Stay Organized With This Simple Home Organization Checklist

Our homes are meant to be a haven. A place of peace, enjoyment, and rest from the outside world. Yet, our busy lives often get in the way and we end up with just the opposite: chaos and clutter.

Don’t worry! You can turn it around. Following this simple checklist will help you to organize your home and create the peaceful oasis you’ve been dreaming of.

1) SPEND 15 MINUTES DECLUTTERING EACH DAY

Establishing a simple routine of decluttering for fifteen minutes each day will keep excess clutter from piling up. Start with no-brainer items like expired food or medicine, old lotions and makeup, then move on to more challenging items, like kid’s toys.

If you focus your efforts in one area at a time, you will really notice a difference in your home.  As you build up your “decluttering muscle,” it will become a habit and organizing the remaining items that you use and love will be a breeze.

2) ESTABLISH A “HANDLE IT ONCE RULE”

Don’t leave things out to handle a second, third, or fourth time.

• When you’re taking laundry out of the dryer, fold it and put it away instead of tossing it into a basket to deal with later.
• When opening mail, instead of tossing it on the counter, put junk mail right into the recycling bin or pay that bill and file it away.
• Do you have a habit of dropping your purse, keys, and shoes in a heap at the door? Not anymore! Just put them away. It will save you time in the long run.

The action of giving yourself this simple rule will serve as a reminder next time you’re tempted to start a clutter pile.

3) STORE LIKE ITEMS TOGETHER (AND IN A LOCATION THAT MAKES SENSE!)

Do you have coats in your coat closet, or is it a catch-all, stacked with board games, random bins, or papers that need to be filed? Are your kitchen drawers filled with random tools and batteries? You see where this is going! Coats belong in the coat closet and tools belong in the garage, but it’s easy to stash items just to get them out of the way.

Be on the lookout for items stored in places that don’t really make sense. Create a home that does “fit” your items. When like items are stored together, you can see how many you have. (Four can openers, anybody?)

A clear picture of what you have can help eliminate the excess.

4) TREAT YOURSELF AND CREATE A SPACE YOU LOVE

What’s that have to do with home organization? Surprisingly, a lot! When you create a beautiful space that you love and fill it with items you value, you’re much more likely to keep your spaces clean and organized.

For example, when you purchase soft and luxurious products like PeachSkinSheets, you’ll be motivated to make the bed every day just so you can climb in and feel the silky, cool fabric against your skin. With their PeachPerfectPaint Match feature, you can even easily pick a paint color to match, and save yourself precious time and energy, ordering online with confidence.

And don’t overlook smaller spaces, like the linen closet. Go the extra mile and line the shelves with pretty paper. Try adding wicker baskets for storage of extra items, like toilet paper and shampoo, for the finishing touch. Your extra PeachSkinSheets will get folded and stacked the moment you take them out of the dryer.

4) CONSIDER MULTI-PURPOSE STORAGE SOLUTIONS

Multi-purpose pieces can offer extra storage space, while providing function in your home. Try out an ottoman with storage space inside or perhaps try using a trunk as a coffee table.

Unlock your creativity, and you’ll find a myriad of options to keep items tucked away.

5) LOOK HIGH AND LOW FOR EXTRA STORAGE SPACE

So much prime organizing space is wasted when we forget to look up and down.

Use shallow plastic containers for under-the-bed storage. Add hooks and shelving to make use of vertical space, or add an over-the-door shoe organizer (Hint: it can organize plenty of other things besides shoes. Just use your imagination!) Take a peak in the closet, and consider the possibilities if you were to add an organizing unit that would utilize all that vertical space.

With a few simple steps and a little consistency, you'll have a beautifully organized home!