If you're good at organizing, organize me!

January 10, 2024 10:24 AM

My house is always too cluttered for my own taste. Most of it is not even decorative clutter, but just things we leave around because they don't have a home or need to be used soon and should not be forgotten about. It's really affecting my mental health, though. Can you help me find a better system?

Bills, scissors, nail clippers, masks, mugs, bubble wrap for Christmas baubles, etc - all on the bookcase right now. There is not enough space in the small wardrobe to store all our clothes, and we have no storage at all outside of living areas. No closets, even. We do have an extra bedroom, sparsely furnished, and everything has been shoved in there "for now".

Even after tidying marathons, there are too many things that don't have a home. A selection of items in that back room pile right now: Gardening and exercise equipment. A hanging chair. Folded up dog crates. Old curtains that might get used again. Suitcases. Seasonal decorations. Winter boots. The toolbox. Basically, imagine the contents of your shed, but you have no shed anymore (and no way to build one).

Does anyone have advice on how to create storage systems? I struggle with the less obvious categories. I can make a cabinet into gardening storage - but what category do candles go into, or summer hats, or insect repellent? Am I overthinking this? Help!

posted by toucan to Home & Garden (20 answers total)

Have you ever taken the clutterbug quiz? It's a bit cheesy, but really helped me understand my organizational style more (and more importantly understand my family member's styles). I'm a cricket, so I liked things tucked away and organized in a detailed way, but all of my family members like their stuff to be out in the open.

In your example, I would find a dresser with a lot of small drawers for stuff like creating a candle or nail supplies or mailing supplies category (and use shoeboxes, etc if the stuff is really too small for the drawer and another small category could fit too). My mom or husband
would prefer a clear hanging shoe organizer so that they can see the items.
posted by Eyelash at 10:44 AM on January 10 [9 favorites]

Put items with “coworkers” or “associates.” Insect repellent goes with gardening materials, or camping supplies, or toiletries. Basically if you can’t put “like and like” together, focus on when you’d need it.

Obviously getting rid of things helps.

I’d take a wall of the spare bedroom and make some sort of storage unit there. Even if it’s just stacked plastic bins
posted by raccoon409 at 10:45 AM on January 10 [6 favorites]

Two problems I see here:
Number one is that you have too much stuff - try to get rid of like 30% of each category of stuff (30% of your books, 30% of your tshirts, etc. Literally count: I have 20 shirts so I need to get rid of 7 of them)

Number 2 is that your storage furniture is too small. Get large pieces that go right up to the ceiling.
I have some giant ikea Pax wardrobes. Reinforce the shelves with L-brackets - do not skip that step, the shelf pegs will collapse if there's too much weight, I cannot stress this enough.
Then get big transluscent plastic bins that fit perfectly, 2 on each shelf, and label each one with a category, activity or season. Gradually put in all the things you need when doing that activity. Sort things with their "coworkers" as I saw a TikTok organizer say.

CAMPING = bug spray, sun hat, first aid kit, compass, flashlights, mine even has our small hatchet.
GIFT WRAP = tissue paper, gift bags, tags, AND ALSO make your life easier by chucking in a roll of tape, scissors, pen, blank notecards - these items are the "coworkers" of your gift bags.
TRAVEL = travel toiletry bag, suitcase locks, luggage scale, ziploc bag of random foreign currency, packing cubes, extra empty mini toiletry bottles. (And if possible, you can even wrap this stuff in plastic so it doesn't leak and store it IN the suitcase!

Anything that needs a shed is not suited to your home. In this season of your life, you don't need it. Donate it, put it on the curb, or sell it on Marketplace. Your house is not Home Depot and you can't be storing inventory for the next home when you might have a garden! You need one dog crate per dog. No dog? No dog crate! You can get one later when you get a dog of that size.

Watching decluttering videos on social media is super helpful as you make these choices. It's a TON of decisions and it's exhausting so don't feel bad for being overwhelmed!

