Organizing Tips to Create a Serene Home

Now that spring is here, many of us are airing out our homes and doing our spring cleaning.  We are storing our winter clothes and purging what is no longer functional or used.  And we are re-organizing.

The benefits of organizing your home are numerous.  First of all, if your home is organized, you can find things!  If everything has a designated place, you won’t be running around looking for an extension cord for your lamp, or trying to track down your whisk in the middle of making a recipe.

However, to me, the most important benefit of an organized home is that it just looks better.  There is a reason why people love Ikea.  Ikea sells a vision of the tidy, organized home.  Their furniture has clean lines, and their showrooms give you a taste for what could be – a perfect home, where everything is in its proper place.

Messy homes are unattractive.  No one wants to look at clutter.  Our minds instead are drawn to clean, organized spaces.

But how do we achieve that serene, organized look that you see in store showrooms and design magazines?  Below are some tips to help you create exactly that. Follow them and create the peaceful, uncluttered space that you desire.

Tip #1 – When Organizing, Less Is More:

As a society, we tend to think that having a lot of stuff means that we are rich.  So, we buy a lot of things because we want to feel wealthy.  As a result, we end up with too much unnecessary stuff.

For example, I’ve known people who have different sets of dishes for every season.  They have multiple sets of bath towels.  Their houses are filled with endless knickknacks.  And as a result, their houses have a messy feel to them because they have too much stuff .

If you want your home to have a clean, peaceful aesthetic, you need to pare down your belongings.  A room which is “busy” is not attractive.  No one can relax in a room that is full of stuff – no matter how expensive that stuff is.  When decorating, you need empty spaces to balance the filled ones. 

So, don’t be afraid to get rid of some of your belongings.  I donate clothes every season that I no longer wear.  In fact, I love the look of my closet after a good purge. It nice to open my closet and have only the clothes that I need and that are flattering on my figure!

I also only own precisely the number of dishes, towels and bedding that are necessary for my family’s daily needs and the occasional overnight guest.  I don’t “collect” household items.  As a result, I am able to keep my linen and kitchen closets organized and under control. 

Don’t be afraid to pare down your belongings.  Keep what you love and donate the rest.  I promise that whatever you donate will be put to good use by some deserving soul. And your home will look so much better!

Tip #2 – Group Similar Items:

When organizing your belongings, you want to group similar items together as much as possible.  For instance, in my closet, I have hung my clothes in groups.  All my collared blouses are hung together.  I’ve put my jeans in a separate section.  And my dresses are likewise grouped together.  I also group items by color.  It is pleasing to the eye to have similar items together in groups.  It also makes it easier to find what you are looking for!

In my linen closet, I apply the same principle.  Bath towels are on two shelves. Toilet paper and Kleenex are together.  Candles are on another shelf. 

Grouping like items together is not only aesthetically pleasing, but it also helps with shopping.  For example, if all your jeans are grouped together in your closet, and you have quite a few pairs staring you in the face, you aren’t going to be tempted to purchase another pair.  Instead, you might pick up a short-sleeved blouse, if you can see in your closet that you don’t have very many.

So, try to group items together as much as possible.  Not only will your home look better as a result, but your shopping will be far more practical.

Tip #3 – Organize Using Boxes, Baskets and Shelves:

There is a reason why The Container Store is so popular.  Clear plastic boxes are an ideal way to organize your closets.  Not only do they “contain” all your stuff, so that it isn’t in a disheveled heap, but you can see what it is inside each box. 

I regularly use clear plastic boxes for organizing, and I put big labels on each box to identify its contents.  So, for example, when I look in my linen closet, I don’t have to figure out where the band-aids are.  I just immediately reach for the box labeled “First Aid.” 

While plastic boxes are great for your closets, they aren’t décor.  You don’t want them on display in your home.  So, if you have to store things outside your closets, a pretty way to do so is by using baskets.  For instance, in my laundry room, I have an assortment of baskets to store cleaning items.  It just looks better than to have those items in baskets rather than in a messy array on the shelf. 

Finding attractive baskets isn’t hard.  You can track down them down in all kinds of places.  You, of course, can buy them at your local craft store.  And people are always trying to unload them at garage sales.  However, my favorite place to get baskets is with gifts.  We regularly get gift baskets during the holidays, and I recycle them for storage.  Waste not, want not!

Shelving is another great way to organize your home.  For example, unless you have a home with designer closets, your closets are probably big empty spaces.  I put simple shelving units in my closets to be able to use the full space of the closet from bottom to top.  It is amazing how an inexpensive shelving unit can transform a messy closet into a well-organized one.

Wood shelves are a great way to organize outside of the closet.  A wood bookshelf can display your favorite books, photos and knickknacks.  A beautifully organized shelf is not just practical, but it is also pleasing to the eye.

Tip #4 – Make Tidying and Organizing a Daily Habit:

Unfortunately, we only tend to reorganize our belongings when the situation reaches a crisis point.  Our closets are messy and overflowing.  Or our homes look cluttered.  And then we finally throw our hands up in the air and say, “I need to take an afternoon to purge and reorganize this mess.”

But there is no reason to let our homes get to that point.  If you do a little bit of organizing each day, you’ll be amazed at how orderly your home can be.  There are a couple of ways to keep your home in order.

First, think twice before even bringing anything into your house.  Impulse buying is never a good idea.  So, only buy clothes that you really love.  And only buy household items that you think are beautiful or that are highly functional.  Or both!  For instance, my husband often gives me bakeware from Le Creuset.  Not only is their bakeware great quality, but it is pretty! 

In addition, make it your rule of thumb to always leave a room in better condition than when you entered it.  So, before you leave a room, straighten up a bit.  Put things where they belong.  If you make it a habit to continually straighten, your home will never become unkempt.

Maintaining an organized home isn’t rocket science.  But when we let things get out of control, organizing the house can seem like an overwhelming project.  Follow the tips above and keep your home tidy, organized, and a place that you want to return to at the end of the day.