Hello, friends! Welcome to Day 11 of our “Organize Your Entire Home in 20 Days” series! We are officially on the downhill slope of having your entire home nice and neat.

We’re going to change things up a little for today’s project, instead of focusing on one room, we’re going to tackle two in one day!

No worries, though! The two rooms we’re going to organize today are the guest bedroom and bathroom, two rooms that aren’t used too often and won’t take too much time to get them looking great.

Since a guest bedroom and bathroom are typically in close proximity to each other and don’t house a lot of items in them, we’re going to treat these two spaces as one room, just two different zones.

The first step to organizing is to gather all of the items in the room together.

That means anything and everything that is in a drawer, cabinet, dresser or closet, pull it out and gather it together in the middle of the bedroom.

Then, move to the bathroom and the do the same thing, bringing all of those items and combining them with the items in the bedroom.

By pulling everything out and gathering it into one area, you will easily be able to see everything that is occupying the room and determine what actually belongs there and what is unnecessary clutter.

Once you have gathered all of the items into the center of the room, start categorizing them into groups based on what the items are.

Put all of the decorations together, the clothes together, personal hygiene products together, cleaning supplies together and so on until everything that you pulled out in the last step, is in a group with similar items.

By grouping together like items, you will be able to make decisions on the items that you want to keep and the items you want to get rid of.

Because up next, it’s time to start making those decisions. The decisions are to either keep, donate or trash everything.

Items that you want to keep should be things that serve your family a purpose and you definitely will be using in the future. These are things like current decorations, seasonal items that you store in this bedroom, and clothes that your family still wears.

Items that need to be donated are things that are still in good condition but no longer serve a purpose for your family. These are things like old decorations, items that you have an excess of, and clothing that no longer fits anyone in your family.

Items that are trash are things that don’t serve your family any further purpose and wouldn’t serve anyone else purpose either. These are going to be things like burned candles, clothing that is torn or stained, a stack of old newspapers, or any other item that you were holding onto that won’t serve anyone a purpose.

If you are having difficulty deciding on what items should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time someone in my family used/wore this item? Does this item still serve its original purpose for me? How many of this one item do I have and is more than one really necessary? Would someone else better benefit from having this item than I would?

By asking yourself these questions about items you aren’t sure if you should get rid, you are opening your mind and being honest with yourself about the needs of your family.

Any items that you keep but you don’t need, will continue to add to the clutter around your house for no reason. By giving away these items you are not only clearing the mess from your house, you are also allowing someone else to use these items that may need them more than you.

After that, it’s time to clean the two rooms!

Starting in the bathroom, scrub inside and out of the shower, toilet, drawers and cabinets. Wipe on top of the bathroom counters and mirror. Disinfect commonly touched surfaces like the door handles and the light switches.

Add any trash that was in there to the trash that you have been accumulating from the beginning. Finish up by sweeping/mopping the floor.

After the bathroom has been cleaned, it’s time to move into the bedroom for cleaning. Dust and wipe off any flat surfaces, clean any mirrors and polish any decorations or knick-knacks that were being displayed.

Strip the sheets and pillowcases from the bed to wash and in addition, wash any throw blankets and rugs (wash the hand towel and rugs from the guest bathroom as well!). Finish the cleaning by sweeping/vacuuming the floor.

After the two rooms have been cleaned, its time to contain and put away the items.

Using bins to contain the items will help ensure the bathroom stays organized past today. This creates “homes” for everything.

Another way to help the bathroom stay organized is placing the items into the bins based on the categories that you previously sorted them in.

These bins are great for storing larger items in cabinets. Back stock products like shampoo, conditioner, face care and soap can be placed in these bins and stored away nicely.

For smaller items that are stored in drawers, these bins are great for keeping everything organized when not being used.

Finish up in the bathroom by labeling any bins you used!

Then move back to the bedroom and start putting away the items in there.

Guest bedrooms are typically used for overflow storage for homeowners so you want to make sure anything being kept in there is nicely organized so guests don’t feel overwhelmed by your stuff when staying at your house.

Which is why using bins and labels for everything in this room is so important. Not only will you be able to easily find things when you need them, you’re guests won’t feel like they’re sleeping in your dump zone.

These large storage containers are perfect for storing away clothing, seasonal items, decorations and sports gear when not in use. They take any closet storage from drab to fab!

Finish up in the bedroom by labeling any bins you used and making the bed with a fresh pair of sheets and pillowcases.

The last step in the organizing process, is to deal with the leftover items in the guest bedroom. These are all of the items that were in the two rooms at the beginning of today’s process, didn’t get put away because they don’t actually belong here, and need to be put away now. Take these items to whichever room they belong to.

You want the guest bedroom and bathroom to be a place that is up to date in organizing and cleaning for any potential guest.

The last thing you want to worry about when you’re having family over for the weekend is getting their room cleaned and ready to go, take care of it today and then you don’t have to worry about it later!

If you are still feeling swamped with the organizing or would like extra help, please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Hello and welcome to Day 10! You are halfway done with organizing your entire home! I hope you’re feeling as good as your house looks!

For Day 10, we are going to continue with your kid’s spaces and up today, their bathroom!

It’s another great day to get your children involved so they can start to build good organizing habits with you.

The first step in the organization process is to gather all of the items from inside the bathroom and put them in the middle of the bathroom floor (lay a towel on the bathroom floor for the stuff to sit on!).

Start pulling everything out from inside the shower, all of the products from inside the cabinets and drawers, all of the toys and towels, and gathering any other items laying around in the bathroom and set them on the towel in the floor.

By bringing out all of the items, you will be able to see what items actually belong in the bathroom and what items are just adding to the clutter.

After all of the items in the bathroom are gathered together in the center of the room, start categorizing them into groups based on what the items are.

Put all of the shampoos, conditioners and soaps that are currently being used in a group together, all of the back stock items in their own separate piles, all of the toys together, all of the cleaning supplies together and so on until everything is grouped together.

By grouping all of the similar items with one another, you will easily be able to see all of the items that will either need to be kept, donated or trashed.

As you’re categorizing everything into groups, throw away any trash as you go. Trash to be on the lookout for is things like empty shampoo and soap bottles, old toothbrushes, or empty random boxes.

