A Clean Home Is A Happy Home: 35 Hacks To Organize Your Home
There are so many reasons to get serious about getting your home organized. Maybe you’re tired of constantly not being able to find your keys or simply getting anxious about the clutter building up in your home. With every mess, you’ve got to start somewhere, but the million-dollar question is, where to start? Whether you’re serious about decluttering and organizing your home or in need of a quick mess-clearing solution before your guests arrive, these home organization tips from the pros will provide you with ideas to tackle every single clutter in every part of your home. Follow these tips, and there’s a chance you’ll even be able to free up some space and become an organizing pro in no time.
1. Tackle Categories
Organizing is a weekly routine for some homeowners, but for others, their homes are often left cluttered with all sorts of things because organizing their homes is too much work to do when they’ve had a long week at work.
But an easy solution to this is to target categories and work on one section at a time instead of cleaning and organizing your entire home all at one go. For example, organize your bookshelf this weekend by eliminating the books that have overstayed their welcome.
2. Make Space
Clutters often form because homeowners don’t have enough storage space to keep and organize their stuff. So, to avoid cluttering their homes, homeowners would have not to let insufficient storage space become the cause of the clutter. Think: does this bring me joy?
The golden rule of making space is to toss, sell, or donate an older item every time you buy something new. By doing this, you’d be able to free up storage space for the new thing, not to mention you’d be decluttering along the way.
3. Stairwell Storage
If your home is running out of storage space, why not make use of under your stairwell and create some additional storage space? Stairwells are often not utilized well enough, but you’d get a little extra storage with some hooks and a couple of floating shelves.
When they aren’t stored and organized correctly, cleaning supplies and children’s toys make a huge mess. These are frequently used, so homeowners may want to keep them somewhere they can easily retrieve these items; stairwells are the perfect storing place.
4. Think Outside the Box
Whether it is utilizing the rafters of your garage or the joists in your basement ceiling, you can get far more storage space if you think of unconventional ways of storing your things. So, maximize your home’s storage space by thinking outside the box!
For example, the sides of kitchen cabinets are often useless. Still, by attaching gutters to the furniture, the sides of the kitchen cabinets would become functional as you can use them to hold kitchen essentials such as spices and cutting boards.
5. Plastic Bag Organizer
Speaking of transforming unconventional spots in your home into storage spaces, try turning the insides of your cabinet door into a plastic bag holder. We’re all guilty of having too many plastic bags and no idea of organizing them, so here’s an excellent idea for managing plastic bags.
Empty rectangular tissue boxes make a convenient plastic bag organizer; not only can they hold plastic bags, but they can also organize small rags or garbage bags. Just thumbtack the empty tissue package to the interior of your cupboard door.
6. Couch Shelf
Did you know that the space between the wall and the couch can also be utilized as a storage space? That’s right, by adding a shelf in that space, homeowners would be creating extra storage space that can be used to store small items.
This shelf can hold everyday items found in living rooms such as books, lamps, plants, remotes, and candles. Homeowners can even group items of the same aesthetic and arrange them nicely so that they become decorations for the living room.
7. A Place for Everything
Another cause of clutter in your home is that you don’t have a place for everything you own. Because you don’t have a place for everything, you’ll probably just toss the item anywhere you like, which would clutter your home.
So, it is important that homeowners assign a “home” to everything they own. This way, the things you own would be returned to their rightful spot when they’re not in use. As a result, it’s less likely that clutters form.
8. Storage Systems
If you’re about to swipe your card on an expensive storage rack, don’t. Marie Kondo, organizing goddess suggests that you declutter your home first. Most homeowners spend a fortune on storage systems because they think they’ve run out of storage space.
However, most of the time, they run out of storage space because the storage spaces they have are cluttered with things they don’t even need. So, before purchasing fancy storage systems, try to declutter your home to free up some space first.
9. Nostalgic Problems
The biggest problem faced when decluttering is letting nostalgia cloud our judgment; we may not want to get rid of a particular item because we are feeling sentimental. In the end, our home will be as cluttered as it was before we started decluttering.
Although yesteryear’s trinkets bring back nostalgic memories, it isn’t doing your space any good, so we should get rid of them or find a way to consolidate them. For example, homeowners can use an old shoebox to keep these trinkets.
10. Go Digital
Filing cabinets need to go. We are in the digital era, after all. Apart from that, filing cabinets along with all the paperwork that comes with it creates a big clutter, not to mention a huge mess in your home.
So, it makes sense to get rid of unnecessary paperwork and go digital for an organized home. We recommend splitting the papers into two piles: “Papers to Save” and “Papers to Deal With”; save the documents in the first category and transfer those in the second category online.
11. Declutter!
Would you continue watching a movie if it were terrible? No, so why would you keep things that serve no purpose to you in your home? These are the things that clutter your home and make an absolute mess of it.
It’s important that homeowners declutter their homes once in a while. This way, they’d be able to get rid of useless and unimportant things and make room for the things that actually matter – the things that bring them joy.
