98 Tips To Declutter and Destress Your Life
Whether you're always looking for new ways to reorganize your space, or living that "less is more" motto, it's never a bad time to tackle the clutter in your life and organize your home. It should work for you and not against you. But, the challenge remains: how to get organized? Thankfully, Woman's Day checked in with some certified National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals members to uncover and highlight the best organizing tips for tidying up even the peskiest of spaces.
Beyond the "how," organizing can also give you a sense of peace. "Organization, to me, is one of the most calming and stress-free therapeutic vitamins that you could ever take," Wendy Silberstein, a professional organizer who's also known as the Aesthetic Organizer, tells Woman's Day. "Organization dictates what your daily life will be like; it brings families together; it brings marriages together; and it makes daily life so much simpler."
Professional organizer at STR8N UP, Jennifer Truesdale, tell's Woman's Day that finding ways to stay organized can help people avoid "decision fatigue," which is a state of mental exhaustion that comes after making a million tiny decisions all day. "If we can eliminate any clutter or chaos with organized systems and simplify our routines with more order, then we can eliminate many of those subconscious decisions that tax our brain throughout the day, allowing us more time for maximizing our daily productivity," she says.
Of course, it may feel overwhelming to organize your entire home, so it's important to take it one step at a time. Our experts provide some easy tips to get you going.
One of the first things you need to do to keep your home orderly is to get rid of what you don't need. It's common to contain stuff you never use because you either forgot you had certain things or you've developed emotional attachments to items.
Be honest with yourself. Let go of what you don't use or won't miss.
If you’ve collected a lot of small sampler products, corral them together in a clear zippered pouch that you can either grab and go the next time you travel or that you can keep in a drawer under the sink to try out the next time you want to change your skincare routine, professional organizer Wendy Silberstein advises.
It sounds silly, but a bad fold job can easily make your home look unkempt.
If you don't have folding skills, use a folding tool.
If you’re a whiz in the kitchen, Silberstein advises keeping the things you use most often close at hand. She recommends putting your spices on a lazy Susan either on the counter or in a cabinet next to your oils and vinegars, somewhere by the stove so they’re easy to reach when you need them.
It’s no secret that socks always seem to get lost. Keep them with their pair by putting them in a mesh bag attached to your hamper and then throwing the whole thing in the wash. “If everyone has their own sock bag, you will be able to match into pairs and put them away with ease,” professional organizer Jennifer Truesdale says.
Instead of buying bowls, pots and pans, food containers, and other grouped-together items at different times, get them together or as a set.
Why? Because they're more likely to easily nest together or fit within each other, making them easy to store.
If everything has a place, your home will look neat. Make sure items that can be contained are in a specified container. This will also help you remember where you put things. It's a no-brainer.
“You want your kids to be independent and understand where things are,” Silberstein says on the importance of labeling when you live with others. A simple set of labels for where major items go will help ensure that people can find them and put them back where they belong.
Just as grocery stores have a designated place for different types of items — meats, dairy, snacks, etc. — so too should your fridge. Silberstein advises using clear bins in your fridge to keep everything in its designated place, and stacking the bins to take advantage of the height available on most refrigerator shelves.
Unless you are trying to have an old-phone museum or a graveyard of old computers, it's time to get rid of old tech.
Consider selling your items on eBay or disposing of them the proper way by doing a quick Google search on how or where to recycle, depending on the item.
“Pockets are your friends,” says Truesdale. “Use over the door shoe bags with pockets for corralling all types of items when you need extra hidden yet accessible storage.”
“Don’t have 100 products,” Silberstein says. “Most people think they have no space under their sink, but they just have so many products they don’t need.” She suggests picking your favorite multi-surface cleaner, glass cleaner, and bathroom cleaner, and storing those with a few sponges and rags in a bin under the sink.
If you have a partner or little one who’s constantly cluttering up the same space, have a dedicated basket in that space to keep things tidy. “Items can be put in the basket and easily carried to their room to be put away later,” Truesdale says.
Turn the inside of a cabinet door into an undercover organization station that stores important info like the WiFi password, memos, and coupons. Create your own memo board by trimming chalkboard vinyl to size and positioning at eye level.
Assign specific living quarters to everything you own, and enlist baskets, trays, crates, and hooks to help. If it doesn't have a home, it doesn't stay in the house.
Create a designated spot for outgoing items (packages, store returns, and more) to prevent them from crowding the tabletop and floor.
