Organizing

My problem isn’t the physical act of cleaning my fridge out; I do that every now and then without trouble. The real issue is keeping my fridge organized and functional for more than a week or two at a time. The whole beautiful array of fresh veggies and lined up condiments will slowly turn into a jumbled clutter that hides almost-expired products and allows dishes of leftovers to grow their own ecosystems in the back.

It’s the final week of our month-long decluttering plan (you can catch up here if you want to join in), and hopefully your home is feeling lighter, leaner and more in-control than ever. That’s why now is the perfect time to set up a system that I believe is the secret to keeping future clutter from getting out of hand.

I don’t know about you, but my bathroom is usually the first casualty to clutter. I think it’s because it’s the last room I spend time in on my most hurried, out of control days. In a rush to get out the door, I leave my bathroom in a mess of tissues, makeup and hair products that, yeah, don’t get picked up as quickly as they should when I get home. So my bathroom has always been in a perpetually messy state that lends itself to attracting more clutter.

Decluttering is an exercise in introspection. You need to think about the way you feel about your things (aka the entire KonMari philosophy) and also about when and how you use them. Who wants to hang on to things they don’t need? It’s that question—will I really use this?—that is at the heart of my favorite closet decluttering exercise: The reverse hanger trick. The idea is that you turn all the hangers in your closet around so that they hang backwards on the rod.

We’re on a mission to do something good for our homes each weekend. Sometimes we have to roll up our sleeves and tackle a dreadful, somewhat thankless task that simply must get done. Other weekends, we do something that feeds the soul for the week ahead. This weekend, rather than a deep-dive in one particular area, we’re going to blitz around our homes and attack a handful of 5-minute tasks. Turns out you can get a lot done in five (or 10, or 15) minutes.

For someone who lives in the scorching-hot-nine-months-out-of-the-year South, I have a surprisingly large amount of blankets and over-sized sweatshirts. The blanket collection has been growing ever since I left home, with quilts my mother has gifted me, vintage afghan blankets I’ve found while thrifting, and a glut of cheap throws I always buy any time I spot one on sale at TJ Maxx or Target.

If you ask a feng shui expert about the space under a bed, they’re going to tell you to keep it clear — that putting anything in that space will block energy from circulating around your body when you sleep. So, basically, they’re going to tell you the exact opposite of what I’m about to suggest. But as a mother of two little ones, I find the space under kids’ beds to be prime real estate.

For the aesthetes among us, the journey of organizing doesn’t begin and end with an approved checklist of what to get rid of. It’s more than a mindful or tactile task; if you’re a lover of design, organizing a home is organically something visual. That notion is mostly ignored in the modern decluttering book canon — for example, there are zero photographs in “The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up” — and we’re not the only ones who noticed.

Traveling with kids isn’t easy. Among the challenges that come from being away from your own home and routine, dealing with your family-closet-on-the-move, (that is, your suitcase) is high on the list. But preparing beforehand and having the right tools can prevent you from spending your precious time away from home digging for clothes in a tangled mess made of four people’s maybe-clean, maybe-not wardrobes.

As much as we love our homes, sometimes even rooms that are “done” can feel a little tired. Or maybe we’re feeling in a bit of a slump and could use the pick-me-up that an updated space could provide. As much as we wish we could plunk down the cash for that couch that’s been on our wish list or finally switch out the wall-to-wall carpet for hardwoods, there are room fixes that aren’t just budget friendly, but entirely free.

The season of winter cheer is over, Groundhog Day is past us (Phil saw his shadow, by the way) and we’re left to stare down a few more weeks of cold and darkness with holiday bills still to pay down. But don’t let winter get you down without a fight. Here are some ways to combat the winter doldrums right in your own home. Most of the difficulties brought on by a severe form of winter blues, called seasonal affective disorder (SAD), stem from a lack of light.

The entryway. It’s the last touch point with home on the way out the door, and the first point of contact after a long day. Home to shoes, bags, and accessories, it carries the important responsibility of organizing the things that help your day run more smoothly— not to mention warmly welcoming you and your guests back home.

Moving in with your significant other can be a weighty next step in your relationship (or one taken lightly to save on rent), but no matter how seriously you take it, it’s going to affect how you work in the kitchen. If you were living solo before, it could be a bit of a shock to the system to share this busy space with another being. And even if you’re used to roommates, it’s a totally different animal to share the kitchen with someone you love romantically.