12. Digging Deep
Saying goodbye is never comfortable. You probably do not want to get rid of a particular item for one of these three reasons: it’s either an attachment to the past or a fear of the future, or a combination of the two.
So, it’s highly recommended that homeowners dig deep within themselves to find out why they’re holding onto a specific item; the better you understand why, the easier it’ll be for you to conquer that obstacle and have a brighter and more organized future.
13. Art of Folding
Once we’ve decluttered our home, we’d need to organize and fit the things that have “made the cut” into storage compartments. Clothing is one of the more difficult items to manage, especially if you’re a lady, because who knows how many clothes a lady owns.
Marie Kondo suggests folding and storing your clothes vertically in your dresser because you can fit more than double the amount of folded pieces where you’d typically be able to hang ten. Homeowners can even add old shoeboxes to the drawers to create a compartment to hold accessories.
14. Closet Decluttering
Women often buy many clothes, so we constantly run out of closet space. More often than not, we don’t wear half of the clothes that are sitting in our closet because they don’t fit us anymore or have gone out of style.
We can declutter our closet by first turning all the hangers to face outwards and then turning the hangers to face the back of the closet after we’ve worn them. After a few months, get rid of all the clothes whose hangers are still facing outwards.
15. New Start
Ladies, if you’re thinking about decluttering and organizing your closet, you’d, unfortunately, have to start from square one. Yes, this may be time-consuming, but it’s the best way to get rid of outdated clothing items as well as duplicates.
As you’re putting the clothes back into the closet, you’ll quickly notice duplicates or outdated fashion pieces or clothing that doesn’t even fit you anymore. Then you can donate them and replenish your wardrobe with new items that fit who you are today.
16. Upright Storing
Most homeowners spend their whole lives stacking their clothing, socks, bras, and underwear on top of one another, but this takes up a lot of space, not to mention that it’s difficult for these homeowners to go through what they own.
One tip from the pro-organizer Marie Kondo is to store your clothes in a drawer standing upright. This way, you’d be able to take a glance at what you own and avoid unknowingly purchasing more of the same type of clothing.
17. Tiered Hangers
Another way to get extra closet space is to use tiered hangers that can hold a couple of pieces of clothing at once instead of ordinary ones that can only have one piece of clothing at once. Tiered hangers can either be store-bought or DIY-ed.
To DIY a tiered hanger, loop the first link of a lightweight piece of chain over the first hanger and hang the next hangers on every second link after. It is a great way to maximize closet space, but this is more effective for tall closets.
18. Extra Hangers
Speaking of hangers, it is common not to have enough hangers for all your clothes, but it’s not uncommon for some homeowners to have too many hangers and not enough clothes. These hangers take up closet space, not to mention that it makes your closet look messy.
So, you’d have to get rid of the hangers. The only way to do so is go shopping! Kidding, you can use a small plastic bin to hold all those extra hangers and place the plastic bin in the corner of your closet or a corner in your room.
19. Closet Nook Shelves
If you’ve run out of closet space, you’re probably not thinking out of the box on how to create extra space. You can mount a couple of wire shelves on the ends of your closet to create extra closet space.
Wire shelves are available in a wide variety of widths, so be sure to measure the ends of your closet to guarantee that you buy the correct size. You can use brackets to mount the shelves at the back of the closet.
20. Organize Pretty
If you accept storage and organization as part of décor, as most homeowners do, then it creates a project that is beautiful on the outside too. The simplest example of what we’re talking about is organizing your wardrobe to look like a work of art.
Homeowners would have to separate their wardrobe into dresses, jeans, sweaters, tops, coats, and skirts. Then, color code each category and put them into different sections of your closet. The end product looks beautiful and makes it easy for you to find things.
21. Store Smart
Observe those with extra neat homes, and you’ll notice that their use of various products in their home to help them stay organized is very smart. This is a crucial aspect of keeping your home organized while staying on budget.
For example, an over-the-door organizer has an assortment of pouches that are perfect for storing art supplies, kids’ toys or make-up. By doing this, you’d be able to have easy access to these items because you can clearly see them. It is also very practical for the children in your life.
22. Jewelry Organizer
Speaking of storing smart, here’s an idea for organizing jewelry. For women, jewelry is one of the hardest things to manage. If they aren’t contained and appropriately stored, they’d be tangled up, and we’ll have to spend lots of time untangling them.
One easy way to organize your jewelry and make sure they don’t tangle up is to store them in a hanging jewelry organizer. This organizer has pockets where you can keep earrings, rings, bracelets, and hooks to organize necklaces. A fashionista’s dream!
23. Plastic Bins
Those who live in a four-season country will definitely have seasonal items which they need to store when they aren’t in use. Usually, these items are stored in cardboard boxes in their basements, but the problem with this is moisture.
Plastic bins would be a better option for storing seasonal items because basements are often moist. Plastic bins do a more suitable job at keeping dampness out than cardboard boxes, not to mention they are effortless to tag and drag around.
