7 Professional Organizers Share Their Favorite IKEA Products

This month, Apartment Therapy is looking inside the homes of professional organizers to get insight on how their spaces look and function… and you better believe I’m asking them all for their favorite product recommendations, too. New containers and other organizing tools aren’t necessary to finally get your home in order, but they sure can help. And there’s perhaps no more affordable place to buy from than IKEA. Below, these seven professional organizers share their favorite IKEA products—and some of their picks might surprise you!

Fay Wolf of New Order revealed the secrets of making a small space work for two in her stylish house tour, and one of the most visually arresting items in her home happens to be her pick for favorite IKEA piece. “Our yellow BILLY bookcase is my favorite IKEA product right now. I love bold colors and as soon as this limited edition came out, I coveted it. I held off at first, as we didn’t have a good place for it. But when we started to envision my partner’s workspace coming together, we saw how it might fit in and went to grab it. It makes me happy every day.”

See all of Fay’s organizing ideas in her house tour.

Vaishali Sahni of Tiny and Tidy uses a lot of different organizing tools in her extremely organized Toronto condo, but her favorite item from IKEA isn’t a box or container. “I love everything IKEA, but if I had to pick a favorite, it would be the LATT Children’s table and chair set. We have two of these sets in our home and they have replaced our dining and coffee tables. We use them for doing crafts, working, making puzzles, building forts and eating on. They’re light and easy to move so we can easily create an open space if we need one. They’re easy to clean and the perfect height for our little ones. When we pull them up to the couch, they also work great as a table top for the adults to use to eat or work on.”

See all of Vaishali’s amazingly organized Toronto condo tour.

Janet M. Taylor has been helping clients get organized for over 25 years, and shares her advice on her website, Instagram, a podcast, and even at speaking events. Her favorite IKEA products center around home office organization. “I have several, the Kallax Bookcases I use in my home office and dining room and the square wicker baskets are great for storage. My Dokument Letter Tray in Red and my Magazine boxes I use in my office.”

We will be touring Janet’s home later this month.

Minimalism coach and small space stylist Melanie Gnau of A Small Life spent about four years living in an Airstream with her husband and dog, so she knows about small spaces. She’s recently been using that expertise to renovate the 800-square-foot house they’re now living in, and the entire stylish space is proof minimalism doesn’t have to be boring. “I love IKEA’s Komplement multi-use hanger. It’s less than $10, takes up very little space and it’s extremely versatile. You can hang up to 18 accessories on it and it’s not much bigger than a regular hanger.”

We will be touring Melanie’s home later this month.

Life In Jeneral is a lifestyle and organizing company that was founded by professional organizer Jen Robin in 2014, and her favorite IKEA product is the ever-versatile RASKOG rolling cart. “With different levels on this cart, you can use it to organize your work, arts and crafts, bills etc. Wheels on the bottom mean it’s easy to transport and move when you need it!”

We will be touring Jen’s home later this month.

Claire DeBoer is a professional declutterer and home organizer who lives in Brooklyn, and her favorite IKEA item is a container pick: The PUDDA basket. “I like the squishable shape and the fact that it folds down flat when not in use.”

We will be touring Claire’s home later this month.

Kristen is the founder and owner of Minima, and she’s shared lots of home organizing and minimalism advice on Apartment Therapy before, like in her first house tour, and by revealing her favorite home basics. And when it comes to items from IKEA she recommends, she has a few. “The HOVET mirror, IKEA PS cabinet, IVAR system, KUGGIS series, LIXHULT series and RIBBA picture frames. IKEA’s kitchens and baths are excellent as well.”

We will be touring Kristen’s newly updated home again later this month.

January is a great time for a fresh start (speaking of which, have you joined our January Cure yet?) and seeing inside the homes of professional organizers—and reading their advice—will hopefully inspire your home in 2020.

*Correction: Kristen Ziegler’s name was originally misspelled in one instance. It’s Kristen with an “E.”