Have you ever noticed that stepping into your cluttered, messy closet makes you stressed? Understatement of the day? Well, you’re not alone. It turns out that exposure to a greater density of “stuff” – like a jam-packed closet – can lead to higher levels of the stress hormone cortisol. Assistant professor of psychology Darby Saxbe, Ph.D., worked on an intriguing study at UCLA where married, dual-income couples gave researchers a video tour of their home.

If your home doesn’t contain at least one disastrous closet, I salute you. (And if you only have one closet, it’s even more likely to be overstuffed and overwhelmed!) This doorless closet, which was a catchall for everything from cakestands to lampshades, got a full makeover for less than $100 and is now totally display-worthy.

If the bathroom drawers are overflowing, the bedroom dresser is buried under a pile of bottles and jars, and your closet door unable to shut because its so stuffed, it may be time to rethink your current beauty supply storage setup. But don’t be under the impression that this kind of organization undertaking has to be expensive. The very easy and affordable storage ideas in this beauty blogger’s home could be be just the solution you need to tame your products and accessories!

Many of us are familiar with the floor/chair/bed-covered-in-clothes issue that can strike one’s bedroom at any time (or, all the time). Whether it’s the clothes you plan on wearing the next day, the clothes you wore that day, or the product of a flurry of outfit changes until hitting on just the right look—you can’t have a bedroom that’s a sanctuary if you’re swimming in articles of clothing.

We can’t get enough of the touching reboot of Queer Eye that debuted in February, courtesy of Netflix. If you’ve already binged all eight episodes of season one, hoping the Fab 5 will magically show up on your doorstep ready to make you over from head to toe while instantly becoming your new BFFs, well, that probably isn’t in the cards. But following the fellows on Instagram is a close second, because they offer up style tips, motivational mantras, and smart hacks all the same.

Tuesday, March 20, marks the first official day of Spring! Depending on where you are in the country, it might still feel very much like Winter outside, but the equinox is, indeed, upon us, which means warmer weather can’t be too far behind (…right?). In the meantime, you can use that fresh start on the calendar to get going on some of your goals for the new season.

Tax prep can be a major drag. Along with gathering all of your W-2’s and interest statements, you have to organize a mountain of paperwork—think: receipts, expense reports, and so on—to file your taxes properly. Luckily, there are several smartphone apps designed to streamline the daunting process of preparing your taxes. From receipt organizers to mileage trackers, here are five foolproof (and totally free!) apps that will have you ready for tax season in no time.

There’s no doubt about it: As well as being cozy and adorable, stylish small spaces also hold a TON of smart storage ideas. The ones below are some of the best solutions we saw in small house tours this year. No matter your home’s size, you’ll find inspiration for how to store more stylishly in 2019. When a professional organizer lives in a tiny studio apartment, expect great ideas, like these floating wall-mounted IKEA cabinets that were hung close to the ceiling.

The first time I cooked with my now-husband, I was surprised to learn he had a collection of cast iron pans in an array of sizes. What impressed me most wasn’t that he had a larger (and more well-seasoned) set of cast iron than me, but the smart way he stored his cast iron pans. Instead of simply nesting cast iron pans one inside another, metal on metal, he used a single paper towel to separate each piece of cookware to prevent friction.

A stand mixer is a staple of many home cooks’ kitchens—and it can also be an amazing focal point. It’s sculptural! It’s industrial! It comes in so many different colors! On the flip side, a stand mixer can be big and bulky and presents a fair share of other problems you might not have anticipated before you decided to spring for one. But don’t fret—there’s probably a hack for whatever it is that’s ruining your stand mixer state of bliss.

There is endless advice in the world about how best to declutter your home—some of it is helpful, a bit of it is masterful, and much of it is inconsistent. “Keep only the things that spark joy” they tell you… but, I mean, you need to keep your screwdriver and vacuum, no matter how boring or frustrating their utility may be. Point is, the “rules” don’t always work.

Along shoes-on-or-off policies and the paper towel/rag debate, few topics are as polarizing as “rainbowtizing” books. People have feelings about their books, and how they are organized on the shelf. Yes, it’s totally a personal preference, with compelling reasons supporting every method. But I have a case to make for rainbow order when it comes to kids’ books. Once I rainbow-ordered my kids’ books, I haven’t looked back.

The kitchen is the biggest workhorse room in almost every household. It’s not only the place where we store our food and prepare our meals, but especially in the age of the open concept home, it’s also a hangout spot and maybe even a homework or work area. With so many things going on in the kitchen, and so many people in and out of it constantly, it’s easy for our kitchens to become cluttered, and fast.