24. Label the Bins
Once you’ve separated your seasonal items into big plastic bins, you’ll need a way of identifying the bins because it’s likely that you’ve purchased identical bins to store your things. Even if you didn’t purchase identical bins, it’s hard to remember what is in which bin.
Therefore, it makes sense to label these bins clearly so that you can find what you need immediately. Homeowners can label the containers numerically and, in a binder, clearly list out the numbers and what the bin contains. It is more organized than trying to write everything the box contains on the outside.
25. Christmas Lights
Speaking of seasonal decorations, Christmas lights can easily get tangled up if they are thrown in a plastic bin for storing. So, homeowners will need a way to store them in the container while keeping them from getting tangled up.
Well, homeowners can screw a dowel to each end of a wooden base, cut it to the size of the plastic bin and wrap the Christmas lights around the dowels in figure eight, and finally place the stand in the container.
26. Lighting Decorations
Similar to Christmas lights, lighting decorations also require extra care when it comes to storing them. Homeowners can use the above method to keep the lights, but they’d have to label the plastic bins to find the lights clearly.
Alternatively, homeowners can roll the string of lights onto a portable hose reel with wheels and a handle. Using a portable hose reel to store lighting decorations is very clever because homeowners can easily retrieve and transport the lights. This is a fantastic idea.
27. Over-the-Counter Microwave
Simply placing microwaves on kitchen countertops takes up too much space, so homeowners should get their microwaves off the countertop by tucking them under their kitchen cabinets instead. You can do this by building a simple mounting shelf for your microwave.
To raise your microwave, consider sturdy brackets and measure their height and the height of the space above the countertop so that the brackets can fit the space perfectly. Then, mount the brackets with screws and place your microwave on the brackets.
28. Over-the-Counter Coffeemaker
It’s best to keep your kitchen countertop clear of kitchen essentials so that it doesn’t look messy. Similar to microwaves, coffeemakers also take up too much countertop space which is why tucking the coffeemaker away is best to keep the countertops neat and clean.
Under-cabinet coffeemakers are always available, so homeowners can head down to hardware stores to purchase them. These are great for serious coffee lovers because they constantly brew fresh pots of coffee, which is why they need instant access to their coffeemakers.
29. Tool and Appliance File
Speaking of appliances such as microwaves and coffeemakers, they often come with instruction manuals that most homeowners toss in the boxes they come with. Although you might think that you don’t need them now, you might need them in the future.
That’s why homeowners should organize these instruction manuals in a three-ring binder so that they can easily refer to the instruction manuals whenever they need to. Of course, you can use different binders for machinery in various parts of your home.
30. Knife Storage
Knives are another kitchen essential that needs to be organized and stored correctly. If not, homeowners might hurt themselves while looking for the right knife amongst a sea of knives. Storing and organizing knives wouldn’t be a problem with this under-cabinet knife storage rack.
Pull-down racks like this one give you instant access to kitchen essentials without the clutter of multiple racks or holders, not to mention that your kitchen essentials would be well-organized. Once you’re done cooking, you can simply swing the rack up against the underside of your kitchen cabinet.
31. Spice Storage
Spices are kitchen essentials, but they are inefficient in using shelf space, not to mention that it is hard to find the right spice when surrounded by taller bottles and items. Well, small spring-tension curtain rods can help homeowners organize spices easily.
Small spring-tension curtain rods are easy to install and sturdy enough to hold your spices so go ahead and install a rod to your spice shelf. Then, place your most-used herbs on the rod so that you can retrieve them easily.
32. Bathroom Storage
There’s often insufficient storage space in bathrooms which is why homeowners have to be extra competent in creating extra storage space in this part of their home. The vacant space above the bathroom door or window is actually organizational gold!
Homeowners can add shelves to this empty space to create extra storage; they can keep extra towels, toiletries, or floormats on this shelf. Honestly, you can add a shelf to the area above any door or window in your home to create extra room.
33. Cleaning Supplies
Most homeowners prefer to keep their cleaning supplies hidden. They are usually kept under the kitchen or bathroom sink. However, it’s difficult to keep spray bottles standing upright which is why the cleaning supplies cabinet is always messy and cluttered.
To avoid a messy cleaning supplies cabinet, simply attach a short tension rod in the cabinet, and hang cleaning supplies such as dusters and spray bottles on the rod to keep them standing upright and far from making a mess.
34. Under-Sink Mess
The cabinet under the sink is an absolute eyesore because it’s often overcrowded with cleaning supplies, sponges, and plastic bags. If your under-sink cabinet is anything like ours, you’re definitely going to need under-sink storage bins to help get that space organized.
Simply cut a plastic storage tub in half and screw it to the insides of your cabinet door; be sure to position it so that you can shut the cabinet door. Once that’s done, you can store your supplies in the bin.
35. Sports Gear
If your household members are big on sports, you’ll have a lot of sports equipment lying around in your home. Without organizing the racquets, balls, and jump ropes, you’d be allowing these sports gears to make a mess in your home.
Well, this ball corral does the perfect job of organizing your sports gear because not only does it store balls, helmets, and racquets, but it also allows you to have easy access to these items whenever you need to use them.
