How to Organize Your Home Room by Room
If you feel overwhelmed upon entering a room, unable to find what you're looking for, or a place to set down the mail, then perhaps it's time to declutter and organize your home room by room! Organizing your home not only frees up space, but it's easier to clean, keeps your highest priority items accessible, and gives your home a lighter and more put-together feel.
Before jumping into the room-by-room organization guide, here are some basic home organization tips to keep in mind:
- Give everything a space - Don't settle for a general location for your car keys or stacking mail on the dresser. Giving every item its own space not only helps you know exactly where an item is but also declutters your living space.
- Get rid of anything you don't need - Homes often fall into disorganization because of too much stuff. The KonMari Method is one way to develop healthy habits for decluttering.
- Purchase additional storage solutions - Dividers for drawers, beautiful storage boxes or baskets, stackable storage bins, or even tackle boxes for miscellaneous items can help keep things tidy.
Are you ready to get organized? Let's begin!
Mudroom and Entryway
Because the entryway is the first room you enter in your home (or the last room you leave), you want important items to be easily accessible--and easy to put away. First, consider the size of your entryway. If you have less space, trimming back on entryway items will reduce clutter and chaos. If you have a whole room, then you can expand and organize with cubbies, cabinets, & lockers.
Every entryway can benefit from a variety of wall hooks for jackets, car keys, hats, and purses. Some larger entryways or mudrooms allow for benches, shelves, or storage baskets for shoes, while over-the-door shoe storage is a better fit for smaller entryways.
Kitchen and Pantry
Your kitchen and pantry might be the most overwhelming rooms to organize in the whole house, but for most people, the kitchen is the most important room to keep organized. Often, kitchen cabinets are bursting at the seams with unused appliances, Tupperware with missing lids, too many spices and condiments, or mismatched dishware.
One of the most important organizational tips for the kitchen is to get rid of unnecessary items. Going one cabinet at a time:
- Donate appliances you haven't used in over a year.
- Match up all lids on storage containers and dispose of mismatched pieces. Narrow down the assembled containers to your most used containers and donate any extras.
- Go through spices, condiments, and other pantry items. Throw out any expired food and donate what you won't use.
- Place all dinnerware, glassware, and coffee mugs on the table and eliminate any items that are mismatched, cracked, or not used regularly.
- Sort through your pots, pans, strainers, cooking utensils, and more, keeping only the cookware that you use regularly.
Once you have pulled everything out of your cabinets and eliminated all you don't use, it's time to organize your kitchen. Generally speaking, you want to keep your cookware close to the stove, the serving dishes and silverware close to the dishwasher, and the glassware and mugs close to the sink or coffee pot. However, every home is different so organize however it makes the most sense for your life.
As for the pantry, give your most-used items the most accessible spot. Stack canned goods and use tiered shelves for spices. Clear plastic containers, Lazy Susans, and over-the-door wire shelves can give extra functionality, space, and organization.
Dining Room
The first step to achieving a functional and attractive dining room is to declutter. Sorting through unused dishes and knick-knacks frees up space so you can display the pieces that really matter. Plus, it improves the functionality of the room.
Another key element of a dining room is proper storage. For example, consider:
- A side table or buffet to hold extra dishes, placemats, serving utensils, table cloths, and napkins.
- A bar cart for adult beverages and glassware.
- A china cabinet or other shelving to display decorative dishes and glasses.
Living Room
The rule for the living room is simple: make sure everything has a home. From gaming consoles to magazines, giving each item a home cuts down on clutter and saves you from diving between the couch cushions to find the remote.
First, collect all items that don't belong in the living room and return them to their respective places. If you have a table or chair that gets heaped with clutter, take the time to sort through it. Get rid of any trash, toys or games with missing or broken pieces, and old magazines.
Next, return all living room items to their homes, such as remotes to the TV stand and pillows to the couch. If you find an item that doesn't have a home, give it one! Pick a spot that's either the most functional or the most convenient--since that's where it will end up anyway.
If you have multiple devices or gaming units, consider a charging station to reduce cords and wires. Houzz.com provides some excellent recommendations. Have a basket for magazines and another for throw blankets. Cutting back on the number of knick-knacks on your shelves or TV stand can substantially improve the look of the room.
Bedrooms
Before organizing, gather up all clothes and shoes that aren't worn or don't fit, any books you don't wish to keep, and decorations or trinkets that aren't treasured. Next, organize the remaining items by maximizing storage in these areas:
- Under the bed - Store seasonal clothes, hats, and shoes.
- Nightstand - Having a bedside table with drawers allows you to store all the random items that can clutter your bedside space such as lip balm, lotion, tissues, and more.
- Jewelry storage - From jewelry boxes to display cases, storing your jewelry can be both decorative and functional.
- Hooks - Use over-the-door hooks to hang up clothes, hats, scarves, and robes.
- Drawer dividers - These can help organize just about everything, from clothes and undergarments to bracelets, accessories, and more.
- Closets - There are many helpful options for organizing your closets. The pros at Closet Solutions & Organizers suggest using baskets and bins, hanging or shelved shoe storage, and scarf and tie racks. Learn even more organizational tips by checking out 6 Tips for Organizing Your Custom Closets.
Bathroom
Keep things simple in the bathroom. As with the other rooms, decluttering is essential, but you can save extra space by combining items, such as putting the band-aids from three opened boxes into one. Use drawer dividers or organizers to keep items from jumbling together. Many bathrooms can gain extra storage with a mounted cabinet or over-the-toilet organizer.
If your bathroom is shared with more than one person, consider labeling, color-coding, or using separate storage baskets for toiletry items, brushes, hair products, and more.
Home Office
While every home office has unique needs, there are standard organizational options that will improve the functionality and appeal of your home office space. For example:
- Use a desk with drawers for storage so your workspace can stay clean.
- Place a paper organizer on your desk for bills and other papers.
- A decorative wall calendar keeps your appointments and deadlines easily visible while adding interest to your space.
- Use a cubby shelf for storing books and other miscellaneous office items.
- Keep all items for a task in one space, such as paper, envelopes, and stamps next to the printer to mail invoices.
Conclusion
It may feel like a daunting task, but organizing your home room by room isn't impossible. In the end, your house will feel lighter and fresher as you enjoy living in newly decluttered and organized rooms.