Next, make decisions on all of the items. Everything either needs to be kept, donated or thrown away.

Items that you want to keep in the bathroom are products that are currently being used or will be used once the current items are gone (shampoo, soap, toothpaste, deodorant, cleaning supplies, etc.).

Items that need to be donated are items that you bought, never opened, and will not be using in the future (things such as, items you don’t like the scent of, items that you bought the wrong brand, products that were gifts but you will never use, etc.).

Check with your local donation center that they will accept unopened hygiene products!

Items that are trash are products that have expired and products that you have opened but won’t be using in the future.

After you have made decisions on all of the items, its time to clean the bathroom.

Scrub inside (and out!) the shower, toilet, drawers and cabinets. Wipe down the top of the bathroom counters and mirror. Disinfect commonly touched surfaces like the door handles and the light switches.

Next, put any hand towels or bathroom rugs in the washer so those can get cleaned as well. Finish up by lighting a candle (or turning on the electric candle warmer) to spruce up the scent in the bathroom.

Once you have decided what you are keeping, donating and trashing, it’s time to start putting all of the items back.

Start by placing the already opened products and toys back into the shower. Use toy organizers in the bathtub to keep all of the toys in place!

When placing items back in their spots, be sure to keep everything in the categories you previously sorted them in.

The best way to ensure this space stays organized past today is to use bins to contain the items. This creates “homes” for everything and helps keep everything in its spot.

Put the unopened back stock items, cleaning supplies, and other items that aren’t commonly used, in the bathroom cabinet.

If the space under you sink is limited, check out these expandable under the sink storage racks that are great for keeping your products organized even when they are out of site.

Next, place all of the more commonly used items (hair brushes, cotton swabs, deodorants, hand towels, face care products, etc.) in the drawers so they are easy to get to for you children.

These cute drawer dividers are great for keeping those small items in drawers organized and easy to find, plus they come in a variety of different sizes!

To finish up, put toothbrushes back in their holder, towels where they belong, and any remaining items back in their spots.

Label any bins that you used! This will help your children see where everything needs to go.

If you haven’t done so already, place a clothes hamper in the children’s bathroom so they have a place to put their dirty clothes and don’t just throw them on the floor.

To ensure your children’s bathroom stays clutter free, create an organizing system that works best for them and they will easily be able to follow.

Having these “homes” for all of their items, will help guide them where to leave their stuff even when you’re not around to help remind them.

After you have put all of the items that belong in the bathroom back, now is the time to deal with the leftover items that were in the bathroom at the beginning of the process but don’t actually belong there.

Once you have returned those items to their designated spots in your home, finish up by sweeping/mopping the floor and taking out the trash.

Your children’s bathroom can be a place that easily gets messy when kids are running in and out of it all day, but with these tips, it can easily be a mess free zone.

If you still feel like you may need help organizing this space (or any space in your house!), please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team for help.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Hello and welcome back to our organizing series!

We have been taking time to organize different rooms in your house in our “Organize Your Entire Home in 20 Days” series.

So far, we have only focused on rooms and spaces, but today, we are going to focus on things; children’s toys!

We’re going to get your children’s toys from looking like the picture on the left to the picture on the right!

On Day 8, we worked through the kids dressers and closets so today we are going to engage the kids again and sort through their toys.

Gather up the kids and get ready, today is a fun one!

As always, the first step in the organization process is to gather all of the toys together. Find all of the toys in the entire house and gather them all into one room.

This includes small toys, big toys, electronic devices and games, board games, art supplies, DVDs, books, bathtub toys, outdoor toys, and all of the in between!

By gathering all of the toys and putting them into one area, you will be able to see how many toys your children have and will set you up for the next step.

Next, categorize the toys into groups based on what kind of toy it is.

Put all of the dolls together, stuffed animals together, cars together, cooking ware together, books together, coloring supplies together, DVDs together, and so on until all of the toys are grouped together.

Once you have categorized everything into broad groups, start making even more detailed and smaller groups within all of the larger ones.

The more specific you can make the groups, the better your organization foundation will be. This ensures your children’s toys will continue to be organized long after today’s process is over.

For example, start categorizing your doll group into smaller groups based off of what kind of doll it is.

An easy way to do this is sort everything in the group by each brand! Do this for all of the broad groups.

Look at the picture below to see the benefits (look and function!) of categorizing the toys into detailed groups.

By grouping together all of the toys, you and your children will be able to easily see the toys that are played with frequently, the toys that are no longer played with, the toys that there is an unnecessary excessive amount of and the toys that are broken.

After all the toys have been categorized, it’s time to decide what you are keeping, donating or trashing.

Toys that your family wants to keep should be the ones that your children still play with and they definitely will be using in the future.

Toys that need to be donated are ones that are still in good condition but your children no longer play with, have outgrown or have too many of.

Toys that are trash are ones that are broke, you can’t find all of the pieces to, or have been drawn on.

It’s important during this process that toys are sorted through and these decisions are made. If you continue to keep all of the toys without departing with some, they will continue to get cluttered and create messes within your home.

Remember, you can’t organize clutter!

If you and your children are having difficulty deciding on what toys should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time someone in my played with this toy? Does this toy still serve its original purpose for me? How many of this one toy do I have and is more than one really necessary? Would someone else better benefit from having this toy than I would?

By asking your and your children these questions about toys you aren’t sure of, you are allowing you children to be honest with themselves about which toys they still enjoy. Any toys your children keep but don’t need will continue to add to the clutter around your house for no reason.

By giving away these toys, you are not only clearing the mess from your house, you are also allowing someone else to use them that may need them more than you.

Once you have made decisions on the toys, its time to clean the toy room.

Wipe clean any shelves and large toys. Spray disinfectant spray on the commonly touched surfaces like doorknobs and light switches in the room. Finish up by vacuuming or sweeping the floor.

After you have cleaned the room where the toys are kept, its time to contain and put away the toys.

Do you children have storage units to keep their toys in?

If yes, perfect! Start putting the toys back into bins based off the groups you previously categorized them in.

