How to Organise Every Room in Your Home
Explore our tips and tricks to keep your home tidy.
There's always a way to keep your house looking neat and tidy, whether it's a studio apartment or a spacious family home. Organisers and storage materials give you the tools you need to clear the clutter and finally achieve the neat look you’ve always desired. Read on for room-by-room tips on how to organise your home and other handy home organisation ideas.
Organise by Room
How to Organise a Living Room
Your living room is one of the most frequently used rooms in your home. To maintain a neat appearance, it's important to keep surfaces organised and decluttered. Start by organising similar items together such as TV remotes, extra blankets or pillows into their own spaces. Here are some storage solutions that can help you separate these items and get your living room organised:
Storage Tables: Choose a coffee table or a side table with storage space. Multi-functional coffee and side tables have trunks and shelves, making it easy to stash clutter and infrequently used items. These tables can also display functional decor, like books, coasters and candles.
Accent Trunks: Accent trunks are decorative storage trunks that can be used to store extra blankets, pillows, linens and more. Place your accent trunk in a secluded corner but close enough to the sofa that it is easy to grab extra blankets when lounging. Or locate it front and centre to use as a unique coffee table.
Coffee Table Trays: Keep your surfaces organised with coffee table trays. These are trays that sit atop your coffee table to create an additional layer of surface space. Organise small items inside the tray like coasters, electronic remotes or even your reading glasses. Add a vase of flowers at the centre for a decorative touch. When you want to clear the surface to put your feet up or put food out, simply remove the tray and enjoy the open space.
Storage Ottomans: For extra concealed storage, try a storage ottoman. Keep comfy pillows and seasonal throws that don’t match your decor hidden inside your ottoman. Once your things are stored away, you can throw your feet up on this functional piece of storage furniture.
TV Stands: Don’t forget the TV stand - an essential for any family entertainment space. Pick a TV stand with open or closed shelves, depending on whether you want visible or hidden storage. TV stand drawers can be used to store essential items such as extra batteries for the remote, gaming items, movies and extra phone chargers. You can use baskets and bins within the drawers to keep these items sorted.
If you have a cluttered bedroom, you may feel like you don’t know where to start organising. Identify specific issues such as a bureau overflowing with clothes, scattered books on all surfaces or shelves filled with miscellaneous items. To begin, consider clearing your bedroom of unnecessary clothes and objects. Once that's done, you can decide what to do with the space you've cleared. Here are some items that can create more storage space in your bedroom.
Bed with Built-In Storage: The space under your bed is an opportunity for storage that often goes unused. Make sure you’re taking advantage of this space with a bed with built-in storage – which can include under-bed drawers or storage shelves instead of a headboard. This additional storage space can be used to store out-of-season clothes from your wardrobe, extra sheets and pillows and to stow away school or work supplies.
Tip: If you're not interested in a storage bed frame, you can try out under-bed storage bins. Some bins come with wheels to make them even easier to use.
Clothes Racks: If you have limited closet space, consider moving some clothes to a clothes rack. Try planning out your clothes for the week and moving them to the rack for easy access. Not only will the rack give you double the space for clothing, but it'll make a stylish statement as well.
Shoe Storage Bench: Try out a shoe storage bench for additional storage space in your bedroom. Move shoes out of your closet and into the bench – your shoes will be more accessible and easier to throw on in a rush. Place an upholstered bench with shoe cubbies at the end of your bed for an easy spot to sit down and put on your shoes.
Closet Systems: Investing in a closet system for your wardrobe is one of the best ways to achieve an organised bedroom. A common problem with wardrobes is a lack of infrastructure – if you don’t have vertical organisation in place, you end up wasting a lot of potential storage space. Choose a closet system with a mix of cubbies and hanging rods to give you space for hanging and shelved items. Try hanging shirts and dresses and folding pants and extra towels in the cubbies.
If you don’t want to invest in a new closet system, try adding to your vertical organisation in other ways. Hanging closet organisers can be hung from your wardrobe’s main rod to create cubby spaces for folded items. You can also find smaller organisers specifically for items like belts or scarves.
Over-Door Hook Organisers: Don’t forget to take advantage of your wardrobe door. Over-door organisers attach to the top of your wardrobe door and rest on the inside, expanding your vertical organisation. Try organising scarves and hats on the small hooks on your wardrobe door but make sure there is enough space in your wardrobe to close the door if you use over-door organisers.
For more inspiration check out our guide, The Art of Organising Your Wardrobe.
How to Organise a Kitchen
The best places to start when organising a kitchen are the larder, drawers and cabinets. To determine where groups of items should go, consider the layout of your kitchen. You want to keep kitchen items close to where you will be using them most frequently – pots and pans should reside next to the oven, while the drawer of flatware should live near the plates and everyday drinking glasses.
Kitchen Islands & Trolleys: If you feel like you never have enough worktop space while cooking, consider kitchen islands and trolleys. Kitchen islands are stationary, while trolleys have wheels and can be moved when needed. You can use a kitchen trolley or island as an extra chopping station or as a morning coffee station, and many come with extra storage space under the counter.
Pot Racks: Consider investing in pot racks to keep your myriad of kitchen pots and pans organised. You can find hanging, wall-mounted, and freestanding pot racks. Keeping your pots and pans out in the open makes it easy to find exactly what you’re looking for without taking up too much precious cabinet space.
