7 Ways to Keep Your Space Organized

You’ve put in the time and effort to organize your space, but how do you keep it that way? While you can’t go into autopilot mode, maintaining order does not have to take over your day or your life. Below are some quick tips to help keep your space organized:

1. Label, Label, Label! As professional organizers, we can’t preach this enough. If it can be labeled, label it. Labels create boundaries that same way containers do. Try not to label anything “miscellaneous.” You will forget what’s in the folder or bin and it will quickly become a catch-all.

2. Know where to donate. Find out which locations near you accept household goods, books, electronics, etc., and which will come to your place to pick up items for free. The Resources page on our website is a great place to start.

3. Keep a donation box in every closet. Every time you try something on and it doesn’t fit, put it in the box.

4. Create a “move elsewhere” basket. As you come across items that belong in a different room, put them in this basket. Take 10 minutes each night to put the items in the basket back in their proper place.

5. Shop mindfully. Is this something you absolutely need? Do you have something similar already? Does it fit in your home? If you only have room for 10 rolls of toilet paper in your linen closet, don’t buy 20! This will create unnecessary clutter and is that stress really worth saving 20 cents?

6. Purge regularly. If you bring in a new pair of shoes, do you have a pair you can donate? After all, the less clutter you have, the less you have to worry about keeping in order.

7. Remember that today’s mess is tomorrow’s clutter. The 10-15 minutes you spend picking up before bed is 30-45 minutes you don’t have to spend picking up tomorrow. Set a timer. Put on some music. Listen to a podcast. Visualize walking into a kitchen with clear counters the next morning. There are endless ways to make the quick task of picking up seem less tedious.