We’ve all been there, despite your best intentions what was once a clean and organized space has now become a place where clutter is drawn to, like moths to the flame. As I write this, I look around my own desk and see the buildup of papers and objects I have the best of intentions of putting away, but never seem to. I know that I need to declutter to help create a more inviting (and productive) workspace.
And the mess doesn’t stop there, either. I can see it in my living room, in my bedroom, in my hall closet, and even on my kitchen table. Mess loves to mask itself as useful items, but in reality, most often it’s not. There are some great ways to help get rid of the mess and get yourself back on track to a clutter-free home. Feeling overwhelmed? Don’t know where to start? Let’s tackle this challenge together, one room at a time.
The Bedroom
The primary use for this room is for sleep and to hold your clothes, so why is that that we seem to insist on bringing so much more into this space? Often, the more furniture we have in this room, the more this furniture becomes a catch-all for everything in sight.
Clothes are no longer put away into drawers or hung up in closet, but instead, they are hung over a nearby chair that we swore we would only use for lazy Sunday’s as a nice, quiet place to read. Not to mention the pile of unsorted papers that you’re just not sure where to put them, as they continue to pile up on your floor.
One of the hidden areas we so often forget to use is under our beds; this offers us a great way to get unwanted items out of sight. Containers that will fit snugly under your bed can be used for a variety of things; seasonal clothing, scattered papers, extra books, and a mishmash of items that don’t really seem to have a place.
A great idea with such a container is to plan to go through it once a year, if you find there are items in there that you haven’t needed in the past year, then it’s time to say goodbye and offer that much-needed space to another cluttered area of your home.
Bins are also great for using in your closet to store away all those things that you just don’t need out at the moment. If you need help, there are lots of storage stores where they have closet organizers you can buy and apply to your own disorganized mess. Use the same principle here, if you don’t use it, then lose it.
The Bathroom
Jewelry, empty shampoo bottles that somehow seem to linger in your bathroom, makeup accessories, medicine bottles; all items that seem to make everything feel disorganized. Even if your bathroom is on the smaller size, there are many ways that can help you to organize this space so that it seems cleaner and even bigger.
If you tend to just shove everything under the bathroom sink then have to dig through it all when you can’t seem to find your toothbrush holder, then it’s time to stop this bad habit once and for all. Take yourself to a craft or dollar store and see if you can’t find some nice baskets to help sort all your various bathroom necessities.
Making a habit to not hold onto expired medicine and old, empty shampoo bottles will make a difference in the buildup of clutter. Purchase a shower caddy, one that will hang up over the shower head to hold all your accessories not only makes for less mess, but also makes all your bathing items readily accessible.
If space is really tight, a shelf that fits snugly over your toilet is a great helper to organize toiletries and towels. If you are able to fit one, try a medicine cabinet that fits over your sink with a mirror on the front which gives it a double-duty role and works much better than a plain old mirror. Even go so far as to purchase a shoe holder and hang it on the back of your door to hold onto extra items, like makeup, cleaning swabs, facecloths and more.
The Entry Hall
I don’t know about you, but this is one of the worst places in my home; essentially it feels like an all-encompassing place for everyone to dump their stuff the moment they enter the home. Shoes are neglected and never seem to be put away, jackets are sometimes flung on the floor, and backpacks are placed just inside the doorway with the anticipated, but never fulfilled, plan of putting it away later.
Even if you have a hall closet, (we’ll get to that one next) it never seems to fail that there is always extra needed space, especially with the changing of the seasons and different outdoor accessories frequently needed. If you find that your hall closet just doesn’t cut it, then perhaps you need to think outside the box.
Hooks are relatively inexpensive and can be placed strategically up on the wall for those frequently used jackets that little ones can’t quite seem to put away. A storage bench can also be put into the entry hall of your apartment to not only hold bookbags, extra shoes, umbrellas and other accessories, but it also is a great place for kids to sit while they are putting on their shoes.
