Home Organization & Storage Ideas
Keeping your home organized can feel like an uphill battle, no matter how much space you have. It probably feels like all hands on deck when you're faced with room after room filled with endless clutter.
Don't worry, home organization is totally possible. Just follow these three basic steps:
- Create an Organizational Checklist
- Gather Your Organization-Inspired Supplies
- Plan to Keep It Clean
Remember, you've got this! Just sit back, relax, and open yourself up to suggestions for getting your home back in tip-top shape!
Organizational Checklist
When you decide to get your home organized, it helps to have a plan in mind. You can make the planning less overwhelming by following these steps:
Make a Plan
Before you start moving anything around, sit down and make a plan. Thrive Globalrecommends visualizing your organizational plan to have a better outcome. One way to do this is to draw out the rooms you’re trying to organize.
Plan out where your furniture will go and where your storage solutions will be. As you plan them out, think about the functionality of the space and what it will be like to actually live in.
Decide on Zones
By creating zones within your rooms, you can designate areas that are meant for specific purposes, says blogger Abby Lawson. For example, take your main room. It’s not just a living room. It’s where you eat, where your kids do homework, and sometimes where you work from home.
Designate areas of a room into specific zones to keep clutter down and keep things organized. Decide on an area that’s intended for eating, a corner for your work-from-home space, and an area that doubles as a playroom for the kids. You’ll find things staying in their zones, rather than having the mess explode everywhere.
Categorize Your Belongings
Next, take the time to go through your belongings to purge and declutter. There may be some fear associated with this. It can be challenging to get rid of possessions. Chances are if you haven’t used an item in a year, it's not worth keeping. Look to sell, donate, or trash as much as you can. The less stuff you have in your home, the less you'll have to organize.
One thing that can make this process easier is categorizing your items. You can have a category for things that mean the most to you or that are tied to memories, a category for the belongings you use every day, one for work supplies, another for toys, etc.
From there, make an inventory of your items. As you keep and update your list, you’ll know what is coming into and going out of your home. Rather than shopping for a new item, first shop your inventory and see if you have something already.
Give Everything a Home
One of the key reasons clutter happens is that your belongings don’t have a home. Rather than just storing them wherever they fit at the time, they need to each have a specific place where they go after use. It’s important to be strict as a family or the clutter will inevitably return.
As you’re deciding where everything should go, try to get things off the floor. Use bins, bookcases, pegboards, whatever works to make your home look & feel tidier. Also, never underestimate the power of vertical space!
Gather Your Supplies
Along with following the steps in the organizational checklist, here are some additional ideas to take home organization to the next level.
Double-Duty Items Only
Yes, you love that single-purpose kitchen gadget the one time you use it every year. But the rest of the time, it’s just sitting there taking up space. Single-purpose items can quickly have you overrun with clutter because they are so niche in their function.
Instead, opt for double-duty or multi-purpose items. These will provide you with the tools necessary to accomplish whatever task is before you without wasting space.
Containers
Plastic containers are great for storing smaller & larger items. Plus, they can easily be stacked on top of each other. You can find stylish and affordable containers that will help you get everything in order.
Simple Designs
The design of your home’s furniture, components, and décor will make a difference in how organized it looks. Keep things simple with sleek lines and light colors to make it feel bigger and less cluttered.
Get Creative With Drawers
You know the empty space under your stairs? Why not increase its usability with drawers? There are countless ways to incorporate drawers into your home’s basic structure.
Under-The-Bed Storage
Rather than using the space under your bed to shove the unexpected item when you don’t want to deal with it, utilize that space intentionally by investing in under-the-bed storage. It’s a great place to store out-of-season clothes, wrapping paper, or seasonal decorations.
Your items will be kept out of sight and out of mind until they're needed.
Rolling Carts
If you don’t have a couple of rolling carts in your home, you’re definitely missing out! Consider getting one for the kitchen, one for the living room, one for the bathroom, and one for each bedroom. You could even turn one into a rolling homework station. The possibilities are endless!
Keep It Clean
After all that work to get your home organized, it would be a shame to see it cluttered a week from now. Here are three crucial things you can do to keep your home in the best shape of its life!
One-In/One-Out Mindset
It’s time to adopt the one in/one out mindset as explained by Pretty Simple Days. This is exactly what it sounds like: For every item you bring into your home, something else has to leave. Doing so will keep clutter to a minimum.
Clean Up After Yourself
Make this a rule that every member of your family lives by. By adopting a “clean up after yourself” rule, it puts the burden on the entire family, not just one person. It’s not fair for you to solely be responsible for the organization of your household and it’s impossible to expect it to magically stay in order without everyone helping out.
Organize Regularly
Without organizing regularly, your home will quickly descend back into chaos. Spend a few minutes organizing every day. Remember, maintaining good organizational habits now will prevent you from digging yourself out of a cluttered hole down the road!
Conclusion
All in all, organizing your home doesn't have to be a completely horrid experience. You might actually find it therapeutic in the end! Use a checklist, evaluate what type of storage works best for your space and stay on top of organizing!