If no, then now is a good time to invest in some storage units for your kids. When your children don’t have a spot to store their toys when not being used then that’s when the mess starts to form.

Check out the picture below to see the difference a storage organizer can make.

Cubed bins with baskets and storage racks are great for toys because they have multiple dividers so your children’s toys can be stored in the categories that you previously sorted them by. These storage units are from Target and are definitely some of my favorite to use in toy rooms!

For each group of toys that you categorized, assign a certain bin for that group. Giving each group an assigned bin, you are giving “homes” to those toys which will help keep them organized going forward.

Put all of the toys in their designated bins, boxes, or on shelves.

Don’t forget to label the bins so your children can easily and quickly see where to put their toys back!

To keep your house looking tidy and toy free passed today, it’s best to have rules where toys are allowed and where toys are not allowed.

Toys can be stored in rooms that your children spend most of their time in and where toys won’t be in the way (children’s bedrooms, family room, or a toy room).

Toys shouldn’t be allowed in rooms that the children don’t spend time in or rooms that toys would clutter the area (your bedroom, your office, the kitchen, and dining room).

By setting boundaries where toys can be kept, it will help keep your house organized and prevent toys from creating more clutter.

Your children’s toys don’t have to be kept in a mess!

By clearing out old toys and creating designated spots for the remaining ones, the toys can easily stay tidy.

If you are still feeling overwhelmed with the toys or would like extra help, please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Hi, friends! Welcome back to our Organize Your Entire Home in 20 Days series!

You’ve already done an amazing job tidying up your entryway, coat closet, kitchen cabinets and counters, pantry, living room, and dining room. Now that the common areas are in order, it’s time to move into the bedrooms — starting with the kids’ dressers and closets.

This is the perfect opportunity to get your children involved in the process. Teaching them to make decisions about their belongings now will help them build good habits for keeping their spaces tidy in the future. Younger kids may struggle to let go of things, even if they don’t use them, so be patient. A favorite old t-shirt that no longer fits might not seem practical to keep, but instead of storing it away, consider a creative alternative — one of our clients framed a beloved shirt so their child could enjoy it without it taking up space in the closet.

Clear It Out

The best way to start organizing is to pull everything out of the dresser and closet. That means clothes, shoes, hangers, toys (but only the ones stored in the dresser or closet — we’ll tackle all toys tomorrow!), keepsakes, and anything else hiding in those spaces. Taking everything out allows you to see what truly belongs there and what has just been taking up space.

Once everything is out, start sorting. Group similar items together — shirts in one pile, pants in another, jackets and shoes separated out. If two kids share a space, sort their things separately. Seeing everything laid out makes it much easier to decide what stays and what goes.

Make Decluttering Decisions

Now that everything is sorted, it’s time to decide what to keep, donate, or toss. Clothes and shoes that still fit and get worn regularly should stay. If an item is still in good condition but no longer needed, set it aside for donation. Anything too worn out, stained, or broken should be discarded.

If your child is old enough, they may be able to be a part of the decision-making process. Each child is different, so keep in mind that some kids may want to keep everything, regardless of age; however, it’s important to teach them that decluttering is a good thing!

There’s no point in keeping clothes they don’t like to wear or toys they never play with. If you’re unsure about an item, ask yourself when it was last used, if it still serves a purpose, or if someone else would benefit from it more. If you have younger children or plan for future kids, store hand-me-downs in labeled bins by size so they’re easy to find when needed.

Clean Before Putting Everything Back

Now that the dresser and closet are empty, take the opportunity to clean. Wipe down shelves, inside drawers, and the outside of the dresser. Dust high surfaces and work your way down. Vacuum or sweep the closet floor and underneath the dresser — move it if needed! A fresh, clean space makes a huge difference.

Organize with a System

Now comes the fun part  — putting everything back in a way that makes it easy to maintain. Hang formal and delicate clothing in the closet, keeping similar items together so they’re easy to find. Some people like to organize by color, which can make the space look even tidier. Check out this blog post, 10 Closet Hacks You Must Use, for additional tips on getting a closet looking clutter-free.

For the dresser, fold casual clothes neatly and dedicate each drawer to a category — one for t-shirts, another for shorts, another for pajamas. Using a simple folding method, like the file-fold technique, helps keep things visible and prevents messy drawers.

Shoes should have a designated home too. A shoe organizer works great, but if you don’t have one, use labeled bins or a closet shelf. The key is to keep them off the floor so they don’t add to the clutter.

Assign Homes for Everything Else

Toys, accessories, and keepsakes also need a place. Use bins or baskets to keep smaller items contained. A cube organizer further organizes these bins. Label them so your kids know where things go — this makes it easier for them to clean up on their own.

Finally, deal with anything that was in the closet or dresser but doesn’t actually belong there. Have your kids help return these items to their proper places throughout the house.

Keeping It Organized

Many people assume kids’ rooms are just destined to be messy, but that doesn’t have to be the case! Small, consistent habits go a long way. Encourage kids to put clothes away at the end of the day instead of leaving them on the floor. Every few months, do a quick declutter to remove anything they’ve outgrown or no longer use.

Teaching kids to organize their spaces when they’re young sets them up for success later in life. By taking the time to declutter now, you’re creating a space that’s easier to maintain and less stressful for everyone.

If you’re feeling overwhelmed or want expert help setting up simple, maintainable systems, Clutterless Home Solutions is here to help! We’ll do the hard work for you so your home can stay clutter-free without the stress.

Tomorrow, we tackle toys!

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Hello, friends! Welcome to Day 7 of Organizing Your Entire Home in 20 Days!

We are going to keep moving forward with the different areas in your house and today we are going to focus on your dining room!

This space is not often present in newer homes. The need for a formal dining area isn’t what it used to be. If you don’t have a dining room, you may have some of the elements we discuss in this blog in other areas of the home.

Make sure to check out the hutch in your kitchen or the table everyone sits at near the living room. You can check out our posts from earlier in the series!

The dining room is a place to gather and relax with your family, if you don’t feel that way when in your dining room, this one is for you. Let’s get started!

The first step in the organizing process is to gather all of the items that are in the dining room and place them on the table.