A mug over here, a coffee maker there, some K-cups elsewhere... A designated coffee station can make a difference in your mornings and in the overall vibe of your space.
Grouping things in color can help you live in many ways. Not only will you know where everything is, this organizing method will also make things look beautiful.
A small, open tray on the coffee table keeps remote controls from slipping between sofa cushions, says professional organizer Kathy Waddill, author of The Organizing Sourcebook: Nine Strategies for Simplifying Your Life.
If you still have these, say goodbye to CD stands and move all your discs to a storage wallet. Better yet, import songs into your iTunes library or add them to your Spotify playlist. Moving forward, commit to going digital only.
You can also convert home videos and more with a service like imemories.com.
Keep a wastebasket in every room of your house so there's always a place to toss trash, suggests Waddill.
To stay on track (and make cleaning feel less overwhelming), jot your routine down on index cards — organized by daily, weekly, and monthly to-dos — and post them on a bulletin board, says Debbie Williams, founder of organizedtimes.com.
When you unload your groceries, instead of keeping them in the containers they came in, just throw them right into your refrigerator drawer or matching storage bins.
It'll keep your fridge looking beautiful, while also streamlining your produce storage.
Whenever you run across anything stained, ripped, the wrong size, or never worn, immediately toss it in the trash or a charity box.
That garage you don't care for? It's a haven of storage that will keep the main parts of your home clutter-free. Put some thought into how you lay out "rough storage" in your garage so you can maximize the space.
Use a plastic caddy, not valuable shelf space, to store cleaning supplies. Keep it on the broom closet floor (locked, if you have small children) and tote it from room to room.
Store sheet sets in the same room as the bed, between the mattress and box spring, or tucked into an under-the-bed box.
Keep a cedar chest or a lightweight wicker basket at the foot of your bed to store blankets and extra pillows in a cute, organized fashion.
And by "home base," we mean the spot where you keep important notes, dates, planning, and more for the whole family to have access to.
By buying a really nice calendar or board, you can give it a "style" moment to add some life to your home too, while you're at it.
Tuck a whisk broom and dustpan under the sink in each bathroom for an easy daily dust-up.
Put that box of old rags and T-shirts to good use and keep them next to your cleaning products for easy access. Or, you can invest in reusable paper towels.
Just accept it: Place a small basket for magazines and books next to the toilet.
Give kids their own alarm clocks and post morning checklists of things they need to get done before heading off to school. It'll teach them responsibility and you'll have less stuff to organize yourself.
This might sound a little excessive, but it's effective. Imagine that you're moving. You'd box things up, and in the process declutter and be ruthless about it at that.
When you "unpack," all you'll be left with is what you truly want in your home.
Move kids' cereal boxes, bowls, and cups to an "I can reach it!" lower cabinet. Using a cereal dispenser can add to the independent fun. Try putting juice boxes, milk, and other healthy, kid-friendly snacks in an accessible place in the refrigerator.
Leave a cute shoe basket or shelf by the front door (or the kids' bedroom doors) to avoid those excruciatingly long searches through the house.
It sounds obvious, but generally making things look nice is the way to go if you want a neat and tidy home.
Use your creativity and buy things to store and adorn with that have your personality.
Have a two-compartment hamper in the bedrooms so everyone can sort lights from darks as they undress. These hampers can also act as decor — if you buy one that's cute enough, that is.
When switching between kids' summer and winter clothes, mark boxes with the date and sizes so you don't have to paw through them to know if they'll fit.
Instead of having mismatched boxes, jars, and bottles in your pantry, go the uniform route. Buy dry storage for your ingredients to have an Instagram-worthy style. Label them if you must.
It can be our dirty little secret. No one has to know. Even Monica from Friends has one.
Pick one closet in your home that will serve as your "junk" closet to house all of the random odds and ends that just don't quite fit anywhere else. It's a simple solution to the problem that is having clutter everywhere. Contain the clutter!
No room for a dresser? One or two sets of plastic or canvas hanging shelves in the closet make choosing clothes much easier.
Leave a weatherproof, bench-style storage box outside for the kids' outdoor toys.
Keep some toys undercover in the living room with decorative, lidded baskets.
Gather all balls and sports equipment into a large, mesh bag. You can also use mesh bags for stuffed animals, towels, and blankets.
Stand kids' paperback books in rectangular plastic or wicker baskets so they're easy to sift through.
