5 Essential Steps For Organizing & Tidying Up Your Home

December 18, 2020

Life truths are plentiful in life and one of them is, certainly, that a nice organized closet is a visual form of therapy. (Writer’s Note: What? You’re not perusing the #organizedhome hashtag on Instagram like I am?). Anyway, we’re assuming that’s why we find ourselves decluttering our homes in the springtime. The birds are out, the world smells fresh and the weather is warm. We feel good and organizing suddenly sounds right. However, why are we waiting for the spring to organize our space? We should be doing this in the middle of winter. It will free our mind, make us feel like the best version of ourselves and when anyone opens the linen closet during a happy hour Zoom call, 800 random items aren’t going to tumble out in front of your friends. Win, win!

That’s why we put together a few tips for designing an organized life within your home. It’s true: organizing reduces stress and there should be an appropriate place for everything. And it’s important to feel refreshed, especially during the holidays. Let’s get started!

1: BREAK IT DOWN BY ROOM

Organizing can be…overwhelming. When you look at the big picture, you might get too overwhelmed move forward with it. So, start by breaking down room by room. Make an actual plan. Write out goals. Make it fun! For each room, understand its purpose. The kitchen is for functionality, for example. And the living room is for comfort. Start with the biggest hurdle you’d like to face: i.e. closets and drawers, specifically in the kitchen (that’s a tough one; we’re a little biased).

Here are some samples of to-dos and goals you can list out:

Write a shopping list of the number of bins and baskets or other supplies you’ll need to purchase.
List the order of rooms (kitchen, laundry room, bathroom) you’d like organized with their elements included (drawers, closets, shelves).
List the importance of each room and the order you’d like to tackle them in.

2: BUY THE LABEL MAKER AND INVEST IN BINS

Bins don’t need to be ugly! We love this Etsy shop for your bin clip labels and containers. The multi-purpose bins from the Container Store are also a win. Some quick tips:

Baskets are good for cereal bags, if you’re finding a convenient way to store those
Felt storage bins are great for toys, clothes and towels. Depending on your design style, they come in many different color options you can choose from
These bins are great for the kitchen pantry!

3: SORT BEFORE YOU ORGANIZE AND LABEL BY SUBJECT

If you’re wondering which subjects to organize for each room, we break it down for you. This helps to know when you’re going through all of your stuff – so you can easily find it later. How should you best organize so you’re not in a brain pretzel? Let’s get started with some initial ideas:

Kitchen: Cereal, Snacks, Appliances, Fruit, Breakfast, Spreads, Dinner, Canned Goods
Laundry Room: Pet Supplies, Cleaning Supplies
Linen “Junk” Closet (you know the one): Travel, Office Supplies, Electronics, Sheets & Pillowcases, Duvet
Bathroom: Hair Products, Dental, Skin Care, First Aid/Medicine, Towels, Bath Mats, Toilet Paper
Living Room: Blankets, Toys (i.e. blocks, trains, puzzles, cars, LEGOS, crafts), Books, Games
Bedroom: Socks, Underwear, Pajamas

4: CREATE A CLEAR WORKING SPACE & ASSIGN EACH ITEM

A big part of organizing is getting rid of the stuff you don’t need. Get three boxes or bags and label them “Trash”, “Donate” and “Consign.” Oh, and don’t forget a “Keep” pile. Highly recommend a nicely made bed for that one. Once you have that beautiful “keep” pile – what should you organize it by? A lot of people love organizing by color (and it makes things more fun). Once you arrange these items back into drawers and closet space, do it like a boutique would. Lay bras out in drawers like they would at a shop, for example.

5: PUT EVERYTHING IN ITS ASSIGNED PLACE, THEN RELAX!

A quick, helpful organization note after everything is in its perfect container. Don’t feel like you need to stick to a single containment source (all baskets or all white). Visually, a single design can fall flat. Balance out starkness by adding warmth and texture by mixing in baskets as well. Place those items on lower shelves to anchor the space.

At the end of the day, visual harmony is most important. You can have a variety of containers and baskets, but balancing the shapes and weights across the centerline is key to providing a satisfying focal point.

Creating systems of organization is fundamental to our lives as healthy human beings. Take the organization process slow if you need to: start with first aid/wellness items for example and scale your entire home for them, throw away expired items and organize by function in new labeled containers. The way you start is up to you, but even the smallest initiative helps!

Happy organizing, friends!

If you want more information on updating your home, or if you’d like to speak to a designer to get the design process started, we would love to hear from you!

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1: BREAK IT DOWN BY ROOM

2: BUY THE LABEL MAKER AND INVEST IN BINS

3: SORT BEFORE YOU ORGANIZE AND LABEL BY SUBJECT

4: CREATE A CLEAR WORKING SPACE & ASSIGN EACH ITEM

5: PUT EVERYTHING IN ITS ASSIGNED PLACE, THEN RELAX!

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