Getting Your Home Organized
If one of your resolutions this year was to get organized, you’re not the only one! Many people have been in full-on organization mode since the new year began. Trying to prepare for a productive 2021 while still working from home is a priority for many of us, which means it’s time to reassess our home organization strategy.
Marie Kondo
Marie Kondo is an absolute master at home organization. Many people swear by her method and use her folding tips in their everyday life. Her book, The Life Changing Magic Of Tidying Up is a bestseller, as well as her other book, Spark Joy. She uses the KonMari method of organization, which is the Japanese art of decluttering and organizing. I strongly suggest reading these as well as watching her Netflix series, Tidying Up With Marie Kondo. It’s bound to inspire you and give you lots of tips. #SparkJoy
The Home Edit
Another company that I’m obsessed with that also specializes in home organization is called The Home Edit. I’ve been following their Instagram handle (@thehomeedit) for several years now. Fair warning, their IG feed is VERY addicting. It’s a black hole of organizational wonder. Their rainbow-themed method of organization provides me with so much visual enjoyment that I just continue scrolling…and Scrolling…AND SCROLLING! It’s so beautiful to look at and visually stimulating. Take a look for yourself and you’ll see exactly what I mean!
The company is all about bringing together Form + Function. It’s smart, sustainable, and beautiful. There is a lot of emphasis on transforming the space visually with their signature style with hopes of it being maintained over the long term. They have a product line, a best-selling book, and a show on Netflix! In my opinion, it’s home organization at its very best.
Blending Different Organizing Strategies
Whether they are reorganizing a closet or a bookshelf, each home organizer follows a specific pattern to tackling clutter. Marie Kondo and The Home Edit ladies have a lot of similarities in their overall approach to tackling an organizational project.
They always use these steps when organizing an area:
EDIT - When you decide what to keep, and what to give away, you must first pull everything out of its current spot and put it in the middle of the room. Take plastic bags off of all clothing so you can actually see what you’re working with. Empty all packages and boxes so you can see everything you currently have in the space. For the purging portion of the project, I happen to love the Marie Kondo way of tackling what stays and what goes. She suggests taking one piece at a time, holding it in your hands, and asking yourself if that piece of clothing still “sparks joy”. If the answer is yes, keep it. If the answer is no, then get rid of it! To negate any feelings of guilt about getting rid of something you are supposed to ‘thank’ the item for serving its purpose and then donate it to someone in need, so it can bring joy to someone else.
CATEGORIZE - Once you have edited your inventory, it’s time to come up with a categorization plan. In your closet you can organize by season and then by length and color. This makes the area more visually appealing. In other areas of your home, you might organize items by size and then frequency of use. If you only use your crockpot a few times a year, there is no need for it to take up space on your countertop. The same goes for backstock items. If you buy 100 rolls of toilet paper from Costco you only need to have a few rolls stored in your bathroom. The rest should be placed in an area that doesn’t take up valuable organizational real estate like bathroom drawers and under sink cabinets.
CONTAIN - Now that you have decided how to categorize your items, it is time to assign them a spot to be organized and contained. In your closet, moving shelving around to maximize shelving space and hanging space is a great place to begin. All drawers should be used for accessories. Find a container that can hold and display handbags and clutches. Make sure you use matching hangers for all hanging clothes. I would suggest stocking up on rattan baskets or lucite bins to hold like items together. The founding concept of the KonMari method is that every single item you own (even your chapstick) should have a dedicated place in your home. Baskets and bins help maintain organization and order in large drawers, cabinets, and shelves.
MAINTAIN - If done correctly, maintaining your system should be the easy part! One of my best tips I’d like to pass along to you is to keep an empty shopping bag in a discreet location in your closet. When you are getting dressed and come across an article of clothing that you no longer need or want to keep, drop it in that bag. In this way, you edit as you go through your daily life, not just when you want to do a big closet cleanout. By having a system in place and giving everything a designated spot where it belongs, it makes your daily life so much easier. It’s time-consuming to do a full cleanout but by being organized and having only items in your closet that you wear, this will make getting dressed a whole lot easier.
Products to Help You Get Organized
Both Marie Kondo and The Home Edit have product lines that are available at The Container Store. Any type of bin, basket or organizational container that you could possibly need can be found in one of their retail stores or online. Below are some of my favorites from both The Home Edit team, Marie Kondo and The Container Store in general.
Happy Organizing my friends!
xx Barbara
Grey Montauk Woven Rectangular Storage Bin: Anything but ordinary! The soft, natural color and sturdy weave of these bins are reminiscent of a beach house or a spa retreat in the Hamptons. There is ample room for clothing and even accessories in the closet. A removable, cotton liner completes the look.
Marie Kondo Shoji Bamboo Bin: This storage bin is part of Marie Kondo’s sustainable product line. It has been handmade of bamboo and is a perfect catchall for neatly storing linens, clothing items, or accessories. It is finished with a coated fabric liner that wipes clean so everything is “tidy” enough to place in your closet or display on a shelf.
4” Expandable Drawer Dividers: Organizing drawers becomes a whole lot easier with these drawer dividers. Because these dividers expand, you can easily arrange them to best fit your needs. They easily lock into place and have foam bumpers on the ends to protect your drawer from scratches.
Marie Kondo Calm Hikidashi Medium Organizer Boxes Pkg/8: This set of eight organizers make perfect homes for your special items and will help keep your belongings neat and tidy. Hikidashi means “drawer” in Japanese and these clever boxes will fit into most standard dresser drawers. Each sustainable set includes 8 pieces - four deep boxes and four shallow lids. Made from durable recycled paperboard, they are finished in a textured paper that looks like linen.
Non-Slip Velvet Hangers: These hangers are my favorite, and the reason is because its slender profile makes the most out of any closet space. In addition, the non-slip velvet provides a secure hold, preventing items from slipping or falling off the hanger which is a win-win deal for me. They are lightweight, yet strong enough for heavy-duty storage like coats.
5-Section Premium Acrylic Collator: You might be wondering what this piece is doing on this list of products for the closet. Typically this piece would come in handy as a filing system. However for me, I think this item is a perfect way to organize and store clutch handbags.
Marie Kondo Stacking Slatted Shoe Shelves: Give your shoes a beautiful home with these pinewood shoe shelves. You’re able to stack up to three shelves securely, and the best part? No tools are needed! With these shoe shelves, you’re able to store up to four pairs of shoes on each shelf or twelve pairs in all.
Clear Stackable Shoe Drawer Case of 6: These clear stackable shoe drawers provide visible storage for closet organization. While these drawers are sized perfectly for shoes, the drawers can also hold other items as well - scarves, socks, lingerie and accessories. They are specially designed to stack securely.
Avera Jewelry Organizer Trays: These jewelry trays are completely modular and are beautifully constructed from quality materials. They fit perfectly within the Avera jewelry system but they can also easily be taken out, reconfigured, and rearranged depending on what jewelry you wear most. The trays have a plush velvet interior to hold your jewelry and a velvet-like exterior over MDF.
Marie Kondo Shoji 2-Section Bamboo Hamper: This bamboo hamper with its latticework front is a nod to traditional Japanese shoji screens. The solid bamboo lid keeps contents out of sight. It has a removable divided liner that allows for quick sorting of laundry: lights on one side, darks on the other. The liner is easily wiped clean which makes it both practical and elegant. Take the liner out, and it can be used to store seasonal linens and other bulky items that you want out of sight. I love a multi-functional item!