Photograph your child's 3D creations and save the pictures instead, suggests Stacy DeBroff, author of The Mom Book.
You can also "mint" your kids' art and turn them into NFTs.
You can keep your pantry and refrigerator clutter-free by meal-planning. Post several weekly dinner menus on the fridge and alternate among them for easier, waste-free grocery shopping.
Don't keep space-hogging cookbooks. Photocopy favorite recipes and slip them into plastic sheet protectors inside a binder, find the recipes online and pin them to your Pinterest board, or bookmark them for later.
Have a bunch of takeout menus in a drawer? Consider buying a folder or special container for your favorite restaurants and eateries.
Use a mini flower pot with a drip tray near the sink to stash sponges, steel wool, and food scrapers.
Put countertop flour and sugar canisters on a lower slide-out cabinet shelf. You could even use a sturdy baking sheet or plastic tray as a makeshift slide-out.
Double cabinet space with two-tiered turntables, or other cabinet shelving. It'll increase cabinet storage and keep your counters free of clutter.
Trade round food storage containers for more efficient, stackable square and rectangular ones, says DeBroff.
To free up kitchen space, borrow — don't buy — things you rarely use such as juicers, waffle irons, melon ballers and rolling pins. Already have them? Sell 'em.
A second freezer offers more storage, keeping your main fridge nice and tidy. Plus, it makes you walk farther for the ice cream. Just don't freeze these foods, according to experts.
The kids aren't the only ones who forget things when they're in a rush, so jot down your own list of to-dos that need to get done before work.
Being more efficient with your day-to-day will free up your time to declutter the house.
Create other essential checklists: what goes in your gym bag, what joint-custody kids need to take back and forth between houses, what to pack for trips, information for babysitters, etc. Keep them on your computer for updating and print copies that you can put in a folder near the phone.
Set your computer or phone calendar's alarm for the week before dates you need to remember, whether it's an anniversary, birthday, or the day you need to change the furnace filter. That way you have plenty of time to make appointments and buy what you need.
A clear mind means a healthy home.
Organize future events with a monthly accordion file. Put birthday cards, directions to a baby shower, a note to check on furniture deliveries, even vacation brochures in the appropriate months.
This system can also house the random notes you leave around the house for yourself.
Put a clock in every single bathroom. It'll keep you on schedule while you get ready, and frees up your time so you don't jet out the door leaving the house a mess.
Don't assume he'll keep those Honey-Do projects in his head. Post them on the bathroom mirror. (Bonus points if you add a cute drawing or love note.)
The projects can also be things that help keep the house in order. Win-win!
File copies of important documents (birth certificates, car title, passports, proof of immunizations, insurance information, etc.) in a three-ring binder with zippered plastic pockets. If disaster strikes, you can grab it and go.
Add address book pages sorted by category: kids' friends, gourmet food club, tennis friends, and so on, DeBroff suggests.
This, again, eliminates all the unnecessary papers, business cards, and post-it notes lying around the house.
Stock your nightstand drawer with pencils, notepads, and a flashlight for easy access. Don't have a bedside table? Try a bedside storage caddy.
Corral an unwieldy bedroom reading pile with a small bookshelf next to your nightstand so you can read all night long.
Go on and buy that closet organizer instead of just dreaming about it. It'll be well worth it.
Start each season by arranging clothes hangers so the hooks face out toward the room, says Kim Cosentino, owner of De-Clutter Box, Inc. in Westmont, Illinois. When you wear something, turn the hanger the other way. At the end of the season, get rid of anything that hasn't been turned.
Vacuum-sealed storage bags are about to be your new best friend. Who says everything you own needs to be in sight?
Free up drawer space by stacking jeans, sweaters, and gym clothes on closet shelves. Slip-on shelf dividers keep them from falling over.
Keep a foldable step stool in or next to your closet so you can get to those hard-to-reach shelves.
To free up your dresser, put stacking bins inside your closet for socks, underpants, and bras.
Bring order to scarves and belts with an "accessory ladder." Set up a chain of shower curtain rings — one for each item — trailing down from the top of a hanger, says Donna Smallin, author of Organizing Plain and Simple. Clip purses to a second ladder.
Keep ponytail holders on shower curtain rings or stash them in a bathroom vanity canister.
Hang a flat jewelry organizer with transparent pockets inside your closet door.
Pare down your cosmetics so that it all fits in one portable bag.
