We’ve all been spending a lot of time in our homes over the last year (I can’t believe I just said that:-). Your home is serving as a place to work, educate your kids, workout, eat, and entertain your family. It’s a lot of togetherness! To make life easier some of you have tackled those long put off organizing projects hoping to create a more functional and enjoyable space for everyone. That’s great! I hope you are reaping the rewards of less clutter and better organization in your home. However, 95% of the time DIYers claim that no matter how many times they organize, the clutter returns. Life is not perfect and even well organized spaces don’t stay that way if you don’t keep them up. With the help of a few pro-tips you can ensure lasting and successful completion of your organizing projects.

Don’t Leave Trash & Donations Behind –  A frequent issue for DIY organizers is not dealing with the items they no longer want or need. In order for a space to stay organized you need to get the clutter out immediately.

  • Donation places are limiting hours due to the inundation of products, but they are open. Go early and be prepared to wait. Alternatively call for a pick up before you start your project and plan to put in the work as close to that date as possible.
  • Use social media sites to give away your items for free. Facebook Marketplace, NextDoor, and Freecycle are all good sites for making your trash another person’s treasure.
  • If you have more junk than your trash and recycle bins can handle, call a hauler or arrange for your annual clean-up pick up with your local garbage company.

Label – Want other family members to keep up your organizing efforts, let them easily know where things are located and where to put them back. Besides offering a tour of your organized space, label everything; shelves, inside drawers, containers, etc. I recommend everyone own a label maker in order to create clear and long lasting labels. If you want something more flexible and have nice handwriting go with chalk labels. If handwriting is not your strong suit try these attractive options.

Use Containers Consistently – If you choose to use a certain container in your kitchen cabinets, choose a similar one for your bathroom. Use similar containers in bedroom closets and drawers. Don’t use a different container in every room. As life changes your storage needs should be able to adapt and you’ll want to be able to easily swap containers between spaces.

Shop Big Box – Many smaller retailers have one off attractive containers or functional containers at a lower price. However, given that organizing is project that can change over time (i.e. the containers you may need when your kids are little vs ones for when they are older), you want to be able to easily add products later on. Container Store and Amazon will allow for the greatest likelihood that you can add to your collections down the line. Target is also an option if you go with their Sterilite and Threshold product lines.

Go Clear – Clear containers create a clean palette as well as easily allow you to see what’s inside a container whether it is on a shelf or in a drawer. Pantry bins, clear drawer organizers and clear boxes are my favorite go to items for successful completion of any organizing project.