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3 TikTok Organizing Hacks We’re Just Not Into

Written by

Ashley Abramson
Ashley Abramson
Ashley Abramson is a writer-mom hybrid. Her work, mostly focused on health, psychology, and parenting, has been featured in the Washington Post, New York Times, Allure, and more. She lives in the Milwaukee suburbs with her husband and two young sons.
published Feb 13, 2022
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Apartment Therapy loves TikTok for so many things. Some of our go-to organizing and cleaning hacks come straight from TikTok. But some organizing hacks you’ll find on the app don’t work for everyone — and in some cases, they’re just not great ideas to begin with.

Here are three popular TikTok organizing hacks we don’t endorse. 

Food Decanting

You don’t have to scroll through TikTok long (or honestly, any social media app) to realize people love storing their food in clear glass jars. Yes, it looks pretty, but organizing should make things more efficient, too. 

And decanting creates more work — you have to buy decanting vessels, label them, and then create a system for keeping track of best-by dates so you eat the food before it goes bad. Plus, once the jars are empty, you have to wash them before replacing whatever’s in them. Yes, it looks pretty, but IMHO, if an organizing hack is making your life more complicated, it’s not worth it. 

Pretty Bins with Rounded Edges 

If you’re organizing purely for aesthetics, then there’s nothing wrong with a bin that has rounded edges. But if your goal is to fit more stuff into less space, we just can’t get behind organizers that look good but don’t make life easier in any concrete way. Instead, we always recommend matching the angles of your organizer to the space you’re using it in — for example, if you’re organizing a shelf or drawer, choose a square or rectangle organizer rather than wasting space on one with rounded edges. 

Any Trend That Doesn’t Work for You 

Okay, so it’s not specific, but hear us out: Organization is meant to make your life better. So while that perfectly curated fridge or viral product you saw on TikTok might work wonders for someone else, if you can’t implement or sustain it, then what’s the point? Finding something that works for you and your home — even if it’s not Pinterest-worthy — is a way better approach.