Personalize this area for you and those who are living in your apartment; make it inviting so that everyone will want to use this space. Less clutter on the floor means a more inviting entryway into your home which you will appreciate the moment you come home.
The Hall Closet
Now, I know we talked about closet organizers for the bedroom, but sometimes there are things that a hall closet has that requires a little bit of different thinking to make it work. For example, this closet often sees the brunt of dirty shoes, boots, wet gloves, umbrellas and such that people just toss in and close the door behind. This is where a rubber mat that can be easily wiped off is a good idea to place on the bottom of the closet.
Shoe organizers are a great way to give height to the closet floor and for you to be able to stack all the shoes you have in an orderly fashion. Hooks to hang umbrellas and hats so that they don’t just get tossed onto the floor of the closet also help minimize the clutter. If you own a lot of scarves, there are nifty hangers or online craft creations that will help you store them all together in an easy way.
The Kitchen
Ah, the hub of the home; the place where we all come together with friends and family to break bread and to leave behind a mess for the ages. I remember one of my first apartment kitchens was so small I used to have to use the dishwasher to hold my dishes, thank goodness I don’t have to do that anymore. One of the key factors in having an organized kitchen is prioritizing the items you regularly use, over the items that you occasionally use. Coffee machines, toasters, and your cooking utensils are all items that should be at the forefront of your cupboards.
Consider getting rid of items that you really don’t need. Have a big gigantic rice cooker, but only have rice once or twice a month? Then it’s likely that you can do without this bulky item. Rice is just as easily cooked on the stovetop as it is in a special cooker.
Have a stand mixer, but rarely do any baking? Hold up, don’t toss this item, (they are expensive after all) but maybe find a storage unit or someone willing to hold onto it until you feel the need to become Martha Stewart. The point is, there are so many kitchen accessories that take up a lot of space, keep the ones you need and toss the ones you don’t.
If you love to cook and have tons of pots and pans but nowhere to put them, consider getting a pot rack that hangs from the ceiling, typically in front of your stove. This frees up some space for other items to go within your cupboards.
If you have lots of favorite mugs that take up space within your cupboard, (who doesn’t have a giant coffee mug or two lying around?) purchase some small hooks that you can screw into the underpart of your cupboards and proudly display them for everyone to see, and for easy access when you need them most.
Have a small basket that you can put the clutter you find in the kitchen over the period of the week, and once the week is up, make it a habit of going through it so that you can get rid of the loose items. This helps keep all the bills in one place and limits the papers that seem to always end up on the kitchen table.
We all like to save Tupperware from take-out orders because they are useful, and hey, they are also free, right? But there comes a point in time when too much is just too much. Leave yourself with a reasonable amount, say ten, and if you reach the point of every time you open the door they come tumbling out, it’s time to give some of them the old heave-ho.
The Living Room
One of the most comfortable rooms in the house, and yet sadly also one of the messiest. Whether you have books lying on the floor, piles of laundry, toys, or loads of technological gadgets that are scattered around the room, this is a room that is well-used and rivals the kitchen for the center of your family’s activity.
Tucking away cables and wires is one of the simplest ways to make this space seem cleaner without actually having to do too much. If you can’t go wireless, a designer box, or if you are feeling crafty, an old shoe box with some nice wrapping paper enfolded around it with some strategic cut-out holes in the back is a nifty way to hide these annoyingly visible cables.
Storage ottomans, shelving units, and coffee tables that can hold baskets full of hidden items will do a lot to maintain a clutter-free space. A hutch can not only be a nice focal point of the room, but also a way to put unsightly objects out of the way. Get creative with your space and don’t be afraid to improvise; if you happen to have an unusable fireplace, convert it to a place to hold some larger items.
Not everyone can live the minimalist life, nor does everyone have the time to declutter a space frequently, although it does help in the long run. By being smart about what you keep and what you don’t, along with the type of storage you use, can help you eliminate the mess once and for all.
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