How to take all the clutter down.
Table of Contents
How many times a month do you end up looking around your house and wondering where all of this clutter came from? For us, it's about once a week. Especially after the last two years of living in quarantine, it's a bit much! It's time to start cleaning and busting that clutter. We've got three 'general' tips that can and should be applied everywhere in your home. Then we'll take a look at different areas of your home where you can sneakily hide things that no one will suspect. Let's get started and get clutter busting.
Group Like With Like
Technically speaking, this is all grouped together.
Photo by Dimitry Anikin from Pexels
When it comes to keeping things organized, you want to group like with like. Books with books, dishes with dishes, pop tarts with pop tarts. (We can't be the only ones whose children insist on having every flavor.) This root concept is really simple, and the great news is that it doesn't have to make sense to anyone but you and your household. (We're adding that caveat because getting kids to use a system they don't understand is surprisingly difficult.) Having everything together means that when you want something, it's easier to find it. So long as it's with other things "like it" you'll know where you need to go.
So, think about how you sort things. Do you have games, books, and out-of-season sweaters all together on one shelving unit? Could you separate them out so that your clothes go elsewhere, leaving the books and games together as 'entertainment' and the sweaters go with other clothes? This is just us though.
Labels
This one can be intimidating to start, but once you're going, it's easy to maintain. We'll break it down with you to give you some ideas of how you can use labels to make your life easier. Once it's complete you're under self-applied pressure to keep everything on forward momentum to maintain the system. We'll also point out that labels don't have to be just boring black letters on a white strip of paper. You can get very creative with how you want your labels to look dependant on where you're using them.
-Kitchen
In the kitchen, you might consider labeling which shelf is for what inside of your refrigerator. Think about all of those pictures you seem in home decor magazines with the perfectly organized fridges.
- Pantry
Yup, your pantry can be labeled too. Start by sorting things out (there's that 'like with like' concept again.) Then group it together. Some things to consider might be labelling surplus flour, sugar, types of beans etc. Or if you keep a lot of canned goods, you might attach a note that the newest cans should go at the back. This one really is only limited by how in depth you want to go. (Your Blogger is dreaming about the day she has a pantry large enough to warrant this.)
- Laundry
When you have a large family, or a large closet, you almost always end up with different types of detergent for different purposes. Why not label them?
- Living room
Yup, you can label your living room too. Break down your DVD collection between "kid friendly" vs " Not" for when you have family over. Or you could seaparate out the different games into different cabinets.
- Bathroom
Does your SO have towels that are only theirs? Or maybe you have a set of towels that you want to keep for when guests come, and keep your kids from using? Label where you keep them. You could also apply a sorting and labeling system to the underside of your sink, keeping things from getting lost or shoved in haphazardly.
-Bedrooms
Whether it's your space or your child's space, labels can be very useful. We advise talking about a system before you implement it into your kids room though, this way they know what you're expecting.
Not only means you know exactly what you’re looking at, they also make it easier to find what you’re looking for. Begone clutter!
Give It A Home
That last point leads right into another key organizing concept. Remember how we were talking about having your books and your sweaters together? Take a look at that same idea, and takes a closer look at why you're putting things in certain places. Do you always put on your comfy sweater while you're reading? Or maybe you come in the front door and go straight for your mugs to pour yourself a cup of tea, and you end up with your keys and mail on the counter. These are 'homes' that we unintentionally create for things.
Instead of unintentionally doing it. try to do it intentionally. If you know you're going to go straight for the tea, consider putting a mail sorter and a basket underneath. This way when you come in, you can sort your mail, have a spot for your keys, AND still stick to your routine.
For this concept you want to look at what routines you already have that you're willing to change and those that you're not. If you have other areas that you have clutter collecting that you're /not/ happy with, you need to start by understanding /why/ it keeps landing there before you can change it. Would putting a hamper in the bathroom save you from socks all over the floor? What about putting a tray for drinks in the fridge to keep from losing them behind leftovers? Or putting out of season clothing in clear bins so that you can know what you have in between seasons? So grab a pen and paper and check out where you have clutter piles and why they might be there.
This beautiful pantry from Good Housekeeping is our dream. Look at how organized everything is!
Cunning Storage Solutions
How many places can we find to store things? The answer? Many. SO many.
Mind the Gap!
There are two options here, depending on how you're looking at things. A gap that exists already, say around furniture, behind door or above things. Or you might be looking at floorboards and the bottoms of cabinets.
Do your cabinets go all the way down to the floor, or is there a gap where they rise about 3 inches? There are kits that can turn that into storage. It's great for stashing cutting boards, cookie sheets and cooling racks, as well as any strangely shaped plates you might not want to keep in the 'normal' cabinets.
You can also make use of the space between your cabinets and appliances, unless you're already reveling in a smooth, no-gap kitchen. If you're not though, consider having a custom built, pull out cabinet.
Watch it Stud!
Behind your bathroom mirror is a great place to turn into a storage area. Some of us already have pop out cabinets, but many of you prefer the look of a flat mirror. Fortunately, you can carve out a space in between the studs and turn that into a set of shelves to get things off of your counters.
Or you might take a look a full length mirror or piece of art that you have elsewhere in your home and do the same thing elsewhere.
Doors Go Both Ways
Look at your doors. Can you hang an organizer on the back of them? Whether you're creating an organizer (thank you Command Strips) or you have one already picked out from Crate & Barrel, doors are a great spot to store things and keep them off the floor.
Use Space Wisely
We mentioned it before, but putting extra organization into cabinets is very useful. Whether that's stackable boxes or open sided bins, there's all sorts of ways to maximize the space within your cabinets that you might not have thought of. The same concept can be applied to drawers. The most common idea is using a silverware tray so that all of your silverware is sorted "like to like." (There it is again!)
Avoid this! Put our tips to good use, and bust that clutter!
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
Are you starting to look at your home a bit differently? What about the open spaces versus the piles of clutter? Let us know over on our Facebook page, we'd love to hear from you. :)
If you're here not because you need to declutter but because your appliances have gone on the fritz, we can help! Head on over to our contact page and we'll work with you to set up a time that works for you or you can call us at ((214) 599-0055 )!
Additional Reading
Getting Your Home Clean, Month By Month
10 Crazy Dupes For Household Cleaning Supplies
Organizing Your Fridge For Efficiency And Safety
The Five Most Common Types Of Clutterbugs