I’m an organization addict! With my years of experience, I’ve learned a lot about the best organization solutions and tips. I wish that someone had told me all these when I started out organizing, but figuring them out on my own has worked out well too. Just took a little longer.

So, these are my top ten organization solutions for you! I hope they help you make your life a little neater.

1. Decorative bins

I’ve written a post about this before, and it is my ultimate secret to an organized home. Bins are my number one organizing solution by far. They have made such a difference for clutter for me. It puts the clutter in a place and out of sight.

There are so many places to buy great decorative bins! I get most of my bins from the container store, target, or home goods. Every time I make a trip to one of those stores I troll the clearance section for storage bins- I always need them! Amazon has good ones too.

2. Use all the space

There are a lot of places that people overlook for storage. Some of my favorite places to organize are under the bed, the backs of doors, or even putting a shelf above doors! A lot of closets are very tall, but leave tons of space at the top. Why not store something like suitcases up there that you don’t need very often? Survey your rooms to look for unused places that can be turned into storage.

I’ve done a few things to make my storage more useful in unexpected places. You can add wheels to bins to make them easier to access under the bed. I also love the elfa door systems– they’re great for renters because you don’t need to make any screw holes or anything.

3. Take stock of what you have

You’ll never get organized if you don’t know what possessions you have in your home. It’s important to regularly check up on what you have to make sure you don’t get out of control.

We all do it- shove something in the back of the closet and completely forget that it exists. To stay organized, you should regularly survey your pack rat places and check out what you have. If it’s something you will never use again, donate it or sell it! Better it goes to someone who will actually use it, and you can make some money selling you old things.

4. Give everything a place

Do you ever have the problem of leaving things out all the time? Chances are you don’t have a place that item belongs. That’s my biggest source of clutter. So I try to designate spaces for everything I own. Sure I leave things out still, but when I get into a cleaning frenzy I can actually put everything away in its place. And know where it is when I’m looking for it. It save so much time.

5. Make it easy to put away

The other problem that will lead to you leaving things out is making them difficult to put away. If you have to get out a ladder to put it back, or move 10 other things, chances are you’ll procrastinate putting it away. I’ve made this mistake a lot! The simple solution is to make things easy to put away. One way to do this is through my favorite- decorative bins.

Now I understand that not everyone has amazing storage spaces. Some of you have tiny weird shaped closets. The point is to prioritize things you use a lot and put them in the most convenient places. And as you continue to use them, if you keep leaving something out, give it an even more convenient place to put it. You’ll never put it away if it’s hard to do.

6. Think about what you buy

Every time I’m out shopping, before I buy something, I picture where I will put it in my home. Do I have space in a closet? Will I need to get rid of something else for it to have a place to go? When you answer those questions it makes it a lot easier to unpack your shopping bags.

The added benefit of this is it helps me avoid impulse buys! If I think about where it will go and how it will use it, it’s a lot harder to justify getting silly needless things.

7. Organize unseen spaces

It’s easy to shove all your things into a cupboard or closet and let it pile up in there. If opening a door makes you shudder from the mess, it’s time to organize that space. Just because you don’t see it when you walk in the room doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be an organizing priority for you.

There are some spaces that are harder than others, like under the sink. I’ve fallen in love with this under sink expandable storage unit. It made my super hard to organize kitchen sink get some order finally.

8. Labels are your friend

If you get into an organizing frenzy, you may put everything away. But that’s no use if you can’t find it tomorrow! As soon as you designate a space for something, label it. That way you’ll know where everything should go.

There are lots of different ways to make labels, but if you just have a standard printer I love using avery labels. I find them the easiest to print on.

9. Junk drawers are okay

I know I said to have a place for everything. But there are some things that seem not to fit anywhere. It’s okay to have a place for these things. After all, even the ultimate organized Friends character Monica had a messy closet of things that didn’t fit into any category!

So it’s okay to have a junk drawer! Just don’t forget what you’ve put in there, and make sure to go through it every once in a while.

10. Little touches make a difference

It is amazing how much the small things can help make your space look less cluttered. A simple tray on your coffee table for your remotes makes it look like they belong there. A catchall plate by the front door for your keys and sunglasses looks so much neater.

In general, try not to leave anything out without a place. Little trays and bowls and baskets make your space look much neater.

Good luck organizing! Let me know if these organization solutions help you conquer the clutter.

my favorite organizing supplies

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