23 Effective Home Organization Strategies and Tips

23 Worthwhile Home Organization Techniques And Hacks

1. Begin with De-cluttering

The idea of cleaning up can be daunting, but knowing where to start can make the process manageable. The best way is to always start with de-cluttering. Get rid of old things you are not using anymore. Before you think of organizing anything in your home, sort your items first and de-clutter.

Next, channel your energy into viewing each room as a potential treasure trove for creating a clean environment. This might be challenging if you are attached to everything you own, but remember that it’s impossible to organize clutter. A tidy home will give you more than mere visual satisfaction, it promotes a calm and stress-free environment.

Moreover, by clearing the unnecessary items, you encourage efficiency because you won’t spend hours looking for something. You’ll be amazed when you identify what needs to go and create room for organization.

While conducting my annual home cleanup, I downsized my wardrobe and realized I had clothes that hadn’t been worn for over a year. This meant they were just occupying space and it was time for them to find a new home.

• Sort through your closets and remove outfits that you haven’t worn for more than six months.
• In the kitchen, get rid of any expired or unused canned foods, spices or packings.
• Check out your garage for any tools or equipment that have not been in use for a while.
• If there are toys your kids have outgrown, consider donating them.
• For your living room, remove any extra or broken furniture.
• Any books unread on bookshelves could be passed on to friends or donated.

2. Use of Storage Furniture and Tools

After successfully de-clustering your home, the next step is creating a home for everything remaining. Here, storage furniture and tools play a significant role in helping you keep things organized. They eliminate sight clutter by providing hidden storage areas for items that would otherwise be scattered around the house.

Invest in good quality storage units such as shelving units, drawers and cabinets, stylish bins and boxes. Each of these can be used effectively in every section of your home depending on size, formality or informality of the item to be stored.

Let’s take something as simple as a wall unit with plenty of shelves and compartments. This could be a perfect home for books, showpieces, collectibles, photo frames etc in living room area giving each item its designated place.

• In the kitchen, stylish bins or storage jars can be used to store grains, spices etc.
• Drawers or shelves can be mounted on walls of bathroom to store towels and toiletries neatly.
• Kids toys can be put in colorful baskets or boxes and stored nicely in kids room.
• In garage, wall hanging racks can be used to store tools and equipment.
• Study or office essentials can be stored perfectly in a cabinet in study/office room.
• Linen like blankets, bedsheets etc can be folded and kept neat in a closet.

3. Use Labels To Organize

Once you have assigned physical locations for everything, the next thing to be tackled is maintaining visibility. Labelling comes handy here. It assists you not just keeping track of where everything goes but also helps easily locate when needed.

Every item, if properly labelled tends to return back to its designated place after use. Organizing becomes way simpler with labels. It prevents confusion and unwarranted stress when looking for an item amidst many others.

For instance, in the kitchen you can label the jars and containers on your spice rack from Allspice to Vanilla. Also, a labelling system works well when applied in other parts of your home.

• Label your cabinets with names like plates, cups, pans, etc. to enhance your kitchen’s structure.
• In your closet, allocate labels such as accessories, tops, denims, etc.
• In kid’s room, label toy bins as dolls, cars, puzzle boards etc. to help your children keep their room tidy.
• In the utility area, label sections separating cleaning supplies, laundry items, tools etc.
• Your documents drawer can be labelled filing wise such as loan papers, insurance, bills, etc.
• In garage, label shelves for clear segregation of automobile essentials, garden tools, sports equipment etc.

4. Establish A Daily Cleaning Routine

A very common misconception amongst us is that organizing/cleaning is a one-time marathon task. In reality, it’s an ongoing activity and should be practiced quite often. The trick here is not sparing hours a day but putting small consistent efforts everyday. Therefore, establishing a cleaning routine is indispensable.

Just take 15 minutes out everyday to quickly go through the spaces in your home and tidy up any clutter. This would avoid unnecessary pile-up and make your weekend or monthly cleanup easier.

Considering my daily routine, I follow the one-minute rule where if something takes less than a minute to do, I do it immediately. For instance, making the bed right after waking up, or placing the dishes in the dishwasher right after dinner instead of leaving them in the sink overnight.

• Start by making your bed every morning.
• Ensure the bathroom counter is clear before you leave house for the day.
• Clear any paper or mail mess from dining/living area everyday.
• Unload dishwasher in morning while breakfast is being prepared.
• Pick up/arrange toys once your kids have gone to sleep.
• Do a quick sweep of all rooms before hitting the bed.

5. Make Use of Vertical Space

Many a times, while organizing our homes we overlook one dimension – vertical space. This under utilized aspect of spatial organizing can prove fruitful especially when you live in tight quarters and are looking at maximizing space use.

Instead of spreading items horizontally, focus on piling them upwards by adding shelves or tall pieces of furniture. By taking advantage of wall space, you will free up more floor area and your home will feel bigger than it actually is.

I had a place near Bay window which always felt empty and I put a nice tall bookshelf to display my collectible items and books. It added a lot of style quotient and storage space to my living room.

• Hanging spice racks in kitchen.
• Stacking washer and dryer in laundry space.
• Full-length mirrored cabinets in bathroom to store toiletries.
• Bunk beds or loft beds arrangement in kids’ bedrooms.
• Attaching tool organizer on garage walls.
• Library wall or tall bookshelves in study.

A SUMMARY OF HOME ORGANIZATION TECHNIQUES AND HACKS: