10 Principles Of Organizing That Works In Every Room

10 Principles Of Organizing That Works In Every Room

Getting your home organized is a great feeling, but figuring out where to start can be overwhelming. Keep the process simple by zeroing in on these 10 principles of organizing, which can be applied to any space, anytime.

1. Get to know active vs. passive zones.Active zones are the spots in your home that you pass or touch daily (usually multiple times a day), and include the entryway, top drawers and eye-level shelves and cabinets.

Passive zones are the less frequently used spaces in your home, including the guest room, garage or basement, very high and very low shelves, and nooks deep within closets.

A common organizing mistake is to clutter your prime active zones with items you don’t frequently need. For example: Don’t keep your spare lightbulbs in the top drawer in the kitchen when you only need to grab one every few months!

2. Make open storage beautiful.Every home can use a combination of open and closed (i.e., hidden) storage. But what you choose to store on your open shelving should be visually pleasing. In the living room, this is a good place for books (arranged by color if you’re feeling artsy) and pretty objects, not beaten-up board games and stacks of video games. Likewise in the kitchen, open shelving is the place to put your matching sets of clear drinking glasses or favorite teacups, not the plastic food storage containers.

Style Your Open Kitchen Shelving Like a Pro

3. Keep things findable.Out of sight, out of mindis an especially apt expression when it comes to organizing. Clear containers are ideal when you want to be able to see the contents at a glance, and open baskets can corral loose items while still letting you look inside.

If you use containers that aren’t transparent, be sure to label them clearly—or take it a step further and label each with a photo of the objects inside. (Instant cameras are ideal for this.)

4. Make it easy to put away.This is most important when it comes to kid stuff, but we canallbenefit from this rule.

When you need to go get something, you’ll get it out— it doesn’treallymatter where it is— but when it’s time to clean up, we all get a little lazy.

To increase the likelihood of stuff being put back in its place, use easy-to-access bins, baskets and hampers, simple filing systems, and wall hooks for frequently used items.

Are You a Piler or a Filer?