Declutter Like a Boss: 4 Reasons to Keep Up Home and Closet Organization

Why is it a good idea to aim to keep your home as de-cluttered, organize, and need as possible, especially in enclosed areas like cabinets and closets?

With multiple benefits, it’s hard to not jump on the organizing bandwagon. Keeping your home decluttered requires effort and upkeep but the results are like gran’s cookies. You know they’ll be warm and inviting and will make you feel good.

Being Resilient Through Closet Organization

When life happens and things get out of control, an orderly and systematized home easily bounces back to fabulous in minutes.

Organizational systems (which simply put, means that you know where the heck things belong) are the cornerstone of maintaining a decluttered, stress-less home. 

Staying Calm and Efficient

Organization can bring a sense of calm and relieve stress by avoiding overwhelm when there isn’t enough time in the day to do household chores.

When small spaces (like closets and cabinets) have systems in place, the whole household can collectively contribute to putting away groceries and laundry.

This elicits a tribal mentality, one that humans have thrived off for centuries.

Family Unity

Everyone can contribute. So often in the western home dynamic, the parent who cares for the children the most is in a hamster wheel of constantly picking up and cleaning up after the kids, doing laundry, unpacking the dishwasher, groceries and cooking. Rinse and repeat, daily.

The onus is shared with the entire family entity when there are organizing systems in place. This brings a sense of community and compassion to the family. 

When the home is decluttered, more life can happen. More playtime, less cleaning. More goal achieving, less tidying. The home becomes an efficient, time saving machine.

What are the benefits and repercussions of home and closet organization? 

Amongst the long list of benefits, there are a few that stand out:

Saving money

• When a space is disorganized, it is easy to loose track of what you have (inventory) and what consumables need to be purchased. 

Saving time

• When a space is organized, it is easy to see where things are so you don’t spend time looking for things.

Peace of mind

• Environment greatly contributes to how settled and calm we feel. Having clutter can be frustrating and distracting. 

On the flip side, when things don’t go as planned, there are a couple of downsides to watch out for:

Getting Overwhelmed

• Not knowing how to handle all these things and keep it neat and organized; Feeling like they can’t do it by themselves.

Mind Matters

• A-type personalities thrive in organized and structured environments with no mess. When their environment gets out of control, the challenge for them is getting overwhelmed because their original organized system has been messed with.
• Creative-types thrive in ‘organized chaos’. The latter doesn’t understand HOW to achieve order in disorganization. They often respond really well to organizing systems. People with neurodivergent brains need very specific parameters to maintain organization in the home.

Unsystematic

• Without a system there is no way of knowing where things belong. Homeowners often struggle to figure out what system would work in their space while meeting their needs.

Overconsumption

• The Western culture of purchasing, constantly needing to have the latest everything, makes up a large percentage of clutter in homes. There is a sense of not being satisfied with what we have.
• This could be a feeling of inadequacy, such as “when I have these things, I’ll be on the same level as my friends”. It creates bad purchasing habits or not allowing yourself to be mindful of what you already have. 

What are tips on how to best declutter, organize, and tidy up closets and cabinets around the house?

Tidying up requires an organizing system. Tidying and organizing are two completely different things. An organizing system is the result of decluttering, tidying up and placement with intention. 

Decluttering Closets & Cabinets: 

• • Decide what you don’t like, fit into or what is faded / broken / etc are the most simple methods to decluttering a closet. By default, these items no longer work in your life. They are not contributing to anything positive and are taking up space.
  • If you have doubles, pick one (none needs five spatulas). 
  • Get someone to help you or simply to be there with you while you declutter – this part of the process is often time consuming and energy sapping. A skilled organizer could help expedite and make this part of the process easier and even fun. 

Organizing Closets

We thoroughly understand the needs, user experience, lifestyle and what is important to the client through our onboarding process. This directly impacts how the closet is organized, making every closet we organize different to the other. The foundations for closet organizing are:

• ‘Clear the Noise’: Remove as much as possible from the space through the decluttering process
• If there is more than one person using the closet, separate their items as much as possible (example: PERSON 1’s sweaters should not be next to PERSON 2’s  sweaters); 
• Create clothing categories: blouses, collared shirts, t-shirts, longsleeves,workout tops, sweaters, pants, skirts, etc…and group these together in a designated area
• Use the height of the closet: though some people find this annoying, the closet space will begin to feel like a boutique store, where you have enough space for all your clothes and can display them so they are easy to find
• If the closet is small and there is space in a different location for off-season clothing, remove those from the closet
• Use the same hangers (type and color) throughout the whole closet. If the budget doesn’t allow for a complete overhaul of hangers, use the same type of hanger within each category (eg: t-shirts go on white plastic hangers)
• Not everything needs to be folded: use bins and baskets to hold clothing like workout shorts, bathing suits, etc. that get messy easily and will save you time by not having to fold them
• Use labels to identify bins

Organizing Cabinets

The foundational method is super similar to closets: 

• • Clear the Noise (CTN)
  • Categorize & combine
  • Fully use the space you have
  • Use bins & baskets
  • Label 
  • Decant as much as possible. This reduces the visual distraction & confusion of different labels / sized containers that the items originally came in. 

What realistic goals and expectations should homeowners have when it comes to keeping their closets and cabinets organized and efficient?

Once an organizing system has been implemented, homeowners should expect that closets & cabinets are not going to remain 100% perfect everyday, unless someone is tending to them everyday. 

Some goals to maintain the system: schedule routine organizing days to reset your organizing system. This is best done on a weekly or bi-weekly schedule for high-traffic areas like the Pantry; kitchens & closets once a month; laundry once every two months.

Let’s elevate your living space to new heights of sophistication and efficiency. Schedule a consultation with O|AF today and embark on the journey to a clutter-free, stress-less sanctuary that reflects your commitment to excellence.