The Art of Organization: Tips to Declutter Your Space

The Art of Organization: Tips to Declutter Your Space 

Storage Wars. The Home Edit. KonMari. There have always been a myriad of options and different philosophies to follow when it has been time to organize your home. They vary in extremes from a little organization or “tidying up” to all out “purging.” How much is too much? What philosophy is best? Like everything, it comes down to what works for you. We hope you’ll have a better idea of your  home organization philosophy after reading through this piece. 

General advice 

If you haven’t used it in a year— or maybe in 2019 since 2020 was a bust— get rid of it. In good condition still? Donate it. Not great? Toss it or see if it can be repurposed into something useful. 

When asked about the best advice, Jessica Franklin, at StorageUnits said, “Set realistic expectations,” which might be the best advice for those of you that just binge-watched The Home Edit and are amped to go max out your credit card at The Container Store.

“Downsizing is a process. Give yourself a realistic timeline. You’re not going to downsize your home in one day. Try to limit sorting activities to a few hours per day or set about doing one room at a time.” Sound advice. Start with the biggest room, most-used space, or the one that’s giving you the greatest amount of anxiety. 

“Most importantly,” Jessica added, “be patient.”

Lessening that anxiety and alleviating stress is one of the many benefits of having an organized home. While Jessica mentioned “reduced stress” as the most important benefit of a clutter-free home, she also said, “Having an organized home also saves time by not spending time looking for things and saves money by not buying items you already have.” Makes perfect sense. 

Too much of anything is no good

If there’s just TOO MUCH of something in general, rotate it! Off the top of my head, I know I have too many articles of clothing and my kids have too many toys for our respective spaces, and it’s overwhelming to keep organized. One way to combat this is to rotate each. Spring and summer clothes can stay in the basement or garage during the fall and winter months. 

There are tons of benefits to toy rotation, too, including faster clean-ups, developing deeper play and creative thinking, fostering appreciation and imagination, and less clutter for parents and kids! (Check out this Happy You, Happy Family blog piece for more info!) Imagine not having to fight your kids to clean-up anymore because it takes a fraction of the time! Your kids will also be less frustrated and not be overwhelmed by the amount of toys to pick-up. Less frustration leads to more children being able to handle the task on their own. Less frustration is always more fun!

Now, some fun ideas for you!

Fun and interesting trends

We’ve also compiled a list of tips and popular trends, as well as some out-of-the box organizational hacks that might be worth a second look. There are plenty of ideas on Pinterest to find the perfect solution to your space if these don’t suffice, but simply pique your interest:

*Color your world: Just brightening up the room or space, or organizing things in rainbow order, like the Home Edit gurus suggest for books and clothes can help keep your sanity. It’s easy to see what shirts will match this way too, or if you’re missing a book you lent a friend. *It also happens to be something easy to teach children so they can stay more organized, too.*

*You’re a shoe-in! Using shoe holders for a variety of things can open up more space. Storing cleaning projects in them, keeps them off the floor or opens up the under the sink space for larger things like buckets and heavier items like dishwashing detergent. 

*Don’t whine; wine! Repurpose an old wine rack into a towel holder. This one is perfect for smaller bathrooms to maximize the dead space above the toilet. In a lot of bathrooms, too, the toilet is right next to the shower, which makes it easy to grab it as you get out and dry off! It’s also a great way to add a pop of color if you have pretty towels. 

*Remote location: Lose the remote a lot? Old books can be hollowed out to become a holder on a coffee table or throw pillows with pockets specifically for the remote. Both can add to the decor and style elements of your living room or bedroom, too, and it is an inexpensive solution.

*Live. Laugh. Label: If you love it, label it. Sometimes just adding a label to a drawer or container makes life 10x easier. If you have overflow storage, too, it’ll help you realize when you’re completely out of stock items such as canned goods and pasta or toilet paper and paper towels. This will also cut down on the time you spend creating your grocery lists. 

The bottom line

Maximizing your space has quite possibly never been more important, as we’ve spent more time at home over the last year. Designating different areas between work and play can be a whole game-changer as well. Don’t be afraid to call in the professionals if needed. 

We hope you’ve picked up a few tips to help make the most of your space in your home, provide some organizational hacks, and alleviate some clutter. If you still have too many personal possessions though, or don’t necessarily use some all the time, renting a storage unit can sometimes be a life-saving investment. You might be surprised at how affordable it can be, too, to keep perhaps family heirlooms or keepsakes, summer or winter clothes, or simply furniture that has sentimental value in a unit. 

Maybe you’re downsizing or are building your dream home and need a unit. There are services and companies all over to help you with this as well. Jessica Franklin, who works with StorageUnits.com, has provided a list for those of you in the DMV for this very thing: https://www.storageunits.com/alexandria-va-self-storage/. 

“We are a resource site that provides a curated list of storage companies nearby that you can trust, and short summaries of our research that help you quickly determine whether a company meets your needs and is worth your time to follow up with,” Jessica said.

“The goal of StorageUnits.com is to help people all over the United States find the best, most convenient storage options in their communities. Our website is designed to allow consumers to quickly find and compare storage unit companies that meet their needs, whether they are looking for traditional self-storage or a full-service storage and moving solution.”

Our team of stagers at East + Ivy can always help you redecorate and declutter as well. 

So, reader, we’ll leave you with this last piece of advice from Jessica: “Start early and budget your time”-- then call in reinforcements if necessary!

Happy organizing, folks!