If you’re excited about getting a glimpse into strangers’ closets, you’re only going to get half the thrill you’re hoping for, because one of these closets has been converted into something a little unexpected. Here’s how the homeowner describes that closets before their makeover: The before photos were from the day we bought the house.

I’ve got tons of hair ties laying around—my go-to are Goody Ouchless without the metal band. They come in packages of 37 and upwards, but they still seem to always disappear. If you have long hair, I know you hear me on this. Target Goody Ouchless Elastics 5 Buy now So I’m constantly buying new packages and picking up plain single ties at the gym. I tend to keep one on my wrist at all times.

Decluttering a space is a gargantuan task, no matter how small the space itself might seem. That’s because the real challenge isn’t how much stuff you have, or how messily it might be lumped around. The really tough part of decluttering is when you pick up a single object in your hand, knowing you have no good reason to keep it, but finding it impossible to let the thing go.

There’s a hard way and an easy way to deal with a big mess of clutter. The hard way is trying to commit to tackling it all at once, mentally planning for a weekend project you know will never come, as you once again sit and dawdle and tell yourself it’ll be easier when the weather’s better, or when things aren’t as crazy in your life. The easy way is to chip away at the mess, little by little until it’s in a good place.

Kitchen clutter is like a gas: It’ll expand to fit the space allowed. If you have a small kitchen, you probably feel like there’s never enough space for your stuff. Well guess what? Big kitchen people have that same problem, too. No matter how many cabinets you have, or whether your countertop is better measured in inches or acres, your kitchen can probably use a little slimdown. So that’s what we’re going to do today. Do a 20-minute decluttering sweep of your kitchen.

Emotional attachment to an inanimate object is one hell of a drug. It makes sentimental clutter especially difficult to say goodbye to. And for me, a writer who makes a living helping people with their homekeeping, it’s a very difficult thing to help you with. So I’m not going to tell you to get rid of anything at all. At least not yet. First, let’s open up the closets, drag out the boxes, and let’s find your sentimental stuff. What counts as sentimental stuff?

Keeping your home clean around the clock isn’t the work of wizardly magic. It’s just an exercise in focus. You have to commit to give every single thing at home a place where it belongs, even if that place is kind of a zoo. That’s why, if you want to keep your home clutter-free, you don’t need a junk drawer… you need several. Let’s face it, not every object you own is easily categorized.

Harbor Freight is a great go-to source for inexpensive tools and project supplies—when you need to get something done, but don’t want to shell out a bunch of cash for pricey materials, especially for quick one-off jobs. A brief stroll through the store (or a glance at the website) reveals something else: it’s also an amazing source for cheap and versatile storage you can use in pretty much every room of your home.

One of the biggest reasons writing is so powerful is that it removes the swirling thoughts from our heads and puts them into a space where they’re far from lost. From the insights and resolutions that come from journaling to the highly practical peace of mind that comes from jotting down that new appointment on our calendars so we don’t have to not forget it, once pen is put to paper, something magical happens.

Whether you’re a pet owner looking for some inspiration, a design enthusiast who loves a good transformation, someone stressed out by this photo who needs to know that this closet is nice and neat now, or simply a human who could really use some photos of two darling dogs, this is for you. I so appreciate the realness of this photo, as well as that of this paragraph: With five children we found our entryway coat closet in constant disarray.

There’s clutter that’s obviously clutter: junk mail in stacks on the counter, toys with missing or broken parts, duplicate kitchen tools that never get used. And then there are the things that seem important or that aren’t as easy to get rid of as, say, tossing in the recycling bin or loading in the car for a drop off at the donation center. These things sit in our homes and take up valuable space in our drawers and in our minds when we encounter them.

Physical clutter is the most in-your-face kind of clutter, and (especially in the Marie-Kondo-fueled cultural moment we’re having) the most obvious type of clutter to tackle. And yet, there’s a far less visible sort of mess that can also contribute to chaotic feelings, frenzied brains, and drained energy: digital clutter.

A child’s relationship to books is one of the biggest predictors of their success down the road, and exposure to all types of print has a lot to do with early reading ability. So hang on to your well-worn “Calvin & Hobbes”treasuries, go ahead and subscribe to Highlights, and definitely send a book-loving message by keeping a fairly robust library, if that’s your thing.

