where it belongs after every time you use it. Once it becomes a habit, you won’t need to organize your closet as often.
What are some of the best household organizational tips?
Decluttering is the first step to getting organized, but it’s what comes after that can be the tricky part. Getting your home organized might seem like a lot of work at first, but the idea is that once you put the work in to get it done, you won’t have to do it again! Here are a few tips to follow to get your home tidy and organized (and to keep it that way in the long term.)
1. Make it easy to be a tidy person
Use open-top bins to organize everything so you can just toss things in and don’t have to think too much about putting things back where they belong. This removes physical barriers from the process of tidying up. For example, an open-top laundry hamper allows you to just toss dirty clothes in the basket instead of just dropping them on the floor. You can also use baskets to keep small items (like toiletries) organized since they make it easy to put things back where they belong.
2. Purge first, then get your supplies
While it’s pretty fun to shopping for supplies, make sure you don’t buy all your baskets, containers, and totes to organize everything before you’ve actually gotten rid of anything.
You might end up with the wrong type of items, or have extras that you just don’t need, which in turn creates more clutter! So clear out the clutter first, and then go shopping.
3. Keep your drawers organized
Many people consider “out of sight, out of mind” as an organizational tactic. However, if that means you have drawers that are a total mess, it doesn’t really mean you’re organized. Make sure all your drawers have container organizers in them, whether it’s for socks, miscellaneous items, or kitchen drawers. Tip: you can use shallow baskets or other types of organizers designed for specific items so you can create a custom setup for each drawer.
4. Make tabletops and counters clutter-free zones
Pretty much any flat surface in your home tends to develop clutter—it’s just a habit to place things down on the first available open space. Instead, make a new habit of clearing off all your tables and countertops at the end of every day, so you never give clutter a chance to build up on these surfaces. This will help reinforce the idea of putting everything back in its place once you’re done using it.
It can be tempting to try all of these hacks at once. Remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day! Building long-lasting habits takes time, even with easy tricks like these.
