Creative And Clever Techniques To Declutter Your Home Once And For All
While we might not be in spring cleaning season, it's always a good time of year to organize your home, and you probably already have the tools at your disposal to be able to do it.
From obvious examples to clever hacks you might not have thought of, if you're ready to declutter your home once and for all, here are some tips to ensure your home is organized and clutter-free.
Everything In Its Bin
People with label makers take their job very seriously, and why shouldn't they? When it comes to organization, labels can be the pinnacle that transforms a chaotic space into one Martha Stewart would envy (plus it makes you look like a high-functioning adult).
Whether it's your bathroom or laundry room, invest in clear plastic containers, a label maker, or even just stickers and markers, and put everything in its place.
Don't Forget About The Pantry
It's not just your bathroom and laundry room that need some TLC, but also the heart of your home—the kitchen. But don't put away your label-maker just yet. Invest in large clear glass or plastic containers for various pantry items such as cereals, sugar, and oatmeal.
This way the food items are easily accessible and you can see what food items you're stocked up on and which ones are running low.
Show Your Closet Some Love
Whether you have a big walk-in closet or a closet the size of a shoebox, it's easy for clutter to overtake that part of your house. While it's nearly impossible to resist a good clothing sale, it's also important that we show our clothes the respect they deserve while also hanging them up in a way that'll keep them wrinkle-free and accessible.
In order to maximize space and store clothes vertically, use a small metal chain or even soda can tabs to attach multiple hangers together.
Keep Children's Toys Off The Floor
Any parent knows that with a household full of children also comes a tornado of toys strewn all over the place. Hang a corkboard on the wall and insert small metal rods to act as shelves for the varying shaped toys.
This way, kids can see all the toys on display and pick the one they want, but can also easily put them away when they're done playing.
A Stuffed Animal Swing Set
While they're sure cute and fluffy, stuffed animals do take up a lot of space on your floor. So instead, build a "swing set" for them that hangs from the ceiling.
They'll be neatly stored away, easily accessible, and it adds a dash of whimsical fun for any child's bedroom.
Say "Sayonara" To Stale Chips
There's nothing quite as disappointing as reaching into a bag of chips looking for a snack, popping some in your mouth, only to realize they are stale. Yuck!
If you have any plastic hangers with clips hanging around your house, feel free to snap the ends off the hangers and use the clip to close off bags of food. Goodbye, stale chips.
It's Tea Time
Whether you have one box of tea at home, or you dedicate a full drawer to it, a warm mug of tea is an absolute must in the colder months.
First, invest in a clear plastic tub that fits inside a drawer, and then free up some space by recycling the empty tea boxes, instead putting the bags straight into the container. They'll take up less room and the flavor is still visible.
What An Eggs-cellent Idea
If you're a fan of a Keurig machine, those little pods can quickly become a big mess.
Use a leftover egg carton to neatly store each pod so that way the pods' labels are clearly visible and they're organized by flavor.
Easy-To-Lose Office Supplies
The key to a productive workday is an organized office. A cluttered workspace will lead to a cluttered mind, so for a simple but effective organizational hack, look no further than your candy drawer.
Use empty metal tins to store small but easy-to-lose office supplies such as rubber bands, paper clips, or staples. Who's going to be the neatest employee? That's right, you are.
It's Scarf Season
The cooler weather makes us reach for scarves to stay warm. Any fashionista will have a collection of fall attire, but heavy-duty cold-weather accessories take up a lot of space.
In order to neatly store away scarves, install a curtain rod across a door or wall, and then hang up the scarves using simple shower hooks in a colorful but tidy display.
When You Really Love Ramen
Everyone knows how quickly a kitchen pantry can fill up, and you shouldn't have to choose between a lack of space and your favorite foods. So, take a lesson from this clever and ramen-loving mom.
Using a tower rack meant for CDs, she neatly organized her packages of ramen by flavor so they're easy to access, and the narrow rack will fit almost anywhere. Dinner is served.
A Rainbow Of Plastic
It's a rainbow of plastic and yet you can never find the matching lid when you need to. That's right, I'm talking about glass/plastic container sets.
If you're tired of rummaging through drawers trying to find that one matching lid to no avail, try storing them upright in a cabinet using an old dish drying rack.
Winter Is Coming
With winter just around the corner, it's easy to get caught in an avalanche of adult and kids' winter clothing. But this clever parent may have just found the solution.
Using over-the-door clear pocket organizers, they put various gloves, scarves, hats, and other winter accessories in their own pocket, which this parent says fosters "simple storage and retrieval."
The Medicine Cabinet
With all the small hygienic items that we need to use on a daily basis, bathrooms are important to keep organized. But what if you're not feeling well and Dr. Meredith Grey is nowhere on sight?
Separated into labeled plastic boxes, people can quickly open the medicine cabinet and choose the item they need to alleviate any minor bleeding or aches instead of fishing around through various drawers and cabinets.
A Not-So-Lazy Susan
Earlier we talked about the importance of organizing a pantry full of bulk food items, but what about other goods, such as canned or bottled items?
Organize items in plastic bins, but put other items on a lazy Susan turntable so all items are accessible and not forgotten about at the back of a cabinet. It's like a merry-go-round for your food.
Keep Tea Towels Where They Belong
Tired of your tea towels always falling off the handle of your oven or dishwasher and onto the dirty floor below?
Get yourself a small magnetic clip and attach it to the side of your stainless steel dishwasher or stove. Clip the underside of the tea towel while letting the rest of it hang freely over the front, and presto—clean tea towels that are always within reach.
Remember CDs?
We hope you're ready for a blast from the past. Before music and TV streaming took over, do you remember CDs? You probably also remember the bulky plastic cases that blank CDs came in too.
So if you still haven't cleaned the basement and have some lying around, use the leftover containers to store away tangled cables or even as a lunch box that'll perfectly fit your breakfast bagel sandwich.
The Garage
We've talked about every aspect of the home except for one often overlooked room—the garage—and any homeowner knows how quickly the garage can become cluttered.
This clever homeowner used a broken rake and hung it up on a large board in order to organize his various wrenches, and then used a strip of velcro to secure his screwdriver.
Multi-Faceted Bakeware
Perhaps you're not the best baker in the family, but who said you're not allowed to touch the muffin tray?
If you're ever working on a project that involves lots of small parts (such as screws, bolts, or nails), keep them organized on the go by plucking them into their own individual cupcake tray tin.
The Last Stage Of Decluttering
At the end of your decluttering purge, you're going to have a lot of junk that needs to get tossed in the garbage—although it's quite frustrating when the garbage bag doesn't stay neatly inside your trash can.
This Reddit user commented, "Not sure if lifehack but my wife was impressed with the idea. 3M hanger upside down to keep the trash bag in place," so while his wife is impressed with this idea, we sure are too.