If there’s one thing we can all hope for from the Marie Kondo “Tidying Up” craze, it’s finally saying goodbye to the concept of retail therapy—a notion coined by the Chicago Tribune in the late 1980s with the idea that we had started “measuring out our lives in shopping bags and nursing our psychic ills.” In her show and book, Kondo has us thank and then get rid of the clutter that is no longer serving us.

We have a step-by-step guide to get you started on a cleaner, smarter device.

Q: Please help me resolve a debate with my beloved boyfriend. He insists that oven mitts cannot be kept on the oven door or anywhere near the stove, as it is a fire hazard.

As a renter, building your own built-in bookshelves is out of the question (unless you butter up your landlord, I guess). But you can get kind of close. Here are a handful of storage solutions that, like liquids and cats, will fill any space. And the best part about modular, design-your-own pieces is that they can be reconfigured to work in your next apartment (and every apartment after that!). Boxy modules snap together with small clips, and can be placed on the floor or on top of a stand.

We’ve written a lot about downsizing over the years, sharing tips from experts and house tours, but sometimes the best ideas actually come from you, our readers. From how you let go of your things to the unexpected pros and cons of moving to a smaller space, you’ve shared it all with us. So, for those of you moving or looking to go the minimalist route, here’s a roundup of our readers’ best advice on downsizing, straight from the comments.

Here's why labeling is key to a well-maintaned organizational system

These organization systems are a step in the right direction and are also small space-friendly.

Garages often require more TLC than the rest of our homes. They’re a dumping ground for failed projects, items you can’t seem to part with, tools, gadgets, cars, and more—and keeping the mess in check can feel impossible.If you’re ready to set aside a weekend to transform your garage space but don’t know where to start, don’t fret. To simplify this space, start with a corner and work your way out.

Everyone has heard of “fast fashion,” a term used to capture the quick nature of current fashion trends. It also expresses the wasteful elements that come with it, like harm to the environment, and as a result, our well-being. But this rapid turnover of product doesn’t stop at clothing production—the exact reason why two NYC-based artists are pushing awareness for “fast furniture” through their latest, eye-catching art installation.

Eliminate the need to search for where things are and where things go.

Whether you’re sprucing up for company or just trying to maintain a tidy home on the reg, there are several things that can hinder your efforts. Kitchens are a notoriously tough room; no matter how often you scrub, sweep, and organize, if you do any of these six things, it will still look messy. This one may be obvious, but too much stuff on your countertops is a total no-no.

Have you ever noticed there's never a bathroom line at Disney World? The magic behind those disappearing bathroom queues is one simple detail.

Your freezer is a magical place. It’s a place for pints of ice cream (to devour while binge-watching whatever is new on Netflix); for giant ice cubes (to make adult cocktails); and, most importantly, for nourishing meals (to sustain you when you think your only option is takeout). Obviously, you don’t have to be a wizard in order to take care of this magical place. But you—and your freezer!—will be better off if you know to avoid these common organizing mistakes.

Channel the energy behind the change in seasons to feel more in sync with your home.

It's easy to think you need to spend a lot of money to get a well-organized pantry—but you'd be wrong.

There are so many kinds of clutter: excess items you think you might need someday, clutter you’re so used to having around that you don’t even notice it anymore, piles of paper you have to go through, and things you feel guilty getting rid of because someone gave them to you or you spent good money on them. But there’s one kind of clutter you should never feel bad hanging on to.

When Kristina moved into her new home, the lackluster office was of little use to the owners—besides being a place to toss mail, or hang art that didn’t fit with the rest of the home. Kristina decided that, if she was going to use a room as a dumping ground, it was going to look as fabulous as the rest of her home. Instead of a hodgepodge of furniture and decor, it’s now a highly functional mudroom, ready to organize all Kristina’s incoming and outgoing things.

As we close out our Small Spaces & Simple Living month here on Re-Nest, we’re rounding up a list of tips and ideas provided by YOU via this post. Everyone has a bit of a different take on coping with small spaces: it’s all about purging your stuff. No, it’s all about organizing your stuff. Wait, it’s all about storing your stuff!

With the rise in open space floorplans, having a neat and tidy kitchen has become increasingly important. If not kept in check, kitchen clutter can soon take over the entire space. And a cluttered kitchen is a sure fire path to frequent take-out ordering. Here are tips for keeping your kitchen clutter-free and ready for meal prep.• Keep the countertops clear – Coffee maker, toaster, mixer, blender … so many little appliances, so little space.

