As the spring cleaning phase comes to an end and I’m getting ready for a carefree summer, I have a little bit of organizing maintenance to do. Last year and earlier this year, I did a 31 Day Purge in January to kick off the organizing. And after years of simplifying my life and our house, I’ve learned a few things along the way. So, I’m sharing my top ten best organization tips! (post contains affiliate links, see disclosure)
ONE IN ONE OUT RULE
This is my number one best organization tip! It applies to almost everything in the house. Buying a new throw blanket? Then an old one needs to be donated. A new set of dishes? Donate the old. This cuts down on the clutter and from too much stuff piling up.
DON’T LET THE PAPER PILE UP
We sort through our mail every single day. If we don’t then it just piles up like crazy on my desk. And in the bottom drawer of my desk area, we have a paper shredder. So anything we don’t need immediately gets shredded.
TRAYS & STYLISH STORAGE
Our home does not have a lot of storage spaces or closets. So, trays and stylish storage make small space living a little bit better. And because sometimes you can’t just hide everything in a cabinet or drawer, it can be left out and not look cluttered.
MAXIMIZE VERTICAL SPACE
With both my DIY office and our builtins in the living room, I maximized the vertical space by going all the way up to our 9-foot ceilings. And I plan on doing the same thing in our kitchen soon with more upper cabinets going all the way up to the ceiling. This allows for a great design feature and great storage.
DRAWER ORGANIZERS
I have drawer organizers in almost every drawer in our house. Especially in my office, the kitchen, and bathrooms. They are great for holding almost everything and every item has a place.
CREATE A DROP ZONE
In order to keep our house and our lives organized, creating a drop zone in the entryway is a great solution. It’s something we both use to contain our keys, sunglasses, etc. on a daily basis. No mornings of looking for lost keys or wallets, because they are always in the same spot.
ACCESSIBILITY
When it comes to storage and organizing, I like to put items used most within reach and unused items higher up or down below. This especially works well in the kitchen. In our home, everyday dishes are on the open shelves. However, baking dishes and muffin pans are stored higher up. Everyone’s kitchen storage and organizing will be different based on their needs. Obviously, I’m not a big cook or a baker.
USE WASTED SPACE
Under the bed storage is one of my favorite ways to use wasted space. Under the bed storage bins are perfect for decor, blankets, wrapping paper, or seasonal clothing. Hooks inside closet doors also work very well. In my cleaning closet, the hooks work great for holding brooms and my other favorite cleaning tools.
BE FLEXIBLE
As life and households evolve, so does organization. It can even change with the seasons. And it’s also okay if something that you tried is no longer working anymore. Not all organization tips work for every person or household.
NOT A QUICK FIX
Remember it is not a quick fix. Depending on how much work needs to be done in your house, it can take months to get it all done. Especially if you have to find the motivation to complete it. When I first started decluttering our home, it took me almost a year to get it where it wanted. And I’m still working on it. A truly organized home doesn’t happen overnight and is always a work in progress to keep it that way!
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