How To Simplify and Organize Your Home
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I am a firm believer that your home should be a sanctuary from the daily stressors of life. After all, the minute you step inside your personal space, you want to be able to fully relax and be yourself - whatever that version looks like!
With it being winter, it is definitely the time to simplify your life and organize your home in a way that works for you. After all, you’re probably spending a lot more time there! Why not make it a more comfortable and welcoming space you can enjoy?
I’m dedicating this post to practical organizing tips you can use in order to simplify your home and make it clutter free - without making it feel like a cold museum!
How To Simplify and Organize Your Home
Before we get started on how to organize, let’s think about why you want to simplify your home and organize your living spaces.
Benefits Of An Organized Home
According to the Mayo Clinic, there are actually a lot of benefits to keeping your home organized. Here are just a few ways it can be beneficial:
A clean and organized home can reduce stress and anxiety
When you have less mess and less clutter in your home to keep up with you have more time to do things you enjoy
When rooms in your home are organized, you can boost your mood and have more energy
Confidence (this stems from my own personal fear of drop in guests and always liking my house to be presentable, but I’m listing it anyway)
It helps you make the most of your space
It’s healthier
It’ll save you money in the long run
Tips for an Organized Home
Find What Works for You
The most important part of taking on any task is finding what works for you and your personality. You don’t have to be a professional organizer; you just have to be realistic. If you aren’t the kind of person who can keep a minimalistic boutique hotel look to your home, don’t try to attain that aesthetic! It’s okay to simplify and organize on your terms - if you like having books, pillows, and knickknacks around to feel like you are truly home then embrace that and find a way to organize that works WITH your style - not against it.
Tackle One Thing at a Time
A big mistake I tend to make is trying to take on too much at once, which usually only leads to more stress. We all have busy and chaotic lives - making our home an even bigger mess in order to make it not be a mess makes zero sense!
Determine which spaces you need to simplify and organize and then tackle them in tangible steps. For instance, if you are starting in your kitchen, work on organizing your fridge first and then focus on your pantry/food storage. If you start with your closet, focus first on your hanging clothes, then folded items, then shoes and bags. By taking things in sections you’ll feel less overwhelmed.
Give Your Stuff a Home
The idea of everything having a designated space helped a lot for my organization. For me, the big thing was finding a home for my shoes.
Before I had my puppy Ollie, I was very used to just kicking my shoes off wherever when I got home. When shoe loving Ollie came along, I realized this was actually a really bad idea. My ballet flats were quickly turning into chew toys for him and that was not something I was willing to let happen.
In my fantasy life I would love being able to build a shoe closet like on the Real Housewives, but that isn’t really practical for most of us so I had to find another solution (remember - it’s all about finding what works for you!). Finding this cute shoe ottoman for storage and it has been a game changer. Now all of my shoes have a home - they either go on their designated shelf space or into the storage bin. Once I got into the habit of putting them there, it became a super easy solution and I also realized a great way for me to see what all I have when getting ready. I got mine off of Amazon, but you can find a similar one here.
Create a Functional System
When thinking of a functional system to implement in order to ensure your home stays organized, you’ll want to think simple and sustainable for you and your family members. After all, if it’s overly complicated you will be far less likely to keep it going.
For instance, I would love to be the kind of person who always perfectly folds sheets but I know I’m not. No TikTok watching could help me. Instead, I decided to fake it a little and bought cloth bins with lids to store my sheets to it looks like I’m nice and organized, even if the sheets in the bin are poorly folded. This is something I know I can maintain, whereas trying to perfectly fold would have resulted in my just growing frustrated.
Keep Counters Clear
My counters drive my mom crazy - she doesn’t even keep her coffee pot out! The fact that I have a coffee machine, toaster, cookbooks, and more on mine is insane to her. However, I like a cozy kitchen and I like the ease of having my regularly used items on the counter.
That being said, I get where my mom is coming from and I still like my counters to be clear of anything unnecessary. Putting things away after using them is essential to reducing visual clutter, whether that space is in a cabinet or just perfectly placed on the counter itself.
Use Containers & Storage
As I mentioned, I’m a big fan of using containers and bins for storage. This is especially helpful in the kitchen. You can find adorable containers to store frequently used items, like this sugar canister from Target.
The places where I utilize containers are the counter, pantry and closets. I suggest taking a look at these places before taking a trip to Target and writing down all of the things you want to organize and all of the things you want to have be easily accessible. This will also help you determine the type of containers you choose. After all, if something is going to be hidden you probably won’t care as much about the aesthetics of the container as you will for something on display. My counter storage looks VERY different from my pantry storage, but both methods work effectively.
Daily Resets
Every single day, I hit the reset on the house to make sure it is to my liking. Doing this helps me feel like the house stays tidy between actual cleanings and it helps me reduce the amount of clutter. I focus on the same resets:
In my bedroom and bathroom, I always make my bed in the morning, wipe down the counters, and put any dirty clothes in the laundry bin.
After using the kitchen, I always wipe down the counters and put the dishes either in the dishwasher or, if there isn’t any room, I will wash by hand. I hate dirty dishes in the sink, so this is why I opt for this extra step unless I need to soak something.
Every night before bed, I make sure my desk (my workspace is in a corner of the living room) is cleaned up. I also fluff the pillows on the couch and fold the throw blanket. Lastly, I pick up any of Ollie’s stray toys I can manage without getting him wound up (by far the hardest task). Having the reset always makes me feel like things are nice and orderly, which helps my stress the next day.
Declutter Regularly
In addition to daily resets, I’ve created a decluttering system I like to enact every couple of days. This just means on the day we do a deep clean of the house, I like to finish by going around and putting away any books or items we’ve left around to tidy things up. I also use this as a time to take stock of what we have around and anything we need to replace/put away/give away.
Donate Regularly
Donating on a regular basis has been a really helpful tool for me. If I know I’m going to be buying some new clothes, I’ll first go through my closet to see what I need and what I can donate. This isn’t just great for helping declutter your home - it’s also great for sustainability.
Think Before You Buy
Thinking before I buy is necessary for me to keep things simplified. I’ll often find myself at Target, eyeing a new home collection, hand on an item to put in the cart…and then I’ll realize I have absolutely no need for said item. When I experience this, I have a rule of thumb: If it’s a small item, I put it down and continue my shopping. If, at the end of my excursion, I’m still thinking about the item then I will get it. If it’s a bigger purchase, I’ll go home and see if I’m still thinking about it in a week. If it’s something I see online, I’ll put it in a cart and then think about it for 24 hours.
Honestly, this has been helpful because I usually find I don’t need the item after all and that it’s just incredible marketing making me think I should. I like to bring myself back to the thought process of “Do I actually need this or do I just want it” when I need to ground myself a bit - a task admittedly much easier to say than to do.
There you have it - all of my advice on how to simplify and organize your home! I’ll be sharing some more tips on organization so stay tuned.
Until next time, cheers and happy organizing!
