The Simple Key to Keeping a Maximalist House Tidy

published Aug 23, 2017
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Minimalism may be all the rage, but that doesn’t mean maximalism is out by any means—some people would just rather live with more space and others, with more stuff. It’s all a matter of preference.

One of the perks of minimalism, however, is how much easier it is to keep your home clean. It’s less about the practice and more just common sense—not owning a lot of stuff means there are fewer things to clean, along with fewer opportunities for clutter to pile up. But that doesn’t mean that it’s impossible to keep a maximalist home organized and tidy. The key? You just need a system—one that involves two things: storage options, and even more importantly, rotation (and no, I don’t mean rotating your mattress—although you should do that too).

The storage part is important in any home no matter how much stuff you own, but it’s especially important if you’re a maximalist—more stuff means more ways for said stuff to pile up. If you don’t have a home for all your things, they’re sure to clutter up your home much more quickly than they would if you had a designated space for everything, so that’s number one.

On to part two: Rotation. While a minimalist may only own one set of dishes with just enough for the number of people in their household, someone who leans toward maximalism (often, a collector) probably owns several sets of dishes they love. Not only do extra dish sets take up space, they likely don’t get used as often as you’d like. Rotating in and out the items you have multiples of means you get to use all the things you have without them sitting around forever collecting dust.

In the dish example, if you have enough cabinet space for all your items, the key might be switching where you place each set of dishes—the ones you intend to use for a certain amount of time can go in the front, while the others go in the back, then you can just switch the placement when you’re ready to rotate. If you do have to keep some in a separate cabinet or storage space for lack of room, switch out the items you have in that space with the items you’ve been using as you go.

Or, maybe you have multiple sets of towels that you love, but you never use all of them—rather than washing the towels you use and putting them right back on the towel rack leaving the rest in the linen closet never seeing the light of day, throw them in the wash and then take out your other towels and put them in their place. The freshly-washed ones can take their turn in the linen closet.

The same goes for sheets, glassware, and more—pretty much anything you have multiples of can benefit from a little rotating. It may seem overly simple, but by coordinating your storage options with a rotation schedule, your home will feel more organized and your favorite stuff will get a little more love.