Bring out all of the items that are in dining room server or hutch, from within drawers, and leave anything that was on the table at the beginning. This includes any papers, dishes, decorations, seasonal items and any other miscellaneous items.

Gathering all of the items together will help you see what items truly belong there and what items need to find a spot elsewhere in your house.

After you have gathered together all of the items in the dining room, its time to categorize everything into groups.

Place all of the similar items together; plates with plates, mugs with mugs, decorations with decorations, and so on. Keep going until all of the items that you brought out are in a group with other like items.

By categorizing all of the items together, you will easily be able to see what items you no longer want, items that you have too many of, or items that you no longer use.

As you’re putting everything into groups, throw away any trash that you see as you.

Once everything is categorized into groups and trash is thrown away, its time to make the decision on whether you’re going to keep, donate, or trash the items.

Items that you want to keep should be things that serve your family a purpose and you definitely will be using in the future.

These are going to be things like everyday dishes, memorabilia dishes, current decorations and seasonal items that you still enjoy using during their respective seasons.

Items that need to be donated are things that are still in good condition but no longer serve a purpose for your family.

These are things like old decorations, dishes that your family no longer uses and any items that there is an excess of.

Items that are trash are things that don’t serve your family any further purpose and wouldn’t serve anyone else purpose either.

These are going to be items like broken dishes or decorations, paperwork that has no use or any other item that you were holding onto but don’t have a use for.

If you are having difficulty deciding on what items should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time someone in my family used/wore this item? Does this item still serve its original purpose for me? How many of this one item do I have and is more than one really necessary? Would someone else better benefit from having this item than I would?

By asking yourself these questions about items you aren’t sure of, you are opening your mind and being honest with yourself about the needs of your family. Any items that you keep but you don’t need will continue to add to the clutter around your house for no reason.

By giving away these items, you are not only clearing the mess from your house, you are also allowing someone else to use these items that may need them more than you.

With nothing occupying the space, now is the best time to clean it!

Dust all of the high flat surfaces, wipe inside (and out!) of any drawers or cabinets and sweep/vacuum the floor. Take a moment and wipe clean any fine dish sets that are usually just gathering dust in the dining room hutch.

Finish up the cleaning by wiping down the legs of the table and chairs.

Once the dining room is clean, it’s time to start putting everything back. When organizing your dining room, you want your goal to be to have the dining room table clear besides decorations.

Look how pretty this one is! So nice and clear!

To make that possible, you want to utilize any furniture (dining room server, hutch, console table) to store away items that would normally, and unnecessarily, just take up space on your table.

When putting the items back into their spaces, make sure you keep them grouped together in the categories that you previously sorted them in and contain with bins whenever possible.

This will keep your dining room from looking like a cluttered mess again.

Use a dining room hutch (or any furniture that you use in your dining room) to display your finer dishes and seasonal dishes that aren’t used as often.

You can also use a dining room hutch for storing small items like decorations, candles, and kitchen utensils that are only used for special occasions.

Bins and baskets are perfect for holding these small items so they stay organized while inside the hutch.

Finish up putting the items away by labeling any bins you use!

Labeling bins helps you create “homes” for everything. By creating a designated spot for all of the different items, it will be easier to keep it all tidy when you are going about your day.

Now is the time to deal with all of the leftover items on your dining room table.

What are those items? Is it paperwork that belongs in the office? Your children’s backpack that needs to be returned to their bedroom? Or is it dirty dishes and food that need to be taken back to the kitchen?

Whatever the items may be, now is the time to put them where they belong. Take note of who these items mainly come and have a conversation with that person on the importance of keeping a clean dining room.

The last step in organizing your dining room is to wipe the dining room table top clean once there are no more items on it.

Another great way in helping keep clutter from accumulating on the cleared dining room table, place decorations in the center of table (candles, vases, plants or any cute thing you see while walking through Target!).

By having items already set on your table, you will be less likely to leave items like old mail or lunchboxes sitting on the table since that space is already being taken up.

If your dining room is a only used for formal affairs, have place settings already set up around the table to also prevent unwanted clutter from gathering.

Don’t forget that we also offer Home Event Prep services! We are happy to help you get ready for a family get-together, holiday party or special event!

If you still feel like you may need help with tackling your dining room (or any spaces in your home!), please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team for help.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Hello!

Welcome to Day 6 of Organizing Your Entire Home in 20 days! For Day 6 we are going to be focusing on the living room!

The living room is the gathering place for the family and many memories are made here. On the downside of that though, it’s where a lot of messes happen and clutter’s favorite place to take up residence.

Many people try to procrastinate cleaning this area because they feel that it will just go back to being cluttered, but if you establish an “organizational foundation“, you’ll be much better equipped to keep the space tidy!

Since a living room has a lot of different areas in them, we’re going to focus on four main zones.

The four zones we’re going to focus on is the sitting areas (couches, recliners), flat surfaces (coffee tables, side tables), entertainment area (entertainment center, collection of DVDs/movies, gaming devices and disks, board games), and study space (bookshelf, desk, computer surface).

By focusing on 4 main areas, it will help today’s process be less overwhelming. If your living room has more than those spaces, include those areas while you are decluttering today but still continue to think of the spaces as different zones so it doesn’t become too much.

The first step in the organizing process is to pull everything out of the space. This may seem like an overwhelming thing to do, but no worries, trust the process and you will love the end result!

Focusing on one of the main zones at a time, put all of the items that you are pulling out into the center of the living room.

Starting with the sitting areas, pull everything out that is on or around those surfaces.

Then move on to the flat surfaces, taking any items that are on or around them and placing them into the center of the room as well.

Keep going with the entertainment area, bring out every single item that is in that space (even the big items!) and add those items into your collection in the center of the room.

Lastly, do the same with the study area, pulling all of the items in or around that space and place them in the center of the room with all of the other items.

By pulling out all of the items that occupy the space, you will be able to see what items truly belong there and what items need to find a spot elsewhere in your house.

**If you don’t have these four areas, you can also start in one corner of the living room and work your way around the edges and through the entire space!

Once you have pulled everything out of the four main areas in the living room, categorize all of the items into groups together and throw away any trash that you see along the way.

