7 Ways to Organise Your Home

Keeping a tidy home isn’t just about aesthetics—it turns out that a lack of clutter is actually good for you. Recent research indicates that perceived clutter causes an increase in cortisol (also known as the “stress hormone”) which, in turn, can cause increased anxiety and generalized feelings of dissatisfaction.

Yikes.

But the task of tidying one’s home can feel arduous. Where does one start? How does one decide what stays and what goes? And so, as one of Sydney’s most trusted storage companies, we thought we’d share our top 7 tips for organizing your home.

1. Organisation is a meal best eaten in small bites.

What do we mean? Simply this—do not try to organise your entire home in one day. No matter how enthusiastic you may be, this is a recipe for disaster. You’ll likely end the day drowning in clutter without having accomplished much tidying.

Instead, commit to organising a single room that isn’t front and center in your home for your first attempt. Think bathrooms, guest rooms, and bedrooms rather than living rooms or kitchens.

Once you have an idea of how long it takes you to properly tidy one room, you can better budget your time for other spaces.

2. Take inventory.

As you clear out your space, group like items together then look at each group and see if there are any duplicates that can be purged. How many brown belts do you really need? Or baseball caps? Spoons and forks? You get the idea. If you have multiples and haven’t used or worn some of them in months (or years) consider letting them go.

You may also consider adopting a “one thing, one thing out” rule for your home. Before any new item can come in, an older, less useful item must be identified for removal. You can sell it online, donate it to your favorite local charity, or place it in the trash if it no longer works or is in poor condition.

3. Everything has its own home.

To be clear, an item’s home cannot be a pile by the backdoor or on a desk. Each item should have an assigned space…and if you have too many items to fit in said space you should return to step 2 and take inventory of your items to see what takes priority and what can go.

4. Embrace clear bins.

Bins can be a real lifesaver when you’re trying to reduce clutter. They can corral all sorts of items from kids’ toys to seasonal clothing, and they’re stackable, allowing you to make the most of vertical space.

We always recommend buying clear bins with lids so you can see what’s inside without having to remove the lids.

Organise bin contents so items are stored together and modify the bin size according to what you’re storing (for example, stuffed animals will require a larger bin than one holding photographs).

5. Make tidying up part of your daily routine.

Not to overuse the small bites metaphor, but keeping your home tidy is easier when you do a little each day. Set aside 15 – 30 minutes to go through your space returning any misplaced items to their proper homes.

6. Make the most of what space you have.

Whether you live in a spacious home or a cozy apartment or bungalow, there’s always an opportunity to make the most of the space you have.

Don’t forget about the floors, especially in closets when the space below hanging clothes often becomes a wasteland for dirty clothing and unorganised footwear. Consider installing low shelves for shoes and adding a couple of decorative baskets—one for dirty clothes and another for clothes you’ve tried on that just need to be rehung.

You can also maximise wall space by adding extra shelving to the top of your closets and using wall hooks to hang hats or handbags.

7. Rent a storage unit.

As you cull your clutter, you’ll likely find items you don’t really use in your home but cannot get rid of. Family antiques and heirlooms, old photo albums, baby cribs, and mementos can all take up precious space and are prime examples of items that can be safely stored in a storage unit. (We should emphasize that delicate items like antiques, photographs, and wood furniture should be stored in a climate-controlled unit).

If you are ready to clear the clutter from your and free up some much-needed space, we hope you’ll contact us at Holloway Storage. Our unique mobile storage model has been taking the hassle out of self-storage for more than a decade, and our trusted team of experts will tailor our services to your needs.

Store your belongings the right way…with Holloway.