When your home is organized, your mind is clearer and getting through daily life is easier and more efficient. However, it can be daunting deciding where to start decluttering your home. After all, if it wasn’t intimidating, wouldn’t you have done it already?
The stressless path to decluttering
Every household is unique and has certain rooms that are used more often than others. One area in every home that needs organization and efficiency is your front entrance. This is the last place you see when you leave for work and the first place you see when you arrive home after a long day. It’s also the first area guests see when visiting.
Declutter and optimize your high traffic entryway first to minimize the time you spend trying to leave your home every day. Start by taking care of the floor and working your way up.
During the winter, our wet shoes and boots track snow and salt into our home. Use a waterproof mat or runner to protect your floor. When the weather warms up, pull up the mat, roll it up, and store until next season.
Create a multi-use space for seasonal footwear by placing a rack underneath a bench at your front door. Keep the shoes that you wear most often off the floor by placing them on the rack and storing the others. Your designer heels don’t need to be by the front door if you only wear them on special occasions.
Once your front entrance is tidy and organized, you’re free to move onto the other areas of your home that are often neglected.
Give your garage or shed a decluttering makeover
Utilitarian spaces like your garage or shed tend to become a dumping ground for everything from tools to toys. Declutter this space by pulling everything out, getting rid of anything broken and unnecessary, and then putting it all back in an organized manner.
A fresh coat of paint will make your space feel new and clean. If you’re considering painting the inside of your shed or garage, a good time for this task is after you remove its contents and before you put everything back in place.
When it comes to your tools, hang them on an organizational board and trace them with a black marker. If one of your hammers is missing, you’ll know immediately. You can also hang items like lawn care tools using wall hooks and eliminate them as a tripping hazard.
If you discover that you’ve accidentally collected duplicate tools that are still in good condition, consider donating them to a worthy cause. Habitat for Humanity accepts lots of renovation materials that help them to build homes for those in need.
Clean out your cabinets and drawers
Cabinets and drawers throughout your home are ideal places for disorganization to hide. Since these areas are closed and out of view, we tend to forget the mess that exists until we open the door.
In your kitchen, empty your cabinets, making sure to toss expired food and broken utensils. Make a list of everything that you need to replace, and move anything that doesn’t belong to its rightful place.
When you’re ready to organize your kitchen storage areas, use plastic containers and wire shelving to divide your cabinets into efficient spaces. Search your local dollar store for bins and anything that can be used to contain your items.
Shelves and dividers can also be used in bedrooms to put dresser drawer contents in order. Insert them to separate your socks and undergarments. Using leftover gift boxes in your nightstand drawers is a great way to organize things like electronics and miscellaneous items.
Tackle your bathroom medicine cabinet by clearing everything out and parting with things that are empty and expired. Only place things in this area that you use daily and need to be stored safely away from curious children. Before reorganizing, wipe down the entire cabinet and consider lining the shelves for an extra layer of protection.
If you have a cabinet under your bathroom sink, create themed bins to organize items for quick retrieval. For example, store things like bandaids and peroxide in a healthcare bin, haircare and makeup accessories in a beauty bin, and extras in a backup supply bin.
Once your home is organized, you’ll be shocked at how at ease you feel. Remember to make organizational changes that are functional and help you keep your home in order. If you discover something is not working to its potential, change it! Don’t be afraid to rearrange and improve your system to make it work for you. We hope that these tips put you on the path to having a stress free home and organizing less often.