Group all of the movies together, the books together, remotes together, decorations together, and so on until everything is in a group with other like items.

Grouping together like items will help you make decisions about what you want to keep, donate, or trash.

Once you have categorized everything, its time to make the decisions on whether you want to keep, donate or trash the items.

Items you want to keep should be things that serve your family a purpose and you definitely will be using in the future.

These are things like memorable keepsakes, current decorations, up to date electronic items, office supplies that your family is using, and any books that your family will still read.

Items that need to be donated are things that are still in good condition but no longer serve a purpose for your family.

These are things like old decorations, items that you have an excess of, and outdated items like movies, books, or gaming devices that your family no longer uses.

Items that are trash are things that don’t serve your family any further purpose and wouldn’t serve anyone else purpose either.

These are going to be things like remotes that don’t have a host, a broken toy, a stack of old newspapers, burned out candles, or any other item that you were holding onto that wouldn’t serve anyone a purpose.

If you are having difficulty deciding on what items should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time someone in my family used this item? Does this item still serve its original purpose for me? How many of this one item do I have and is more than one really necessary? Would someone else better benefit from having this item than I would?

By asking yourself these questions about items you aren’t sure of, you are opening your mind and being honest with yourself about the needs of your family. Any items that you keep but you don’t need will continue to add to the clutter around your house for no reason.

When you give away these items, you are not only clearing the mess from your house, you are also allowing someone else to use the items that may need them more than you.

After you have made decisions about all of the items, its time to clean the living room!

Start by dusting the highest surfaces in the room, wipe/dust down all other flat surfaces, and sweep/vacuum the floor. Wipe inside any cabinets or drawers as well. Then, wash any rugs and throw blankets that are in the room.

Use disinfectant spray or wipes to sanitize commonly touched surfaces like remotes, light switches, toys and sitting surfaces. Finish up by spraying the room with a fresh air spray or lighting a candle so the room smells as fresh as it looks!

Once the living room is clean, it’s time to start putting the items that you are keeping back into their places.

Again, we’re going to focus on one of the main zones at a time.

Starting with the sitting areas, let’s set those spaces back up. Plump any decorative pillows, fold and display any throw blankets, and gather up small items (remotes, drink coaster, candle, etc.) and place them in a cute decorative tray.

By having any decorations or items that you use frequently contained in a decorative tray, you are still able to easily access the items but they also look tidy and clutter-free. Check out these cute trays from Target to get this effortlessly cute look.

Finish putting together the sitting area by gathering any excess throw blankets and pillows and place them in a decorative basket like these from Target.

Then move on to the flat surfaces. Place the items that need to be on any coffee table or side tables in the same fashion that you displayed items in the sitting space. Containment is your best friend!

Once you are satisfied with the flat surfaces, move onto the entertainment section in your living room. In the same way that you contained the items in the other areas of your living room, the same applies for this area as well.

Separate all of the miscellaneous items that belong in this area (cords, gaming remotes, other small items that you would have laying around in the living room) and put them in corresponding bins. I love using Y bins for this specific purpose!

Finish up by straightening up the study area. Put any books, magazines or office supplies back in their spots in bins like you did for the entertainment area.

Remember, you’re not just putting things back “in a neat way,” you’re building a lasting organizational system so take some time to find what works best for you!

Using bins or small organizers will continue to keep this space clutter free and easy to put things back into their “homes” after use.

Don’t forget to label any bin that you use!

For any items that were in your living room at the start of the process and were not put back away in the last step, now is the time to put those leftover items away.

This could be any item that doesn’t belong in your living room like kids toys, clothing, or any other item that had just got thrown down and left there.

Just like you did on Day 4, pinpoint where most of the clutter is coming from and take actions to prevent it from continuing to happen over and over again.

If you want to keep your living room from looking like the children’s play area, the best thing to do it not allow for toys to be in there to begin with. If that’s not possible, then set rules on how many toys each child can have in the living room at a time.

Make it a priority every night to spend a few minutes to pickup any toys that are still in there. And the same goes for you! Set rules for yourself on how long your stuff can sit in the living room before you have to take care of it.

Your living room should be a place to sit down and relax with your family.

If you don’t feel that way when you sit with your family, try these tips and if you’re still feeling overwhelmed, please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team for help.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Hello, friends! Welcome to Day 5 of Organizing Your Entire Home in 20 Days!

We are going to keep working in your kitchen and organize your pantry today!

Just like the other areas in your kitchen (Day’s 3 & 4 can be read here), the pantry is visited often throughout the day by many different people. Therefore, the functionality and design of your pantry is so important to ensure your kitchen stays organized. Let’s get started!

The first step in today’s process is to bring out all of the items in the pantry. Bring out all of the food, paper ware, utensils, reusable shopping bags, beverages and anything else that you keep in your pantry.

Keep pulling out all of the items until there is nothing left there. By pulling out all of the items from the pantry, you will be able to clearly see what items you are working with.

After you have brought all of the items out from the pantry, categorize everything into groups based on the different types of food groups.

Group together the pastas, sauces, grains, chips, baking ingredients, back stock items, breakfast items, breads, beverages, and cooking utensils, until all of the items in the pantry are in a group with similar items.

Grouping together all of the items based on categories will help find the right “homes” for all of the different food you keep in your pantry.

Check out the picture below if you need some extra help figuring out how to categorize your food.

While you are grouping together the items, check expiration dates on all of the food and throw anything away that has expired. Also be on the lookout for empty boxes or old food containers to throw away.

The next step to organizing the pantry is making decisions on whether you will be keeping, donating, or trashing the items.

The decisions for items from the pantry aren’t as intense but still be honest with yourself about the needs of your family and which items you could part ways with.

Things you want to keep are food items that is still within the expiration date, food that your family will be eating, and utensils that your family will be using.

Items that you want to donate are going to be nonperishable items that your family will not eat and kitchen utensils your family no longer uses. For example, the last time I decluttered my pantry, I donated my snow cone maker that I bought impulsively and only ever used once.

Items that you should trash are food items that have expired and any kitchen utensils that are broken.

Once you have categorized all of the items from your pantry and made decisions on what you’ll be keeping, it’s time to clean it!