Good luck, it's hard - I am working really hard to unlearn clutter patterns from my childhood home so I know it's hard. But it feels SO GOOD when there is a place for every single item, the things you don't need in this period of your life are gone, and you can retrieve things fast when you need them.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 10:47 AM on January 10 [16 favorites]

I would also say as far as categories, whatever makes sense to you is the way to go: it will be easier for you to remember. Yes, it's nice to have things for a frequent activity all in the same place or close to where you'll use them, but you can always reevaluate if you notice the first try isn't working.
posted by Eyelash at 10:48 AM on January 10 [1 favorite]

I use those folding fabric boxes for smaller collections - papercraft, rubber stamps, dyes. Summer clothes can go in a clear tote, with a big label Summer 2023, and in summer 2024, you use it or donate it. I have a mug in most rooms with scissors, pens, markers. Nail clippers are in the bathroom only. It takes some practice to get in the habit of putting stuff away in another room, but it's worthwhile. Bubble wrap goes in a container marked packing supplies. The kitchen pantry area has an unfolded coat hanger with masking, packing, other tape on it, all on 2 hooks and so handy. Having stuff in containers makes it out of sigh, out of mind, but when I do declutter, it's clean, labeled and can be used or donated with no trouble. Categorize things. I have a small house, so lots of stuff is in baskets on top of bookcases. Some of it is stuff I just keep, because, but it looks okay.

I have big stuff to move and it's hard for me to organize solo, so a friend and I are teaming up and taking turns.
posted by theora55 at 11:10 AM on January 10

It also sounds like you need to actually create some physical homes for things. A pile is simply never going to feel uncluttered, even if it has zones. So you may need to buy shelves and bins and add them to that sparsely-furnished bedroom. And also it does sound like you could stand to get rid of some stuff.

For the bookcase examples you gave: That sounds to me like you need a "landing strip" in your entrance. Even just a table with a bowl, or if you have no floor space -- a mirror with a shelf or hooks. If you have room for an entryway furnishing, maybe a storage bench where off-season boots and shoes could live.

Does anyone have advice on how to create storage systems? I struggle with the less obvious categories. I can make a cabinet into gardening storage - but what category do candles go into, or summer hats, or insect repellent?

See to me those aren't "less obvious categories," at all! Rather than thinking so hard about what a thing IS, think about WHEN you use it, and use that to create very broad categories. Instead of thinking "specifically gardening," think "outdoors stuff," and voila, all of the items you listed here might actually belong together.

For example, I don't have "Christmas" and "Birthday" and "Dinner party" categories--all of my holiday/celebration stuff goes together. I'd be putting that bubble wrap for Christmas baubles on the shelf with the bins of Christmas lights. That's also where I'll go when I'm wrapping someone's birthday present or grabbing candles to put out for a party. Do I use it when I am celebrating or hosting? It goes there.

"Household maintenance" is a big one for me. Am I trying to clean or fix or prep something about my apartment? That's where I look for it.

So start asking yourself questions about how and when you use this stuff. For example, when are you looking for candles? When you're out in your yard? (Outdoors) When you're hosting a dinner? (Seasonal/celebration) When you're sprucing up the house and want it to smell good? (Household maintenance). All three? Split em up and put them in all the sections!

And if the answer is "I don't really know, I've never used it yet" then the category is "trash." (Or giveaway. But just...no! Don't keep it!)
posted by We put our faith in Blast Hardcheese at 11:15 AM on January 10 [7 favorites]

Tidying marathons are exhausting and can actually keep you from solving the bigger problem. I'm a fan of Unfuck Your Habitat's methods. To start with, limit yourself to a 20/10: 20 minutes of organizing, followed by a mandatory 10 minutes off. You can repeat if you want, or save it for another day. You can get a hell of a lot done with a few sessions of 20/10, even if you spread them out over a week or a month.
posted by BlahLaLa at 11:17 AM on January 10 [4 favorites]

You should declutter first and then organize. Lately, I've been more aggressively decluttering than in the past now that we're empty nesters. I've finally gotten comfortable only keeping things that are used routinely (like weekly), are irreplaceable/hard to replace, or are $$$$ but are actually used (like suitcases, sewing machine, mixer, good coats). If you have multiples of any of these items, try to pare down to the best of each type. Everything else, get rid of. You can always buy the item again if you really need it and you'll get to choose from the very newest version.

