100 Best Organizing Tips for the Tidiest Home Ever
All the solutions you need to declutter your closet, bedroom, kitchen and other small spaces.
Whether you're gearing up for a deep clean or simply need some mess-clearing solutions before guests arrive, these expert-approved organizing tips will help you tackle clutter in every part of your home. Here, we've gathered hacks for spaces of varying shapes and sizes: the most-visited rooms (bedrooms, bathrooms and kitchens), popular nooks and crannies (drawers, closets and kitchen cabinets), and places that become the catch-all for, well, everything (desks, dresses and shelves). The choice is yours: Declutter your entire home or pick a few organizing methods to take control of your home one small step at a time. As a result, you might even free up some extra space — which isn't an excuse to fill it with more stuff, just sayin'.
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Think Vertical for Shelves
Some kitchen items, like cutting boards and baking pans, are best kept upright, whether for visual appeal or to make them easy to grab.
Mount Drying Racks on the Wall
Boost your laundry room's functionality by mounting a few drying racks straight to the wall. When they're not in use, you can fold them up, so they don't get in the way of washing, drying and folding.
RELATED: Clever Laundry Room Ideas
Compartmentalize drawers.
Group similar items into categories, you can find exactly what you need in a pinch. In this case, the most-used baking tools were kept together, along with a range of sprinkles and sugars for decorating sweet treats.
Turn a Closet Into a Book Nook
If you tend to keep your closet door open, make it a focal point — and a charming haven for your kids. Paint walls in a daring hue to serve as a stylish backdrop for bookshelves.
Hang a Pot Rail
A piece of copper pipe from your local hardware store can create space for hanging pots, measuring cups and other kitchen essentials.
RELATED: Storage Tricks for Small Kitchens
Install a Space-Saving Desk
If you can't designate an entire room for a home office, add a flip-down work area to just about any corner. Even when your work day is over, you can keep your notebooks, laptop and other supplies tucked inside — out of sight, out of mind.
RELATED: Easy Ways to Organize Your Desk
Fill Drawers With Mini Bins
Outfit pull-out storage with dividers for spools of ribbon and use a slide-out system for wrapping paper to keep your craft supplies nice and organized.
Camouflage Pet Gear
Keep your furry friends beside you at all times without letting their beds, food bowls and toys cramp your style. Here, a monochrome approach disguises a dog bed inside a lower cabinet space and a drawer for pet food bowls.
Make a Dedicated Work Closet
Photographer and author Alyssa Rosenheck enlisted professional organizers from The Home Edit to get her office supplies in order. They added a mix of sleek boxes and acrylic organizers for storing everything from stationery to invoices and created a small gift station down below.
Create a Command Station
Stick adhesive pockets to the inside of your spice cabinet to keep all of your grocery lists, coupons, and recipes in one spot. Add a pen loop, so you don't have to go searching to jot something down.
Try a Shelf Riser
Shelf risers give you double the space for storage. Keep short jars underneath and taller sprays and bottles up top so you can easily spritz and go.
RELATED: Clever Bathroom Organizing Ideas
Add a Towel Rack to the Linen Closet
They're not just for bathrooms. An over-the-door hanger creates out-of-sight storage space for extra tablecloths, throws, or towels.
Invest in Drawer Organizers
Though it's easy to think "out of sight, out of mind," a messy desk drawer does not help your productivity. Mix and match acrylic dividers so your pens, pencils, and paper clips all have a spot to live.
Practice File Folding
Folding towels (or even t-shirts!) upright allows you to see everything you own in a single glance. Color code from light to dark for added organization.
Try a Tiered Shelf
Find your canned veggies, beans, and soups in a flash with a tiered shelf. You'll know when you're running low on staples if you're able to see everything at once.
Let Color Handle Sorting
Manilla file folders have nothing on this pristine color-coded set. Finding important papers barely requires reading labels — just a glance toward the right color to find exactly what you need fast.
Get the tutorial at A Bowl Full of Lemons »
RELATED: How to Organize Your Paperwork
Teach the "One In, One Out" Rule
Kids need to understand that storage is finite, and that continuing to collect eventually leads to clutter and chaos. When they get a new toy or new jeans, send an old one to the donation bin.
Hang Pots and Pans
Instead of taking up valuable cabinet space with these clunky items, use Command Hooks to hang them on an unused wall, like this pro organizer did. Start by hanging the biggest items first, then incorporate the medium-sized ones and finish with the smallest items.
Repurpose Trays and Bowls
Reusing some old dishes as organizers can help you finally tame that junk drawer. Place a non-slip mat underneath to keep them from shifting when you open and close the drawer.
Hang a Towel Bar Over the Sink
It looks cute (so you won't seeing it every day), and puts towels, measuring spoons, mugs or whatever else you like within easy reach.
Amanda Garrity is a lifestyle writer and editor with over seven years of experience, including five years on staff at Good Housekeeping, where she covered all things home and holiday, including the latest interior design trends, inspiring DIY ideas and gift guides for any (and every) occasion. She also has a soft spot for feel-good TV, so you can catch her writing about popular shows like Virgin River, Sweet Magnolias, Hallmark Channel’s When Calls the Heart and more.
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