Wipe down all of the shelves, clean the inside any baskets or bins, wipe any bottles or glasses that are stored in the pantry and vacuum/sweep the floor.

Once the pantry is cleaned, its time to put all the items in containers based on the categories that you previously grouped them together in.

You may be asking yourself “Do I have to use containers and bins?”

To ensure your pantry stays organized, the best strategy is to contain the item so everything doesn’t get scattered around. Containment gives “homes” to all of the food items so everything is easy to find and easy to put away.

So the answer to that question is solely dependent on you. I do highly recommend it for the best long term results, however, build an organization system that is best for you and your family.

My favorite product to use in pantries (and refrigerators!) to contain items are these acrylic bins from Target.

They come in an assortment of sizes for all of the different food items, they are clear so you can see what items are being stored in them, and they look uniform so your pantry not only functions well, but also looks great.

When placing the items back into your pantry, make sure items your children grab on their own (snacks, breakfast foods, beverages), are on the lower shelves so they are easy to reach for your kids.

Place any larger kitchen utensils that are not commonly used (air fryer, snow cone maker) and back stock items (extra ketchup’s, salad dressings, oils) on higher shelves since you will not be reaching for those frequently.

Then, place the rest of the food items in between those shelves.

For hard to reach corners, use Lazy Susan’s to keep all of your cooking items easily accessible.

Another easy way to tidy up your pantry is to hang hooks along the inside of the pantry door to keep your reusable shopping bags and lunch bags organized.

Here are a few of our favorite pantry projects!

Don’t forget to label any bins you used so your family will know where to place things in the newly organized pantry!

For any items that are leftover (because they didn’t actually belong in the pantry), now is the time to take those items back to where they really belong.

To ensure your pantry doesn’t become messy again, talk with your family about the new organization system so everyone is aware of the new changes you made.

You want your family’s pantry to be a well organized space so gathering ingredients and making meals isn’t a chore.

With these tips, your pantry will become an easy to use area. If you’re still feeling overwhelmed with the process, please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Hi guys! Welcome to Day 4 of Organizing Your Entire Home in 20 Days!

I hope you guys have learned a lot of tricks for keeping your home clutter-free in the past 3 days and I hope Day 4 brings you just as much satisfaction as the previous day’s projects.

Let’s get started!

Today we’re going to keep working through your kitchen and tackle another project in this room. Day 4 will be focused on decluttering your kitchen counter tops.

Although the main focus will be the counters, the process from today can (and should be!) applied to any flat surfaces in your home.

Kitchen counters are an easy spot in your home to become cluttered because, just like your kitchen cabinets and drawers, there are many people passing by them and using them throughout the day.

No worries though, after we finish today’s project, we’re going to be talking about some additional tips to ensure the flat surfaces in your home stay clutter-free.

Since all of the items we will be working with today are already on the counter tops, we can skip the process of pulling them all out. Let’s move along to the next step which is categorizing everything into groups.

What are the items that are currently on your counters? Is it stuff leftover from a kids art project? Is it bags of groceries that need to be put away? Is it a lot of small kitchen appliances?

Whatever it may be, start putting all of the items into like item groups. By grouping together similar items, you will be able to easily see which of these items really belong in your kitchen and which ones do not.

As you’re grouping together items, throw away any trash you come across.

Once you have everything grouped together, start making decisions on which items you should keep, donate or trash.

Items you want to keep are items that your family still uses on a regular basis and still add value to your families lives. These are going to be things like small appliances (toaster, blender, coffee machine), kitchen tools (knife block, fruit basket, paper towel holder), and food that is still in expiration (fruit, vegetables, butter).

Items that need to be donated are going to be items that no longer serve a purpose for your family or items that you have too many of. This could be something like a coffee maker if you have two but only use one or if you have a toasted but never use it.

Items that are trash are going to be things your family nor anybody else’s family could benefit from. These are going to be any items that are broken, expired, or any old paperwork.

If you have any tools or appliances in your kitchen that are broken, go ahead and throw them away. If there are any expired food items that were on your counter at the beginning of this process, go ahead and trash those as well.

As for any paperwork, sort through it, and decide what can be thrown away and what is worth keeping (we will be digging deeper into paperwork clutter on Day 15: The Office!).

If you are having difficulty deciding on what items should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time someone in my family used this item? A good rule of thumb on donating an item is, if you haven’t used it in the last six months, you don’t need it. Does this item still serve its original purpose for me? How many of this one item do I have and is more than one really necessary? Would someone else better benefit from having this item than I would?

By asking yourself these questions about items you aren’t sure of, you are opening your mind and being honest with yourself about the needs of your family. Any items that you keep but you don’t need will continue to add to the clutter around your house for no reason.

When you give away these items, you are not only clearing the mess from your house, you are also allowing someone else to use the items that may need them more than you.

Once you have made decisions on all of the items, it’s time to clean the counter tops!

Start by wiping all of the counters down. Now is the perfect time to be able to scrub in those hard-to-reach corners and wipe underneath where the small kitchen appliances usually sit.

It’s also a good time to make decisions about what stays on the counter and what can go in the cabinets.

You can get cabinet drawers to use some of the appliances without keeping them on the counter.

It’s also a good time to wipe down all of the builtin appliances, these things are usually skipped on a day-to-day cleaning so let’s go ahead and clean them while we can.

To continue on with our cleaning, sweep and mop the kitchen floor and wash any rugs that may be on the kitchen floor (if you skipped this part yesterday!).

Once the kitchen is cleaned, its time to start putting the remaining items back in their places.

Ideally, the only items that are on your kitchen counters are items that are used daily like your coffee maker, utensil jar, fruit basket and decorations.

By having only commonly used items on your counter tops, it will prevent them from getting cluttered with too much stuff.

For any items that you do leave on your counters, contain them if possible. Using cute trays to place you stuff in keeps them looking neat and tidy. Check out the picture below and note how all of the utensils on the counter are kept in a serving tray.

If you’re anything like me, you want your kitchen to be equal parts functional and cute to look at. If you also feel like your counter tops look too empty, add decorations like cute vases, candles or plants to fill the space so you will feel less inclined to let clutter fill the spot.

