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Many homes have a room or two that isn’t as clean and organized as the rest. Once we set aside the time, it typically doesn’t take more than an hour or so to completely tidy it up.
Some of us may have disorganization across the whole house. The challenge of clutter becomes a lot to bear when it affects every room. With limited time and resources, we may have a difficult time knowing where to start.
Below is a list of rooms found in most homes. Each room contains 3 suggestions to help you get started. The main point of these suggestions isn’t to help you completely re-organize your room, but instead help get the ball rolling.
Entryway
Livingroom
Move things off the coffee table to a shelf. Zip tie loose cords around the TV to hide them from view. Label remotes with the device and function they control, e.g., “TV – Sound” and find a compartmentalized basket to sort them.
Kitchen
Do a deep clean of the whole area. A lot of kitchen clutter is a mix of dirty dishes and appliances. Once the area is clean, you can assess what is left to do. Move as much you can off counter tops into the cabinets and pantry. Declutter junk drawers with drawer organizers. Move any item in the junk drawer that doesn’t belong in the kitchen to a more appropriate room in the home.
Office
Clear the desk and move loose items to drawers. Make sure to group and categorize items by type. In-drawer organizers help a lot with this task. Sort through your files. If any file folders are bulky, get more and label them. I like to set a broad folder category, like “Insurance”, and put in sub-folders, like “Auto” and “Medical”, behind it in a filing cabinet. Zip-tie computer cables together so they are positioned behind furniture and out of view.
Bedrooms
Inspect your closet and dresser and sell/donate/toss anything you haven’t used in over a year or looks worn out. Utilize space underneath the bed for storing extras in plastic bins. Clear the nightstand and move loose items to a drawer or the closet.
Bathrooms
Keep extra towels clean and folded on wall shelves or inside cabinets. Leave wet towels on hooks or racks to dry. Move toothpaste tubes, shaving items, mouthwash, makeup, and everything else except for hand soap and toothbrushes to the drawers. I try to keep daily items on the top drawers and lesser-used items on the lower drawers. If toothbrushes are kept in cups, clean them out frequently. They can develop mold like no other.
Garage
Mop the dirt and dust off the garage floor. Clean any dirt off hanging yard tools. Store any loose items in plastic bins and stack them on shelves or in cabinets.
Final Thoughts
Home organization is not a project you do once, and you’re done. It is a process that requires commitment. But with the right systems in place, that process becomes easy and the need to spend extensive time reorganizing becomes less frequent.
The first step is often the toughest. If you put some of the above tips into action, you’re surely on your way to eliminating the clutter for good.