Kitchen Drawer Organisers: Kitchen drawers can easily become a source of stress without proper organisation. Organise your drawers into sections with a kitchen drawer organiser. Use drawer organisers with small sections for dining forks, knives and spoons, and use drawer organisers with larger sections for cooking tools such as whisks, large knives and wooden spoons.
Tip: For more kitchen organisation ideas, check out the following guides: How to Organise a Fridge for Maximum Use and How to Organise Your Kitchen Cupboards.
How to Organise a Bathroom
The biggest bathroom organisation issue you probably run into is a counter strewn with toiletries. Begin organising your bathroom by selecting storage containers that will help you make daily toiletries easy to find. Roll up hand towels and place them in a basket on a shelf and use lidded canisters to contain cotton swabs, makeup brushes and more.
Vanity Trays: A simple fix for a cluttered counter is a vanity tray. Gather small items and toiletries such as makeup and skincare products on the tray to keep them together and create a designated space. This will prevent the spread of items across your space and will look more purposeful than items grouped on the counter.
Makeup Organisers: Make it easy to find your makeup supplies with a makeup organiser. Use one compartment for your makeup brushes and another for eyeliners or lipstick. Use drawers to hold eyeshadow, blush and highlighters. You’ll love how easy it is to get ready and how clean your counter looks when you’re done.
Hair Tool Holders: Hair tools such as blow-dryers and straighteners can be difficult to keep organised. Their large sizes and unruly wires make it tough to keep these devices in a bin with other items. Try a hair tool holder to keep your tools in place – you can find some that can be secured to the inside of a cabinet door or a freestanding model you can keep on the counter.
Freestanding Bathroom Shelving: If you need more storage space in your bathroom, invest in shelf space. You can use open shelving to store folded towels or closed shelves to conceal extra toiletries or shower products. You can even find freestanding shelving that fits several shelves over your toilet to make use of every inch of space.
Tip: Check out our How to Make the Most of a Small Bathroom to help keep your space clean and well organised.
How to Organise a Hallway
Hallways are the first thing guests see when they stop by, so make sure yours is free of clutter. The most important rules for an hallway include keeping shoes and coats off the floor and storing your keys where you can easily find them.
Hallway Shoe Storage: Keep your family’s shoes organised and neat with a shoe storage system. Use a low shoe storage bench that you can sit on while you put on your shoes or a taller cabinet with more vertical shoe space that can also be used as a worktop.
Hall Trees: If you'd like one storage device for everything in your hallway, consider a hall tree. A hall tree is an all-in-one storage solution that includes hooks, a bench and sometimes shelving or shoe storage. You can grab your shoes, sit down, put them on, throw on your coat and grab your keys – all from the same place. You can also give each family member a hook or shelf to keep their outdoor clothing items organised.
Storage Baskets & Boxes: Use storage baskets & bins to organise outdoor clothing items. Try using separate boxes for hats, scarves and gloves to make your life easier. During the summer, you could switch winter items out for caps, sunscreen and sunglasses. You could also use a plastic box to temporarily place dirty sports equipment or wet umbrellas when you walk into your home.
Utility rooms can be tough to keep organised. These spaces are often small and dominated by your washer and dryer, leaving little room to store various supplies. Consider vertical organisation and carts that can be moved in and out of the room to accommodate the space.
Utility Room Organisers: A laundry room organiser is usually a wall-mounted piece that consists of shelves, racks, hooks or some combination of the three. You can find a model with rods for hanging drying clothes and lots of shelf space for organising detergent, fabric softener and stain removers. You could also find a small organiser with hooks to hang up drying clothes or laundry bags.
Laundry Sorter: You can use a laundry sorter to separate out whites, darks, delicates, and more. A laundry sorter usually consists of three bins to separate laundry. You can then run a load for each basket to minimize color bleeding or damage of delicate clothes.
Staying organised is especially important when it comes to little ones, from their playrooms and bedrooms to dedicated homework spots. Start the organisation process by making sure any storage piece you purchase is kid-size, since children won't be able to reach high shelves or bins.
Toy Storage Bench: A toy storage bench is a functional storage option for a kid’s playroom. You can stow away teddys, blankets and costumes and use the bench as extra seating. If you’re worried about children banging their heads on sharp corners, consider an upholstered storage bench to prevent injury.
Toy Organisers: A toy organiser is a piece of furniture meant specifically for toy storage and organisation. Separate toys into separate bins or cubbies and teach your child which kinds of toys belong in each compartment. You can use these organisers to give kids their first lesson about tidying.
It’s far too easy for your home office to quickly become cluttered with paper and office supplies. You may feel cramped or like it’s impossible to find anything. Fix these problems by finding organised solutions that will clear the mess and open up your space.
Desk Organisers: If you can’t seem to keep small items like pens, pencils, notecards and staplers together, consider a desk organiser. You can find small desk organisers for specific items or a large organiser with shelves. Try placing small organisers on the shelves of large organisers to maximise your space.
Office Storage Cabinets: If you have an overload of boxes of old papers, extra wires and printer supplies, your best storage option is an office storage cabinet. These cabinets provide lots of space to stow away items and supplies you don’t use every day. Try using storage containers inside the cabinet to keep things organised.
Enjoyed this article? Satisfy all your organisational needs by checking out these additional guides:
- Easy Yet Effective Ways to Keep Your Chest of Drawers Organised
- Tool Organisation Tips From the Experts
- How to Reorganise Your Home for Spring
