Organizing

Keeping a clean home requires discipline and hard work—and maybe just one little motivating maxim.

If you've got the urge to get some stuff out of the house, start with this list of items you can say goodbye to right now with no impunity.

I am issuing a decree that every single person reading this needs to do something selfish this year.

This tour is a look into a family of five Inuit-Métis members of Nunatukavut who share an incredibly cute barn house in a small town in Northern Canada.

The internet is ripe with tips, tricks, and strategies to get your life organized. Unfortunately, though: These "solutions" aren't always as shiny as they appear to be. In fact, some may even cause more work for you in the long-run.

It's time to be a little more honest with yourself and figure out how to make your home work better for you.

We're going to let you in on a few little secrets.

Organized people share a list of common practices that leave them well-rested and organized, while the rest of us are running around like overwhelmed chickens with our heads cut off.

Decor, furniture, and even storage choices can interfere with your ability to efficiently live in a space. Fortunately, you can prevent that frustrating experience by avoiding these mistakes while making design decisions in your own home.

Left undone, these simple chores become a much bigger mess and a much more annoying task to tackle.

Whether you're a seasoned minimalist or just want to dip your toes into the minimalism movement, these easy habits will keep your home looking its best.

Do I really need 20 t-shirts, a dozen towels, three teapots? I need multiples of certain things, yes, but at some point, a few turns into too many.

If rogue shoes have you down, here's how pro organizers suggest keeping things tidy without a formal mudroom.

Are your scarves always in a tangled mess? Thankfully, organizing gurus Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin of The Home Edit have a foolproof method for getting control of this beloved accessory.

As your work-from-home situation evolves from a temporary setup to an area that can serve you indefinitely, it may bet getting necessary updates and upgrades—but also accumulating clutter.

Maximize your small spaces while making them look mindfully designed

You get to experience the joy of a fully decluttered space and, in the pursuit of getting rid of stuff, there is no greater incentive. Here's how to do it.

#VanLife devotees know a thing or two about small spaces.

A simple way to prevent unsightly clutter, but also create a cohesive look, especially in smaller spaces.

Possibly the best productivity method you've never heard of.

Home organization is the new bread baking.

Smart changes can help you maximize the kitchen you have, without changing its footprint.

Organize all your stuff for less than the cost of your favorite facial serum. (It is worth mentioning, though, that throwing out that container of bubble bath you’ll never use is totally and completely free.)

By asking these three decision-helping decluttering questions, you can help reduce the regret that sometimes follows lightening the load of your possessions.

The social media platform is not only entertaining, but also has a gold mine of organizing hacks.

It's tempting to toss everything you decluttered into the trash, but there are people out there that would love to give your stuff a second life. And it can be as easy as one quick drop-off.

The box-and-banish is a great way to practice living with less.

It's time to rediscover joy for the place that you're always in.

Simplifying your relationship to clutter is about more than knick-knacks and old t-shirts.

You can't relish in the memories if those things are tucked in a dusty box in the attic.

Earlier this year, I had my eyes opened to a category of clutter that I never knew existed.

These organizing tricks are too good not to share.

While it's not always obvious which of today's things will become tomorrow's clutter, there are a few universal things you can do to prevent clutter in your home.

It's a great time to check in and make sure your entryway is set up for success—whatever that means these days.

Paper clutter is one of those things that seems so much harder to declutter in your head than it is in real life.

The best way to handle "everyday" clutter is to make tidying up a part of your routine.

The timing of their new show on Netflix called “Get Organized with The Home Edit” couldn't have come at a better time (or year).

Ciao! Sayonara! Adios!

These rules quiet all sorts of what-if and just-in-case excuses, leaving you with no choice but to make decisions that serve you and your home in equal measure.

Each type of plastic container is made differently, so there’s no standard guide for how long you can keep yours around. But here's what the expert has to say.

These dreamy DIYs are worth copying for your own space.

Say hello to a new home for your favorite books, plants, photos, and more.

In an attempt to channel my energy into actions that actually produce calm and order, I've found myself not only addressing clutter, but also simplifying spaces at home where I can.

The Home Edit team dropped some knowledge on the TODAY show.

I was in get-rid-of-everything mode that day I decluttered the garage. But here's the thing: I regret it.

Anyone that's been to YDFM is in the know—and it's highly likely they store their spices the same way I do because it's the actual best.

An entryway has the tall order of needing to be efficient and practical, while also fostering the more nebulous sense of what it feels like to be home.

We’re here to remind you that there’s a super easy way to keep your beloved bathroom supplies up-to-date and your medicine cabinet less cluttered.

The goal isn't to completely streamline your kitchen into a waste-free zone. Just focus on one effort, and make it a habit you can sustain week after week.

While I do enjoy cooking and baking, what I don’t enjoy is rummaging through cluttered cabinets and drawers to corral all of the bowls, measuring equipment, and other tools required for meal prep.

Kondo is issuing her followers an eight-week organization challenge, and it’s totally free to hop on board.

Marie Kondo is more than a household name. She’s crossed over to the next level and has become a verb for those of us who write, think and obsess about all things home. Yes, “KonMari-ing” and “Kondoizing” are things now. We need our socks to spark joy if we are going to keep them around; why should we settle for anything less?

I’m an accessory junkie, it’s true. I like to make, buy and hunt for new accessories and it’s very hard for me to part with old ones. This simple DIY project is a great way to organize some of your trinkets, and also a great use for all those old doilies floating around in the universe. Whether they’re from your local thrift shop or passed down from your family, this project is a great way to give doilies a new fresh life.