After you have put away the items you want to remain on your kitchen counters, let’s look at all of the items that are still there from when we started this process.

These items don’t belong in your kitchen and need to find homes somewhere else in your house. This could be things like homework that your kids left out, backpacks that need to be put away, or laundry baskets of clothes that need to be folded, whatever it may be let’s put it where it goes now.

All done! Now doesn’t that feel good? Now that you have completed decluttering another area of your home, let’s talk about a few habits to start building to prevent surfaces like your kitchen counters from getting messy again.

The first habit to embrace is preventing it from happening to begin with. Similar to a junk drawer, it’s easy to put something down on the counter and think to yourself “I’ll come back for this later.”

In reality though, with how busy life can get, you’re not going to come back to it later and it’s just going to become clutter in your house. It’s best just to deal with things now instead of having them build up, and build up, and build up to where it starts to feel too overwhelming.

The next habit to get into is to start building themes or patterns of where the stuff is coming from or who this stuff is coming from.

If all the items on your kitchen counters seem to be coming from the same person in your household, have a conversation with that person about how leaving their stuff out in common areas affects the family’s well being in the home. Help that person start to build better habits about decluttering as well.

The last habit that you should be building is having a rule for yourself and your family about how long clutter can stay on the flat surfaces in your house.

For example, this can mean items on your kitchen counter have to be dealt with and put away by the end of the day. For other surfaces that aren’t used as much, like a coffee table, items need to be put away and dealt with by the end of the week.

Find a system that works best for you and your family and hold everyone accountable for these rules.

Again, it’s easy to set things aside and think you’ll put them away later but the truth is, it’s better to just do it now.

The longer you wait to clean it up, the worse the clutter will become.

If you are still feeling overwhelmed with the organizing or would like extra help, please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Congratulations, you made it to Day 2 of our Organize Your Entire Home in 20 Days series!

I hope you are just as excited as we are to continue working through your home and clearing out all of the clutter!

For Day 2, we are going to be focusing on the coat closet. Like the entryway, the coat closet serves an important role for your family as they enter and leave your house.

Coat closets are easy to get cluttered because they are frequently visited throughout the day but only for a few moments at a time so you never actually have to look at the damage inside.

No worries though, organizing coat closets is one of our favorites!

Check out more of our favorite before and after pictures here!

Start by pulling everything out. Pull out all of the coats, the boots, the umbrellas; absolutely nothing stays in the space during the organization process.

When you pull out of the items from the space, it makes it easier for you to see what items really belong in the closet and what items are just adding to the clutter.

After all of the items are out of the coat closet, categorize everything into groups with similar items, throwing away any trash as you go. Make groups of coats, shoes, backpacks, mittens, beanies and anything else that’s in the closet.

Grouping together like items will help you make decisions about what you want to keep, donate, or trash because you will easily be able to see what items your family still regularly uses and what items your family no longer needs.

Items you want to keep should be things that serve your family a purpose and you definitely will be using in the future. These are going to be items that are still being used like coats that still fit, gloves that have a match, umbrellas or scarves.

Items that need to be donated are things that are still in good condition but no longer serve a purpose for your family. These are going to be items like coats that won’t fit anyone in your family, boots you no longer wear or scarves that are out of style.

Items that are trash are things that don’t serve your family any further purpose and wouldn’t serve anyone else purpose either. This could be a glove that doesn’t have a match, a backpack that won’t zip up or a coat that has a stain or tear.

If you are having difficulty deciding on what items should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time someone in my family used/wore this item? Does this item still serve its original purpose for me? How many of this one item do I have and is more than one really necessary? Would someone else better benefit from having this item than I would?

Asking yourself these questions about items you aren’t sure if you should get rid of, you are opening your mind and being honest with yourself about the needs of your family. Any items that you keep but you don’t need, will continue to add to the clutter around your house for no reason.

By giving away these items you’re clearing the mess from your house and allowing someone else to use them, someone who may need them more than you.

Once everything has been categorized and you’ve made decisions on all of the items, take a step back from all of the items and focus on just the space. Now is the perfect time to clean this area!

Since there is nothing in the coat closet, cleaning will be super easy. Wipe and dust off any top shelves, wipe down the door handles (those can get pretty dirty!), and sweep or vacuum the floor.

Once the closet it cleaned, it’s time to put the categorized items into containers and label them.

For your coat closet, you want to make sure the items are easy to access for you and your family. It’s important everything stored in the coat closet has a “home” — any item that doesn’t have a home needs to find a new place to reside in your house.

Start by giving each family member their own basket for all of their small items like hats, scarves and mittens. Or you can give each item its own bin if your family shares all of the items. Remember its all about finding a system that works best for you!

Target has a wide variety of baskets ranging from different sizes and colors so you are guaranteed to find some you like!

If space is limited in the closet, take advantage of vertical spaces. Any wall space and on the backside of the door is great for additional storage.

Doors are perfect for hanging baskets to keep your smaller items organized. You can also use the door for hanging hooks for bags and purses.

If you have children, over the door organizers are a great solution for your kids to store items. These offer low spaces so kids can easily reach for and put away items on their own.

Finish up by hanging the coats by who it belongs to.

Place the kids’ coats on a bottom rack and the adults’ coats on the top rack. If there is only one rack, put the kids’ coats in the easiest accessible part of the closet and the rest behind them.

Store only heavy boots and “mailbox” shoes in the coat closet, any other shoe needs to go in the room of who it belongs to.

By only keeping a few pairs of shoes in the closet and the rest in bedrooms, you are keeping unnecessary clutter out of the closet.

Only keep items you’ll need when you are away from your house in the coat closet. You want to keep this space clear so your family can move through it easily and quickly.

Finish up by dealing with the leftover items. These are the items that were in the closet at the start of today’s process but don’t actually belong there.

If you are still feeling overwhelmed with the organizing or would like extra help, please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.

Welcome to Day 1 of our Organize Your Entire Home in 20 Days series!

During these 20 days, we are going to dive deep into spaces around your house so no room in your home is left unorganized. This will be an amazing experience for you, leaving you feeling so much better at the end of the process.