While you're the process of decluttering, start sorting what's left by designating boxes or areas for general categories of stuff. Use what categories work for you. I sort by asking myself "where is the first place I would look for this item in our house". You'd be surprised how well this works. Don't fight your natural instincts.

Once your decluttering and sorting is done, separate into working and storing groups. Put the stored items in labeled totes, suitcases, or reusable storage bags (I like the ones from IKEA). For working items, figure out placement by putting things close to where they are used.

Once you have a system that works, make sure to remove items when you move new items in.

Things will most likely get worse before they get better, but you'll feel so much better and calmer when things are tidy and you can actually find things when you need them.
posted by jraz at 12:21 PM on January 10 [4 favorites]

Old curtains that might get used again.

My natural instinct once was to keep things that I thought I had a chance of using again. After all, if you get rid of a bunch of things you might need, there will come a time in the future that you will regret having gotten rid of something!

And the answer is: Yes, you will regret having gotten rid of those curtains, or that piece of exercise equipment you haven't used in 6 months, or that obscure tool. And you will have to buy it or borrow it or go without it. But you'll also have gotten rid of dozens of things that you will never need, and you'll be happy to have the physical and mental space.

More specifically, the threshold for keeping something is not whether there is some potential benefit from keeping it, but whether the expected benefit (likely zero) exceeds the certain and real costs of storing and keeping track of it. Let's say there's a 10 percent chance of using those curtains, and they would cost $50 to replace. That's an expected value of $5. Would you store the curtains indefinitely if someone offered you $5? I wouldn't.
posted by Mr.Know-it-some at 12:51 PM on January 10 [33 favorites]

This is my amazing easy semi-organized ADHD solution for bills - the Ikea Tjena box, in the 12 inch cube size. It's made of smooth strong cardboard, has no holes or gaps for bills to fall out of, or wicker to be scratchy and make crumbles. It has a lid so it doesn't get dusty. Best of all it will hold one full year of random bills and receipts. Get one per person. Put them in a spot where mail and wallets and mess tend to converge (Mine are beside the dining room table). Make sure there is nothing blocking them or on them.

Buy a cute clipboard for each adult and put it on top of their box. Use a string to tie a pen to the clipboard. In each box, also put a small stapler, box of replacement staples, roll of tape, sharpie, and pen. Just toss them all right in there. Keep these things right in the box so they're always there and you never need to look for them.

The clipboard means DO SOMETHING WITH THIS.
The box means THESE THINGS ARE DONE FOR NOW.

1. When you get a bill: Take it out of the envelope and immediately rip the envelope in half so you know it's garbage. If there was any junk mail with the bill (like a bank flyer) rip it in half too. Ripping means "done with this, straight into the recycling" and then you don't have to check again in case something important is in the envelope. Never put any mail back into the envelope. Envelopes are evil, rip them and get rid of them.

2. Now, smooth the bill flat, staple the bill pages together, and put it on the clipboard to be paid.

3. When it's paid, put a giant checkmark right across the front of it, and use your pen to scrawl "PAID, amount, date, and bank confirmation number" right on the front.

4. Then put the paper, flat, into the box. That's it.

5. Receipts from your wallet? Also smooth them flat, and just chuck them into the box.

The box will slowly fill up over the course of the year and if you need a receipt to do a return for somethingm it will be right in there, near the top, in a CHRONOLOGICAL LAYER so you can find it! Like fossils! It will basically file itself chronologically without any effort, and the big paper bills help separate and "time stamp" the pile.

Throughout the year if you feel frisky, grab a few ziploc bags and organize a handful of stuff for your accountant. Or don't! If you do, keep the filled ziploc bags IN THAT BOX. All tax / bill / receipt things live in that box, not organized except very roughly by age. That's why you got the big size box.

It is honestly so good and lifechanging to just CHUCK IT IN THE BOX and know it's safe there, roughly organized by time, and everything in the box is just an archive til tax time.

If there's a receipt you know you'll need again (like if you plan to return something, you can tape it to the inside of the box lid. Or don't, you don't really need to because you know you'll be able to find it again easily as long as it's in the box.

