If you’re overwhelmed by too much stuff, we have your clutter solution.
Use these 25 expert-approved strategies to defeat disorganization for good.
What do stacks of papers, kids' shoes, and a surplus of spatulas have in common?
Credit: Jay Wilde
When you need them, they’re usefulbut when you don’t, they’re clutter.
Use these 25 strategies todefeat disorganizationfor good.
Target Your Efforts
Problem:Your organizing efforts don’t seem to yield results.
Credit: Jay Wilde
Solution:Avoid zigzag organizing.
Stow a Stool
Problem:The top shelves of your closet are challenging to keep organized.
Help Your Kids Purge Toys
Problem:Generousgifting at holidays and birthdaysoverwhelms already-stretched storage.
Credit: Lincoln Barbour
Befriend Clear Bins
Problem:Household necessities are tricky to store and even trickier to find.
Clean Your Fridge on Trash Day
Problem:Your refrigerator is jampacked with food.
Solution:Hate finding moldy food at the back of the fridge?
Credit: David Tsay
Use trash day as a reminder that it’s time to clean out andorganize your refrigerator, advises Marrero.
Anticipate Tax Season
Problem:Tax season turns into a scavenger hunt for misplaced papers.
As statements come in, slip them into the folder.
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Then, when tax time comes, everything you need will be in one spot.
Declutter Your Home Using Deadlines
Problem:There’s just too much clutter to tackle.
Vary Your Closet Storage
Problem:Your closet is too small for your wardrobe and accessories.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Solution:Closets are among the most daunting tasks when deciding how to declutter your home.
The important thing is starting the process.
That may mean tackling a small, manageable project first, such as straightening adresser drawer.
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Remember, prioritize progress over perfection.
Schedule Organization Time
Problem:You’re too busy to bother with organizing.
Solution:Marrero suggests finding a motivation partner.
Credit: Brie Williams
Being accountable to someone elseideally, a friend with similar goalsis a powerful motivator.
If you’ve already created a plan but you’re skirting your decluttering duties, add a reward.
Identify the places where clutter collects and set up attractive ways to deal with it.
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Tackle Tough Closets
Problem:Your closets are overflowing with an unorganized mixture of household items.
Solution:Decide where to place items based on how often you oughta access them.
That doesn’t have to change, but you do want to reclaim your dining space, too.
Credit: Seth Smoot
Designate a bin for whatever tends to find a temporary home on the table.
Use a bin as permanent storage or a way to move things to their rightful room.
Solution:Organization expertJulie Morgensternsuggests looking to the backs of doors as hidden storage gems.
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Attach shallowshelving or bins behind the doorto double the storage capacity of cabinets and closets.
Solution:There are the obvious storage pieces, like bookshelves and cabinets.
Turn to these dual-duty pieces in smaller spaces, suggests design consultant Betsy Bruce.
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They don’t detract from your design but improve your storage efficiency.
Take Inventory
Problem:Yourcloset is overflowing, yet you still can’t find anything to wear.
Solution:Purge your closet of items you no longer wear and donate them to a charitable organization.
Credit: Laura Moss
Shelf Solution
Problem:You need more vertical storage, but you lack wall space.
Solution:Create a functional room divider by placing bookshelves back to back, suggests professional organizerNancy Peham.
(Open-backed shelves are also an attractive option if you don’t need the privacy.)
Credit: Laura Moss Photography Corp
Use these shelves asstorage for collections, dishes, and, of course, books.
Solution:Designer Susan Jeffery Lepper suggests repurposing anold wooden ladderas a rack for hanging towels.
it’s possible for you to also use it to stash grooming essentials in small buckets with hooks.
Credit: Marty Baldwin
Involve the Kids
Problem:The kids' rooms are always a mess.
Solution:Make storage accessible for kids so they’re more inclined to help clean up.
Label everything so kids know where items should go.
Credit: Ann VanderWiel Wilde
Cut Crafts Clutter
Problem:Your scissors and hole punches are taking over your craft room table.
Store wrapping paper rolls upright in an umbrella stand or wastebasket.
after you grab a system for every supply, you’ll find it easier to locate what you need.
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We also recommendunder-bed storageto take advantage of space that might otherwise be home to dust bunnies.
Forholiday decorations, storage bins meant just forartificial Christmas treesgreatly help solve storage issues.
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