7 Simple Ways to Organize Your Home

ORGANIZATION. In many households, it is a four letter word.  I mean let’s be honest, home maintenance tasks and cleaning aren’t exactly at the top of the priority list for most of us. And while these may not be our favorite tasks to complete, they are necessary in order to prevent your home from looking like an F5 tornado has passed through. But more than that, organizing your home has some tremendous benefits; save time, money, and significantly reduce your stress and anxiety.

In addition, organizing your home can be a wonderful creative challenge. Change your perspective and think of it more as an inventive hobby than a boring chore. You can even get the entire family involved coming up with new cost effective solutions to your family’s clutter.

Most people hate purging and organizing because it can be overwhelming. And figuring out where to start can be even more difficult. Begin by creating a priority list or areas in your home that need to be organized first. These will typically be high traffic areas that tend to collect a lot of “junk”. Next, use one or more of the following strategies to organize your home and have it in tip top shape in no time.

Hide It Away – This organization strategy is especially helpful in rooms that tend to be smaller such as bathrooms and closets. One of the biggest sources of disorganization is clutter, and small spaces that are frequently used, tend to become cluttered quickly. Use decorative baskets, crates, and shelving in complementary colors and patterns to help sort similar items and keep things out of sight. Try to come up with imaginative ways to hide things that don’t add to the aesthetic of the room.

Everything In Its Place – The golden rule of organizing is “a place for everything, and everything in its place“. The idea is that if you don’t have a place for it, then you don’t need it. The first step in implementing this rule is to purge the areas that you are organizing. Get rid of any unwanted items and move them out of the area. Once that is complete, it will be much easier to determine a location for the items that you chose to keep. Creativity with this part of the process can lead to some very interesting results. Learn how to create unique storage and organization solutions from sites like Pinterest for much less than retail.

Add Space – Have you ever wondered how it’s possible for people to live in a micro-home? Well, the answer is that micro-homes are designed so that they maximize every bit of space possible. Organize your home to improve efficiency. The trick is to find space in the home where there previously was none. For example, install shelving and cabinets over doors and other fixtures such as toilets to increase your storage space. Carefully survey each room that you are organizing and try to determine if there are any areas where you can add fixtures to increase functionality. Make your own shelving and cabinets using supplies from local hardware stores or purchase pre-made fixtures.

Plan for Paper – Paper is typically a huge part of a home’s clutter. Things like catalogs, newspapers, homework assignments, and children’s art projects can stack up quickly. It is wise to have a good system to organize your paper as it comes in. Regularly file away important papers in their designated locations. Place paper recycling containers in various locations around your home and be sure to empty them often.

Organize By Task – This is a super simple strategy but surprisingly most people don’t consider it. Organize your home (and each room in it) according to the tasks you complete in each room. For example, in your office you would most likely want to have things like your computer and printer, paper, pens and items such as filing cabinets and desks. If you have items in a room where they do not belong, remove them. This way you will have everything you need at your fingertips no matter where you are in your home.

Color Coding – If you prefer to see things visually, than color coding may be a great organizational tool for you. You can use color coding systems in several different ways to organize your home. For example, you can assign a color to each member of the family and consistently use that color for things like storage containers, personal items, or even color coded calendar entries. Or you can color code your storage systems by room, using say yellow for kitchen items and blue for bathroom items.

Use Labels – This may be the only occasion in your life when it’s appropriate to use labels freely. Labeling the location of your items may seem extreme but it can help your home stay organized longer considering it will be much easier to actually remember where your items go. Purchase a cheap label maker from an office supply store or a craft store such as Michael’s.

Organizing does not have to be difficult or tedious if you have a plan of attack. In fact, you will probably find that organizing your home is much easier than organizing your family!