At tax time:
Clear the dining room table and get some big ziploc bags.
Put some labels made of painter's tape and sharpie on the table: each bill category - CAR, HOUSE, OFFICE, MEDICAL, VISA, MASTERCARD, PHONE, FOOD, etc... (do use the tape labels, it seems fussy but I guarantee it makes sorting WAY faster)
Put on a podcast and mindlessly sort the bills into their categories (expect this to take about 4 hours, break it up over a few days so you don't go insane).
Stuff each category into a labelled ziploc (BANK 2023, CAR 2023) etc. Put all the ziplocs into a bag and then your taxes are ready to go!

The Ikea box will last you for years - mine is 10 years old. Don't plan to use it as a tax archive - that's a waste of space. Each year, after taxes are done, just smush your tax crap into a giant envelope so it's compact, and file those somewhere else. Then your nice empty big box is good to go again - a giant bin to keep all receipts corralled.

This system sounds crazy but IT WORKS SO WELL, seriously try it.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 1:02 PM on January 10 [33 favorites]

I don't know your budget for this, and if it's possible, but can you add furniture to your extra bedroom? My thought is to create storage, but make it look homey. I need it to look nice and be excited to use it. I'm thinking an extra dresser (could be for clothes, curtains or fabrics, could be for wrapping paper, etc--in a way, it doesn't matter as long as you know what's in there and if you can find it again). A clothing rack to hang things (if you don't have another closet). An IKEA Billy bookcase that goes to ceiling with baskets or one of the Kallax bookcases. with boxes or natural baskets.

My furniture functions like this. Small things go in small boxes. I bought a set off of ebay that I like. Bigger things, or things that go together have their own tins or baskets (fabric, sewing kit, crafty things, glues, wrappings and gift bags, etc)

Otherwise, I'm a fan of under the furniture solutions. I'd put the flat things--dog crates, hanging chair, exercise things etc under the bed, or under the couch even. You could buy it a flat box to corral items if necessary.
posted by hellochula at 1:05 PM on January 10 [1 favorite]

I think (a) having a home for everything and (b) having some extra unused space, such that random stuff can rest there until it's put in its place and so that you don't have to constantly reorganize your existing storage to make room for new things, are basically the way to go.

Since you have an extra room you can add a ton of shelving/drawers/cabinets in there, and if you've got a bed in there you can put it up on risers for more storage space underneath, or get a bed frame with built-in storage space. See if you can add any shelves or drawers to the rest of your living space too; it might make the space feel a little smaller at first, but also less cluttered.

If you're storing suitcases: keep stuff inside the suitcases (e.g. seasonal things, such that you'll only need to access the suitcases a few times a year). Your summer hats can go there in the winter (and then live on hooks in the summer); your winter boots can go there in summer and live on a shoe rack in winter. Are you ever going to use the hanging chair? If not, why keep it?

If you have a lot of off-season clothes or other textile stuff to store, vacuum packing can save a lot of space.

The more frequently you use something, or the more quickly you need to be able to access it, the easier it should be to get to it.


what category do candles go into, or summer hats, or insect repellent?

Think to yourself, "I need a candle. Where's the first place I think to look?" Then see if you can keep your candles there.

For some things, especially things you don't access often, you might want to keep a searchable list of where you've stored them, so you don't need to go searching through your apartment when you've forgotten where something is.

If you find you're not great at remembering where things are or at keeping lists, I'd recommend against storing things in big boxes; ideally, at least for your most commonly used things, you'll have shelves and drawers that are small or narrow enough, and accessible enough, that you can look through them really easily, and also get things in and out without having to move around a lot of other things. Hooks on walls/doors/wherever also give you a way to store things such that they're both accessible and visible.

Bills, scissors, nail clippers, masks, mugs, bubble wrap for Christmas baubles, etc - all on the bookcase right now.

That actually sounds like a system - maybe it just looks cluttered to you? Masks can go on hooks, you can build a habit of putting nail clippers back in the medicine cabinet or wherever you want to keep them, bubble wrap can go in the spare room until it's time for the baubles to be put away, bills can go on the shelf between a bookend and the end of the shelf, or in a letterbox, etc. But in general, I think it's good to build slack into your system: have some kind of designated space exactly for temporary stuff like this, and also try not to fill up your drawers/shelves/boxes to the brim so that room can be made for new things or temporary things or rearrangements. For the temporary stuff, you then want some kind of weekly (or whatever) routing of clearing it out and putting things in their place (which should be quick, since they'll have a set place you can just move them to).
posted by trig at 1:06 PM on January 10

On every bookshelf or storage cabinet, always leave one empty shelf at approximately chest height. This is the "dump zone". When you quickly need to tidy up, pile things there for a few days. Then when you have time, you can put each item back where it goes.
posted by nouvelle-personne at 1:30 PM on January 10 [3 favorites]

Previously from me, which really works.