With every season comes a different set of clothing, accessories, and gear that’s front and center in your home for a couple of months. For summer, it’s light weight clothing, open toe shoes, and umbrellas. And, while there’s probably lots of time left for the charcoal grill in late August, the clock is ticking on the bicycles, canoe, and pool noodles currently loitering around the house.

Yesterday we talked about 12 different ways to use a bookcase in your home. Did you miss it? Check it out for sure as they’re one of the most versatile furniture pieces you can own. Today we’re back with a few more suggestions, but this time for the entryway staple: the coat rack.1. In The Bedroom: The harder we work to keep our closet items paired down the easier it can be to put a coat rack to use as a closet (especially if you use a small bookcase for folded items).

If you can’t add more actual storage cabinets to your living space, you can always increase the capacity of what’s already there. This includes kitchen cupboards, free-standing wardrobes, media centers, and medicine cabinets — all of which are silently pleading “make me better, make me better!” Fulfill their organizational destinies, with these nine tips… 1. Go for store-bought inserts that increase the amount of stuff that cabinets hold.

Closet size: 25.3 square feet How many people use this closet? Two! My husband Jonny and I. How long have you lived in your home? 2 years Your closet in 5 words or less: jam-packed, chaotic, mysterious, lazy, hoarding Aimée and Jonny’s closet is a major multi-tasker. When they first moved into their current home, Jonny had the closet all to himself. A year later, Aimée started sharing it with him.

At first this closet was perfect. Then it slowly fell apart over the course of a couple of months.

Closet size: 4.125 ft² plus a garment rack How many people use this closet? 2 How long have you lived in your home? We moved into this apartment about 8 months ago. It’s gone smoothly for the most part, but I’m definitely messier than Steven. Your closet in 2 words: Cramped and cluttered Can Melanie and Steven’s closet even be called a closet?

An organized home is incredibly gratifying. It allows tasks to get done more smoothly, cleaning completed more quickly, and projects processed more enjoyably. Plus, the tranquility and uncluttered emptiness of an organized home is a beauty all its own. These over-the-door storage products won’t tidy your entire home, but small organization projects are an encouraging way to start!

Closet size: 24 square feet How many people use this closet? Two. My partner Todd and I share the closet. How long have you lived in your home? Five years Your closet in 5 words or less: Small, narrow, chaotic, cluttered, disorderly. We moved into our Oakland apartment five years ago, and our bedroom closet has been a mess ever since. It’s not the amount of space that’s the problem, but how we use it.

Need to ditch some of your stuff soon because you’re moving to a smaller home? Or have you recently looked around your home and thought “What is all this stuff?” Whatever your motivation for wanting to declutter, you might find some useful inspiration with this advice — all from people who had to downsize their stuff when they moved into their current home.

Paper! This is a big one for lots of us and it’s one area where clutter not only causes mess, but can actually cost you money and time. Keeping on top of bills and being able to find important documents when you need them reduces the possibility of mishaps like late fees and getting a routine set streamlines the paperwork process. So, let’s think about this assignment as a investment – clear it out, set it up and permanently reap the rewards of less stress!

It doesn’t matter if you see washing dishes as a necessary evil, or if it’s a meditative time to focus your thoughts while doing routine chores. All of our kitchen sinks need TLC from time to time. It’s where we wash our food and cookware daily, store cleaning products, and where all our dirty messes go down the drain. Scrubbing the sink and organizing underneath isn’t glamorous, but certainly makes your kitchen a more effective and pleasant place to be.

One of the most challenging decisions a parent faces in decorating a kids’ room is storage. Where on earth does one store all their stuff? Two popular options among Apartment Therapy readers are IKEA’s Kallax (originally the Expedit) and Trofast storage systems. But which will work best for your needs? Read on to find out who wins out in the Trofast/Kallax kids room throwdown! As a bench? Winner: Trofast. Sure, the Expedit looks lovely beneath sun-filled windows.

If the prospect of a shiny new year has you wanting to jump back onboard the KonMari-method decluttering train (à la Emily Gilmore in the Netflix “Gilmore Girls” revival), you’re in good company. The start of 2017 has us reimagining our homes as minimalist sanctuaries, filled only with joy-sparking essentials.

Ultra-thin tablets. The MacBook Air. Everything’s getting smaller and more compact—but somehow we’re still dealing with big and bulky printers. Until Apple releases the Inkjet Air, we’re stuck with finding different ways to store our printers and make them less of an office eyesore.If you think the desk and the floor are the only spots for your big inkjet printer, think again. You can stash your printing gear in a million different places, if you know where to look:1.

Kitchen set-ups often dictate the tone of the moments that make up our home lives—from the kinds of breakfasts grabbed during the morning rush to how often a home-cooked meal makes it to the table. Whether you’re starting afresh in a new place or you’re ready for a re-do of your current space, here’s how to organize a small kitchen so that rather than creating a Pyrex-wrangling, pots-and-pans banging mess out of you, it serves you.

In the bathroom, space is always at a premium, and that’s esepcially true in a smaller bathroom. If you’re at a loss as to where to store all the necessities in your teeny tiny bathroom, these 11 hardworking products can help. The Componibili is a great piece for adding a little storage anywhere in the house, but it’s especially nice in the bathroom: the doors mean less visual clutter, and the unit can tuck neatly into a corner or under a pedestal sink.