Make a "just for me" pampering kit so lotions, scented candles, nail polish, and more aren't scattered across various rooms.
Make decorative keys that clearly stand out from one another. Example: you could use stars-and-stripes for the house and flowers for the garden shed. Or, simply opt for key caps in different colors to help differentiate.
Your car may not be in your house, but it's certainly an extension of it.
Line the backs of car seats with compartments for housing sanitizer, water, snacks, cleaning wipes, and more.
Use an app, rather than pesky, messy notes.
If the Reminders app on your iPhone just doesn't cut it, use a clothespin to clip to your purse strap those "Can't Forget" notes: Get allergy shot. Pick up kids early. Tell mechanic about squeaking brakes.
Instead of keeping the car essentials in your home, actually keep them in the car.
Create a "just in case" box for the car trunk: umbrella, cheap rain ponchos, scissors, a big black marker, tape, paper towels, plastic bags, extra kids' socks, a one-size-fits-all T-shirt, a sweatshirt, and a pair of sweatpants for adults, another for kids.
Same goes here. If the essentials are for your office, leave them there rather than in your home.
Keep an extra pair of glasses, contact lenses, pantyhose, and other emergency gear in your desk.
Use your datebook to keep projects on track, and block out times to tackle each bite-size segment so you don't overbook yourself.
If you're on track with work and appointments, it'll give you more time to keep your home looking fine.
Rule of thumb: if you don't need it every day, get it off your work station — whether that space is a home office or at your company headquarters.
Tame the file frenzy with broader file names, such as one for "Employees" rather than two for "Personnel" and "Evaluations," Waddill recommends.
When you have a project with a lot of paperwork, stay organized by using a three-ring binder instead of flimsy file folders. List everyone involved and their contact information on the first page.
To organize smaller projects, write contact details on the front of the file folder.
Move finished project folders from your office into storage. Don't wait, do it right away so stuff doesn't pile up.
Keep a file folder near the door that everyone can drop receipts into as they come home. At the end of the week, organize it into a long-term folder or recycle as needed.
Keep a flathead screwdriver in a kitchen drawer to avoid an annoying trek to the toolbox, and to avoid having a clunky toolbox in your home's main space.
Gluing jar lids to the underside of a surface saves precious shelf space and gives odds and ends a permanent home. Sort nails, screws, bolts and more into different jars, twist them onto the lids, and unscrew to add or remove as needed.
Hang a spray-painted pegboard for tools, coats, baseball caps; use wall hooks for blow dryers.
Now you can just grab and go when it's time to clean the car.
Keep a large, sturdy garbage can on wheels next to or in your garage so you can easily toss candy wrappers and other trash, Waddill suggests.
Shift your tools the same way you shift your clothes: in the winter, put the snow shovel in front and the rake in the back.
Save space on rarely-used equipment by coordinating a borrowing system: You'll have the fertilizer spreader, one neighbor will have the extension ladder, another will have a chainsaw, and so on.
Place just-watered hanging plants on hooks over the sink, so they can drip without making a mess.
98 Tips To Declutter and Destress Your Life
Whether you're always looking for new ways to reorganize your space, or living that "less is more" motto, it's never a bad time to tackle the clutter in your life and organize your home. It should work for you and not against you. But, the challenge remains: how to get organized? Thankfully, Woman's Day checked in with some certified National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals members to uncover and highlight the best organizing tips for tidying up even the peskiest of spaces.
Beyond the "how," organizing can also give you a sense of peace. "Organization, to me, is one of the most calming and stress-free therapeutic vitamins that you could ever take," Wendy Silberstein, a professional organizer who's also known as the Aesthetic Organizer, tells Woman's Day. "Organization dictates what your daily life will be like; it brings families together; it brings marriages together; and it makes daily life so much simpler."
Professional organizer at STR8N UP, Jennifer Truesdale, tell's Woman's Day that finding ways to stay organized can help people avoid "decision fatigue," which is a state of mental exhaustion that comes after making a million tiny decisions all day. "If we can eliminate any clutter or chaos with organized systems and simplify our routines with more order, then we can eliminate many of those subconscious decisions that tax our brain throughout the day, allowing us more time for maximizing our daily productivity," she says.
Of course, it may feel overwhelming to organize your entire home, so it's important to take it one step at a time. Our experts provide some easy tips to get you going.
If you're wondering how to get organized ASAP, wonder no more. These 100+ best organizing tips will help you perfect your home, life, and everything in between.
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