Yuko’s new workspace in Japan was cluttered and disorganized when she moved in. Her unpacked items desperately needed a place to go. Lucky for Yuko, a little paint and a lot of organization really transformed this space!We first saw this space a few weeks ago in Inspiring Studios & Workspaces. Apartment Therapy readers responded so well to Yuko’s space that I decided to do some investigating. Yuko was kind enough to provide us with a “before” image of this space.

There are many ways to inherit collections. Sometimes loved ones pass and leave behind keepsakes or parents downsize during a move. Collections can be highly personal and carry a sentimental value that outweighs any monetary value. There is no proper way to handle inherited collectibles. Each situation will vary, but often the most difficult decision is the most basic one: do you keep it?

Today’s One Minute Tip comes from Fay Wolf, with three simple ways to rethink vertical space. • The Star: Fay Wolf is a singer-songwriter, actor and professional organizer. She’s acted on shows like 2 Broke Girls and Bones, and her songs have been heard on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Pretty Little Liars. Fay’s Los Angeles-based company New Order has been organizing lives since 2006, helping creative people deal with both inner and outer clutter.

I had a growing pile of paper work on my desk, and shoe boxes full of more paper work on the floor. I needed a quick and affordable closed storage system that hid all the clutter, but still fit in our small office. If this sounds familiar, perhaps this IKEA FULLEN “fauxdenza” hack is for you. We’ve blogged about the “fauxdenza” phenomenon before.

I love a fridge makeover as much as the next person, but I die a little inside each time I see a mega-propped-out “after”. I mean, yes, it’s beautiful and yes, it took a lot of work to make it look that good, but show me how it looks in a week. How do those cute little scrapbook labels look after you’ve dripped salsa all over them? How is storing butter in a mason jar working out? The point is, don’t worry about making it pretty.

I love hanging on to old photos, heartfelt cards, and fun prints and postcards from my various travels, but it’s hard to figure out how to display them without buying a dozen different frames, or haphazardly attaching them to my wall with washi tape. But that doesn’t have to be the case — thanks to magnets. With a handful of supplies and 30-minutes or less of your time, you can dress your walls up and display all your favorite prints with this easy photo display tutorial.

We all need a little more organization in our lives. One thing I wasn’t expecting was how hard it was to find a letter organizer that matched the rest of our decor and could be mounted in the tiny two-foot wall space of our entryway. And when you can’t find a solution, you DIY it! This one can be customized with different colored acrylic or painting/staining the wood.

It took two days to create this walk-in wonderland.

In last week’s video roundup we wrote about spring cleaning, but we may have put the cart before the horse a bit: after all, it’s hard to clean effectively when your house is full of clutter. So this week we’re focusing on something we’re calling a ‘spring cleanout’ — getting rid of some of the unnecessary stuff that’s been burdening you so you (and your home) can feel light and free in the coming season.

Project by: Becky Location: Victoria, BC, Canada I can only admit this because I have now dealt with the skeleton in my closet, but I am was (fingers crossed) a huge clothes piler. As a large-scale, whole-house renovation left us needing to stretch the last dollars a little farther, my husband and I decided to tackle much of the finishing details ourselves. One item on our list was fitting out our master bedroom closet. It is not a huge closet, but at 5’X7′, it is a walk-in closet.

IKEA’s announcement last week that they were discontinuing the ubiquitous Expedit storage unit was, ultimately, much ado about nothing as its replacement, called Kallax, is nearly identical. But the public outcry by many fans was a reminder of how beloved this versatile and functional piece is. The Expedit transcends nationality, budget and decor styles as you can see in this gallery of children’s rooms.

The start of a new year often injects us with energy and motivation to organize and clean. (And, in my case, the feeling is usually gone by February!) Closets are a traditional target, but what if you don’t have a closet? Kids usually get the smallest bedrooms in the house, often lacking a closet, but that doesn’t mean they can’t have a functional, organized faux-closet. Above are 15 examples to explore.

I count myself pretty lucky that my flat has a built-in Landing Strip, in the form of a covered radiator with mirror in the entry, and hooks for coats further along the hall. I know not everyone is this fortunate (I lived for years in a flat where the keys-mail-coat situation happened right in the kitchen, using up valuable counter space), so I’m definitely grateful for my current situation. The only problem with having a ready and waiting landing strip is that you do tend to abuse it.

Whether you’re about to move or just trying to simplify your life, ridding yourself of clutter can be an uphill battle. Tackling a whole pile of stuff (or even just one messy room) can be pretty intimidating. And once you’re actually holding something in your hand, it can be hard to pull the trigger. “But I used to really like this!” “But maybe I will use this… someday.