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5 Organizing Tips You Should Steal from Professional Home Stagers

by CHELSEA GREENWOOD LASSMAN

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There’s no better time to freshen up your home than the present, so we turned to three professional home stagers for their best organizing tips that you can steal right now.

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Take it one room at a time

If the thought of organizing your entire home is overwhelming, break it down into chunks, suggests Wanda Colón, cofounder and instructor at The Academy of Home Staging & Design. “Once a room is complete, there is a feeling of accomplishment and it will motivate you to start on another room.”

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Use baskets

To corral items around the house, Alyssa Rosenheck, an interior stylist and an architectural photographer in Nashville, likes to use baskets. This is especially handy for families who have an abundance of stuff.

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Pare down items by color

If you’re having trouble deciding which books and accessories to get rid of, consider color and aesthetics, says Noel Gatts, owner and principal designer at beam&bloom interiors in Bloomfield, N.J. This creates a neater, more cohesive overall look.

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Declutter living spaces

Declutter the space by packing and storing personal objects, like collectibles and family photos, and getting rid of disposable items, like magazines and newspapers. When it comes to clearing off shelves, a good rule of thumb is to remove 50 percent or more of the items there.

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Pack up or donate extra clothes

In your bedroom, stash things out of sight by packing and storing off-season clothes as well as donating items you haven’t worn within the last year, Colón says.

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