This series is going to be an exciting adventure for your home, your family, and yourself, so… let’s get started!

Our 20 day organizing extravaganza begins with the entryway of your house.

At first glance, the entryway may seem like an insignificant area to spend time organizing because it’s such a small space, however, the function of the entryway is so important to your family daily routine and the guests who come into your home.

Like we said before, the entryway is your first impression to your house, so you want to make it count!

Pull everything (yes everything!) out of the space.

Open any drawers or cabinets and pull out keys, phone chargers, decorations, lint rollers, candles, or anything else that hides in the entryway.

Take all the coats, shoes, sports equipment and other clutter that often finds it’s home here and put them in piles for the specific family members they belong to! (You can use your kids to help you with this step. They can take all of their belongings to their rooms where we will be heading in a few days!)

By pulling out all of the items that occupy the space, you will be able to see what items truly belong there and what items are just adding to the clutter.

Next you’ll want to categorize these items (we usually categorize AS we pull things out of the space to keep things efficient). Jackets with jackets, keys with keys, umbrellas with umbrellas, decorations with decorations and so forth.

Grouping together like items will help you decide which items you want to keep and what items you’re ready to let go of.

Now let’s get back to all of that stuff. There are only 3 options to all of these items: keep, donate, or trash.

Items that are trash are things that don’t serve your family any further purpose and wouldn’t serve anyone else purpose either. This could be old receipts from food delivery, junk mail, or bags of trash that you haven’t taken to your dumpster yet. By getting rid of the obvious trash first, you are quickly and effortlessly getting rid of some of the clutter.

As you dig deeper through the stuff you’ll find more items you can throw away. These are going to be things like expired batteries, a broken toy, a stack of old newspapers or a ripped coat.

Items that you want to keep should be things that serve your family a purpose and you definitely will be using in the future. These are things like keys, umbrellas and current decorations.

Items that need to be donated are things that are still in good condition but no longer serve a purpose for your family. These are out of date items, items that you have an excess of and items that no longer fit anyone in your family.

If you are having difficulty deciding on what items should be kept or donated, ask yourself questions such as, when was the last time someone in my family used/wore this item? Does this item still serve its original purpose for me? How many of this one item do I have and is more than one really necessary? Would someone else better benefit from having this item than I would?

By asking yourself these questions about items you aren’t sure of, you are opening your mind and being honest with yourself about the needs of your family. Any items that you keep but you don’t need will continue to add to the clutter around your house for no reason.

By giving away these items, you are not only clearing the mess from your house, you are also allowing someone else to use these items that may need them more than you.

Once everything is grouped together, put a pause on the items and focus back on the space. It’s important that you have baskets and containers that fit the space and work well with your different categories.

Before you put things back, now is a great time to clean this area since there are nothing occupying it. Dust high to reach spaces, wipe down (and inside) all the drawers and cabinets, wipe all the other flat surfaces and then sweep or vacuum the floor. Don’t forget about your entryway mat, give that guy a wash too!

Finish up by spraying disinfectant spray on commonly touched surfaces like doorknobs and light switches.

Once you have your area cleaned and ready, you want to put your categorized items into your containers and label them.

This will be different depending on which space of the house you’re working in.

For the entryway, you can use baskets for each family member — this can create a smaller space for each family member which can help keep the clutter down.

We do suggest using matching baskets and bins if possible. The aesthetic will not only look nice, but it will also trigger your brain to keep the space tidier.

It’s time to start putting the remaining items back into their places. The entryway is the first room you walk into when you come home, the last stop you make before leaving your house and the first impression a guest will have of your home. Therefore, you want it to be equal parts functional and appealing to the eye.

To ensure it’s a functional space, create spots for all of the items that will be coming through this area. By having specific “homes” for everything, you will easily be able to find items when you need them and quickly put them away when you’re done using them.

Items like mail, keys, backpacks and items that need to be returned to the store, are all things that need to be left in the entryway.

Have a dedicated spot for mail that was just delivered and mail that you need to send out.

Check out these cute options from Target (bonus if the mail organizer also doubles as key hooks, you should have a spot to store those as well!).

If you don’t have one already, create a spot for purses and backpacks to be stored while they’re not being used. This could either be hooks to hang them up or an entryway table to set them on, whichever works best for you and your family!

Add a decorative bowl or tray for small items like wallets, lint rollers and sunglasses to be kept while they aren’t in use.

Use a bin to store items that need to be returned to the store so they don’t accidentally find a permanent place in your house. After that, the only other items that should be kept in the entryway are the decorations that you are currently using. Minimalism is key in this small space!

Any other items that you would want close by the front door (coats, hats or umbrellas) should be kept in your coat closet which we will be talking about on Day 2 in our “Organizing Your Entire Home in 20 Days” series.

If your entryway doubles as your coat closet, check back for Day 2 on how to declutter and store those items.

If your entryway originally just consisted of clutter and had no spaces for your items, check out these organizers that will give you additional storage space for the items that you want kept here. Remember, having homes for everything in the space will ensure it stays clutter free and looking good (plus it’ll make it easier on everyone in the house to put things back!).

Don’t forget guests use your entryway too! Leave extra space for items they will have while they are visiting your home. This can mean extra hooks or table space for any bags they have, as well as easy access to your coat closet (or coat rack!) for their jackets.

For any of the items that were in your entryway at the start of the process but don’t actually belong there (an array of shoes, coats that were left on the floor, random kids toys, books that need to be taken back to the library, a bag of clothes that need to be taken to the donation center, whatever it may have been), now is the time to deal with those.

Put those shoes in the room they belong in (use your kids and their limitless energy to help you here!), hang up those coats in the coat closet, take those phone chargers back to their home base, and put those bags that are for donation in your car (Good Will is still allowing donations at their in-store donation stores). If you don’t want to deal with donations, we would love to help you take care of that!

Again, you want to keep this space clear so your family can move through it easily and your guests don’t feel overwhelmed when they walk into your house.

If you are still feeling overwhelmed with organizing or would like extra help, please reach out to the Clutterless Home Solutions Team.

Talk soon,

Clutterless Home Solutions

If you want professional help getting your home organized, check out our professional home organizing services — we’d love to help.