There are so many benefits to maintaining a thoughtfully organized home. It helps you save time, energy, and even money. It reduces stressful clutter and chaos. Above all, it ushers a sense of peace and structure into your daily routine, helping you stay grounded in the present. If you ask me, having an organized home is essential to treating ourselves well and living fully.
How can you begin creating an organized home? This month, I’m sharing my tried-and-true methods for organizing 4 important areas in your home: your mudroom/entryway, kitchen, primary bathroom, and closet.
My suggestion? Start with one room, and don’t move on until it’s complete. Once you feel the joy that stems from having an organized space, you will feel motivated to tackle the next area — guaranteed.
1. Organizing Your Mudroom or Entryway
As you enter the home after a long day, the last thing you want is a mess when you open the door. A clean, organized entryway supports ease and order when leaving the house and produces joy and comfort when returning home. It’s all about that first impression.
Step 1: Create a strategy based on your needs. Spend time thinking about the items that come into your home daily — like jackets, shoes, keys, mail, and backpacks. Do they need to be taken to another room, or should they be stored in the entry? Then, once you have a clear strategy, you can introduce the most suitable storage method.
Step 2: Implement practical storage solutions. If you’re lucky enough to have a mudroom, cubby storage is a great option for housing your belongings. With a smaller entryway, short shelving units can maximize space in the entryway closet, while still providing room for jackets to hang. And don’t forget to create a designated dropzone for keys and mail. Perhaps a handcrafted ceramic dish, hooks, or a mail filing system?
Step 3: Incorporate multifunctional decor. Infuse your space with ease by including beautiful and functional items. Some wonderful options include a small stool or seat that gives you a comfortable place to remove shoes, a mirror for one last check before heading out the door, or a memo board to keep your household on the same page.
2. Organizing Your Kitchen
We spend a great deal of time in our kitchens, so it’s only natural that they will require a refresh every now and again. I like to begin by organizing the cabinets and refrigerator, as it’s a viable weekend project. The pantry, in my experience, usually requires more commitment.
Step 1: Declutter and clean. Start by completely emptying the cabinets and wiping everything down. It may seem like extra work, but trust me, starting with a blank slate is much easier. Do the same for the refrigerator and pantry, tossing away any expired items as you go.
Step 2: Develop storage systems to fit your needs. After you take inventory, you’ll have a better idea of how to store items for everyday use. Notice the necessities you use regularly and give them a priority space. For example, I place my coffee, tea, and supplements in a lower cabinet drawer. Since I am vertically challenged (at 5’4”), I utilize my upper cabinets primarily for items I use less frequently.
Step 3: Implement organization solutions. Storage accessories are a great way to utilize the entire cabinet interior while ensuring everything is visible. Shelf dividers, lazy Susans, and tiered inserts provide a way to keep items neat while maintaining functionality. In the pantry, baskets are a fantastic way to corral snacks. The Container Store is my favourite place to get ideas and inspiration, but if you’re in Canada like me, Homesense and Bed Bath and Beyond are great for finding all these necessities.
3. Organizing Your Primary Bathroom
Have you ever cleared your bathroom cabinet only to find several expired products? Me, too. Fortunately, with a little time and effort, your routines will be streamlined, efficient, and enjoyable — and organization will happen without you having to think about it.
Step 1: Declutter and clean. Take a few moments to declutter your cabinets and discard expired or empty bottles. I’m definitely guilty of keeping some of these items long after their expiration date, but let’s change that! Before moving to the next step, wipe everything down for a fresh start.
Step 2: Use drawer dividers and shelving systems. Similar to the kitchen, using shelving systems in cabinets can keep items organized and maximize the space on and in your vanity. Pull-out drawers will help you easily access overstock items like Kleenex or additional toiletries. Drawer dividers are also perfect for keeping makeup neat, visible, and within reach.
Step 3: Utilize labels. Have you ever noticed that some expiration dates fade over time? Avoid the guessing game of “has this expired?” by using a label maker to print the dates on your products as soon as you purchase them. You could also label your shelving unit, drawers, or other organization bins to keep everyone on the same page.
4. Organizing Your Primary Closet
When it comes to the primary closet, it’s about creating a peaceful space that energizes you each day. Yet most of us have too many clothes, shoes, and items we tell ourselves we will wear “someday”. These end up looking and feeling like clutter. How do you decide what gets to stay and what gets to go?
Step 1: Sort and separate your items. We suggest removing everything from your closet and creating 3 piles:
- Keep: You reach for them often in your closet because they fit and make you feel great
- Consign: No longer fit, and you haven’t worn them in over a year
- Not Ready Yet: May not fit currently or hold sentimental value
Step 2: Categorize your clothing. Once you have your pile of “keep” items, place them onto matching hangers (I love wood) and organize them in a way that works for you. I personally like to group all the similar items together — pants, jeans, dresses, blouses, casual shirts, and jackets. I also prefer to sort them from light to dark, but that’s me.
Step 3: Consign and treat yourself. I like to place any items I’m not quite ready to part with yet into one corner of my closet. If they stay there for more than a year, it’s time to take them to consignment. As an incentive, I reward myself with a new item when I get my consignment cheque back. You have my full encouragement to do the same.
How Do You Make Organization Last?
Once you’ve experienced the joy and ease of living in an organized home, you will understand the benefit of making it last. Because the truth is, organization requires ongoing maintenance. But by creating and implementing practical systems that work with your life, not against it, it becomes part of your routine — and that’s where new actions become long-term habits.
P.S. Don’t forget to celebrate your successes along the way! You’ve earned it.
In the meantime, if you would like assistance designing organizational systems during your renovation or new build, I would love to support you. Reach out to me here, and together we will create a peaceful, beautiful, and meaningful home that brings joy to your soul.
Warmly,
Lorri