I’ve had a big year. I moved across the world, got a new job, found a new apartment, and started the never-ending task of furnishing it. It’s daunting to start from scratch, but it also gave me a chance to reassess how I’d been living — what was working, and what could work better.
Knowing how to be organized when it came to my home (and to keep it that way) was honestly what kept me sane throughout the constant state of flux I was in. It’s how I took control. I’m a big believer that the space you live in — what it looks like and how it functions — can have a huge impact on your life, so it’s worth the investment.
But home organization ideas don’t have to involve making huge changes (and especially not moving across the world). In fact, welcoming a new year is the perfect excuse. So, as part of your preparations for 2025, here’s the best lessons I’ve learned on how to be more organized at home.
1. Start With a Clean Slate
(Image credit: Joe Kramm. Design: Thomas Pheasant. Showroom: Par Excellence)
My version of this involved selling everything I owned, leaving me with a literal blank slate. And while it certainly doesn’t have to be that drastic for you, there is definitely still a lesson to be taken from this. Whether you’re tackling your kitchen, that cupboard in the hallway, or even something as small as the nightstand beside your bed, it’s best to begin by removing everything, and starting with a clean slate.
Then, when it comes to putting things back (or in my case, replacing them altogether), it’s important that you carefully consider each item — its purpose, its place, its potential — and weigh up whether it’s actually something to let go of instead.
2. Let Go
(Image credit: Joe Fletcher Photography)
Letting go feels like the antithesis of being more organized (and therefore, being in control), but I’ve been surprised to discover how much it can help you prioritize things around the home. And by letting go, I don’t mean to stop doing the washing or collecting your post, but to let go of things that no longer serve you.
Take it from me, this step isn’t always easy, but there are plenty of tricks to help you let go of stuff, and you’ll feel better in the long term, as it will ultimately help you be more organized at home. Forget rummaging through odd bits and pieces to find the one thing you’re looking for — instead, when you open a drawer or cabinet, make it easy to find exactly what you need, saving you both time and the headache, by letting go of things you don’t need anymore.
3. Assign Each Place a Purpose
(Image credit: Baldiwala Edge)
This step ideally needs to happen before you start returning items to their former home. It’s about being intentional about the purpose of a specific place and what you choose to store there.
For instance, when it comes to ways to organize your home, the nightstand beside your bed should not be somewhere you stuff things you can’t find anywhere else to store. It should be only for things that will serve you while you sleep (or fall asleep): an eye mask, a book, a carafe and glass of water.
Likewise, when it comes to how to organize a kitchen, arrange your cabinets and drawers based on how you use the space — for example, put coffee cups in a cupboard close to your coffee machine. It sounds simple, but since getting a chance to start from scratch I’ve realized how much harder I made my life by not thinking enough about where I was actually putting things. You’ll function more effectively in a space that functions effectively.
4. Plan Your Home Around Your Life
(Image credit: Shade Degges. Design: Sarah Solis)
I mentioned earlier that I’m a big believer that the space we live in can have a huge impact on the way we live. When it came to completely refurnishing a new home, I simply couldn’t do it all at once, so I had to prioritize the things I needed now, and the less important things I could wait for. But I didn’t necessarily choose which was which — my life did.
Each day I spent in my new space, I’d discover how I used it and therefore what it was lacking. Then, I’d buy what I needed to make the space function better. Things like curating a designated spot for my keys to prevent rummaging around for them in the morning, or positioning shoe storage close to the door to stop me from tramping all over my rug in the process.
At the end of the day, our home is a reflection of ourselves, so it should reflect how we live. If you want to be more organized at home, take a moment to think about how you actually use a space, and design it around that. A space organized around your life is bound to make your life more organized.
5. Make It a Mindset
(Image credit: Pierre Lacroix)
While it may just be my Type A personality, one of my biggest learnings was that being more organized at home was important for my mental health… ‘messy desk, messy mind’, or however the saying goes.
Acknowledging that was a big part of helping me become more organized at home. Whenever the house starts to get a little out of control these days, instead of getting stressed, I remind myself of the pleasure I get from putting everything back in its place, or the feeling of having an organized home.
Rather than making it a burden, or a strict resolution you have to stick to in the new year, make it a mindset, and a positive one at that.
The key to being more organized at home (and staying organized at home) is about making it as easy as possible for yourself. Be intentional with what you bring into your space, and where you choose to store it.
I got to start from scratch which, in some ways, is easier (and in other ways, absolutely not), but if you’re wondering where to begin, we’ve covered how to start decluttering extensively here at Livingetc, which should hopefully give you a good idea.
