32 Tips to Organize Your Space—and Keep It That Way

Use the space you have wisely and the time you have efficiently through home organization. From the kitchen to your kids’ playroom, our tips and suggestions for getting your house in order will free up space and energy for more important and fun activities than cleaning up and putting away everyone’s belongings, leaving you feeling satisfied by a job well done.

Organize Your Kitchen

Kitchens need organizing for many reasons, but maybe the most important is to save money. If you don’t know what’s in your pantry or aren’t sure if you have the right tool for a recipe—like a melon baller or a flour sifter—you’ll be buying duplicate items; no one wants to waste money.

Organization tips for the kitchen include:

• storing dry and canned goods from oldest to newest, so you don’t end up with unused, expired items.

• using vacuum-sealed clear containers for dry beans, flour, oatmeal, or other bulk items to keep them fresh longer. Use a label maker to note the expiration date on the bottom of the container.

• keeping large pots and pans organized and easy to reach with pull-out shelves in your cabinets

• using door-hanging organizers to add storage to your pantry.

• hanging a pegboard on the wall and hang utensils, coffee cups, and other small items for easy access.

Declutter Your Bathroom

Bathrooms are notoriously disorganized and cluttered with expired medications, unused cosmetics, too many hair products, and other items. Pare down and toss out and keep only the items that you love using to pamper yourself.

• Safely dispose of expired medications.

• Toss old makeup and hair products that you don’t use.

• Get baskets or fabric bins for towels.

• Use drawer organizers to keep things sorted and simple to find.

• Add storage with over-the-toilet shelving and over-door storage—a fabric hanging shoe bag is great for bathroom storage.

Clear Your Clothes Closet

The 80/20 rule is true for most of us: 80% of the time, we wear 20% of our clothes. So, how to manage your clothes closet for maximum storage and minimal wasted space? Follow these steps to get an organized and functional closet space. If you have the budget, hire a professional closet designer to make the most of your closet space and customize your storage for your needs.

The 80/20 rule is true for most of us: 80% of the time, we wear 20% of our clothes. So, how to manage your clothes closet for maximum storage and minimal wasted space? Follow these steps to get an organized and functional closet space. If you have the budget, hire a professional closet designer to make the most of your closet space and customize your storage for your needs.

• Purge your closet of clothes and shoes you haven’t worn or that don’t fit every six months to a year.

• Sort hanging clothing short to long and light to dark.

• Use skinny hangers for more space.

• Store shoes on a shoe rack or in clear boxes that you can label.

• Use wall hooks for storing handbags.

Coordinate the Linen Closet

The mystery of how to fold a fitted sheet makes it difficult to keep a linen closet looking tidy. Using organization tools to corral all of your linens will help you find what you need without having to guess if you’re grabbing a twin, queen, or king-size sheet.

Make sure that you label everything!

• Keep sets of sheets together by size in separate baskets.

• Keep pillowcases in a basket of their own, labeled standard and king.

• Roll washcloths and store them in a low-round container.

• Keep extra soap, shampoo, conditioner, and other items in clear containers.

• Store comforters, blankets, and extra pillows in clear vacuum-sealed shrink bags to keep them clean and take up less room.

• If linen closet space is limited, use under-bed storage containers for additional space.

Organize the Kids’ Playroom and Toys

Keeping toys organized is a never-ending battle for even the most diligent parents. Ideally, your kids will put things away when finished coloring, rolling, stacking, or sorting, but unfortunately, that isn’t always the case. An organized bedroom, playroom, or toy storage area will make it much easier to clean up and keep things sorted and for the next round of creativity.

• Create a crafting corner with a kid-friendly table, chairs, and art supplies.

• Use open, clear containers to store toys by type.

• Build or buy a low shelving unit that will be easy for little ones to use.

• Take toys out of boxes and put them in storage bins for less clutter.

• If toy storage is limited to bedrooms, raise beds off the floor and use the space underneath for storage.

• For younger kids, use images as well as words for labeling containers.

Declutter Your Home Office

There is no place in your house more likely to be disorganized than your home office space. It may be a desk in the kitchen or a separate room dedicated to work, but large or small, there are bound to be piles of papers and other items creating a disorganized mess. That can make it much harder to be productive. 

Organize your home office with these tips:

• Go all the way to the ceiling with shelving for storing things like tax returns, your kid’s memorabilia, and other items you rarely use.

• Throw out paper that you no longer need and go digital for your bills to keep incoming paper to a minimum.

• Use drawer organizers to sort pens, pencils, highlighters, paper clips, and other office supplies.

• Use cord covers or twists to keep charger cords from looking messy.

• Get a shredder and use it regularly.