I did Konmari to the absolute letter, and it was indeed life changing.

I also created a spreadsheet for weekly, monthly, and quarterly cleaning. UFYH has great lists.
posted by jgirl at 2:00 PM on January 10 [6 favorites]

> Your house is not Home Depot and you can't be storing inventory

I just want to emphasize this statement because HOLY SHIT the amount of clutter I used to keep around because "I'll need these goggles in case the kids decide to take up skiing again" and "I could turn these old toddler clothes into rags for the paint studio I'm going to make in my basement next year". Now I have learned to give the toddler clothes and goggles away and tell myself: No need to keep this. I already have everything I will need later; I'm storing it at the store five minutes away.
posted by MiraK at 3:57 PM on January 10 [16 favorites]

Joining my local buy nothing group has helped me get rid of stuff, but also lose the attachment to stuff. Our group is so active that I can probably ask for anything I used to keep "just in case" and get a free one from a neighbor.

I've also resisted buying a lot of tools since my brother in law lives three miles away and owns plenty of decent stuff I can borrow. I try to reciprocate, but he's in a get all the best stuff phase...
posted by advicepig at 6:25 PM on January 10 [6 favorites]

Konmari or swedish death cleaning or unfuck your habitat - whichever speaks to you so you can have a lot less stuff. I would like to add Real Simple and Good Housekeeping magazines to this because they regularly run how to organise something articles full of helpful tips and ideas, even to just straight out special issues on organising your kitchen etc. I borrow mine from the library and browse over a coffee. It's a low-stress way to sample a lot of organising approaches without feeling like you have to commit to a whole system.
posted by dorothyisunderwood at 5:03 AM on January 11 [2 favorites]

I want to say that I was inspired by this post and spent 30 minutes working to clean up my drop zone, a shelf in our dining room that was recently becoming a tipping hazard. I keep reminding myself that an imperfect 30 minutes is still progress.
posted by advicepig at 6:21 AM on January 11 [14 favorites]

Mod note: Just tidying up a bit and adding this post to the Best Of blog!
posted by Brandon Blatcher (staff) at 7:12 AM on January 12 [2 favorites]

I have lots of stuff and have run out of places to put stuff away. Combined with health issues, I got in way over my head. I went to a friend's and helped them for a couple hours, then they came to my house, same. So helpful. They broke down boxes while I addressed the worst pile-o-unsorted-crap. I feel so much better with that pile 1/3 done in 1.5 hours. The sense of being overwhelmed is vastly improved. drinking coffee with a friend always helps, and knowing that being in this mess is actually really common; it is.

KC Davis, How To Keep House While Drowning, has a terrific approach that I find encouraging. the instagram and fb pages are helpful as frequent support.

The Ikea wooden boxes are hella helpful. I use reusable shopping bags and sturdy tote bags and those collapsible fabric covered boxes, and I tie on a label or mark the box neatly and, usually, with something craft-ish.

I live 20 minutes from Home Depot so of course I keep screws, nuts & bolts. I save plastic spice jars and some prescription bottles to store small stuff. When I have to sift to find the right machine screw, I sort a little. For collaging, dyeing and other crafts, there's a certain amount of stuff it makes sense to keep. There are things I collects and It's my weird stuff, and I refuse to be bullied by Minimalists. IF it is cleanish, tidy, and Labeled, I refuse to be bullied into getting rid of it. Disposability is unsustainable. Because if I do all that, and keel over, my son can get rid of it with reasonable effort. I keep few receipts, warranty stuff, manuals for little stuff; it's all online. Good luck, extinguish the shame, and do what will make you able to be less unhappy in your home.
posted by theora55 at 1:38 PM on February 9