Eight ways to get your home organised (and keep it that way)
Are you at your wits end about how to keep your home tidy? Maybe you’ve gone the opposite way to the Marie Kondo trend and have started to become a slight hoarder? If so, this article might help.
Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are an organisational duo known for their Netflix show Get Organised with the Home Edit, where they go into people's homes – be it a Hollywood celebrity or a stressed family of five - and transform a cluttered disorganised room into something beautiful and functional.
So, how can we replicate this in our own homes to keep organised? Emma Barnett spoke to Clea and Joanna on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour to hear their advice on how we can all implement some simple systems to keep our homes tidy.
So, what are their tips for how to keep your home organised?
1. Edit your stuff
“Editing is such an important piece of our system,” says Joanna. “I mean, we put it in our name because it's so important and it's the first step. Editing is so powerful, and it costs nothing.
“Take everything out so you can see it all. Then really take a count and inventory of everything that you use and need and love and get rid of the things that don't fall into those categories. This is incredibly powerful.”
2. Keep systems simple
“Everyone has their own method,” says Joanna. “But ours is about simplicity and creating systems that are lasting, that are easily maintained and not too specific. It's not just about you. Don't make the system so finicky that other people can't put things back. If the systems are simple, it's on the whole household to follow them.”
“Systems are best when they're simplified. An example is if we put a basket by the back door for shoes, everyone who comes in the house needs to put their shoes in the basket,” says Clea. “Do they need to line it up perfectly the way I would want them to do it? No. That's something that that's more of a ‘me problem’ and if I want to do that, then I can go the extra step.
“A system is something that everyone should be able to partake in. If you're finding that no one else is adhering to it, it might be too complicated.”
3. Use containers
“Get containers and sub-containers to organise your things,” says Joanna. “The absolute golden rule here is labelling. Label everything, especially the stuff that you cannot see inside a box. Use clear containers for the things you need to be able to see.
“It's important that you store your supplies in a way that makes sense for the space, your items, and your daily routine. Use a combination of small and large inserts to fit the exact measurements of a drawer and the categories that live there. These tend to take some trial and error, so don’t be afraid to move the contents around until you're satisfied with the outcome. We always suggest adding a few dots of museum gel to the bottom of each insert so they don't move around.”
4. Maintain the 80:20 rule
"Our golden rule with containers is, if you want to maintain an organized home for the long term, you should never have a space that's more than 80% full,” says Clea. “You want to leave that 20% empty.
“It’s very similar to how you don't want to eat until you're 100% full because that's uncomfortable and doesn't leave you any room for dessert, this doesn't leave you any room for feeling good in your home.
"So, having a space that is no more than 80% full will allow you that breathing room. And if you have something new coming in the door, whether it's in your closet, your pantry or your kitchen, there’s room for it and you're not in a dire straits situation where you have to remove things to allow something new to come in.”
5. Make it look pretty
“Make it smart, then make it pretty,” says Clea. “Display any items that make you feel happy and more creative. It can be anything from family photos, books in rainbow order, or if you are Joanna, a fun wallpaper.”
“We often use ROYGBIV - it's the colours of the Rainbow,” says Joanna. “First of all, rainbows are just beautiful, no one can argue with that. So, it's a beautiful system. But it's also a great system that we use to label things.
“Especially for kids, it allows them to know where to put things back. If they can't yet read, they know that the orange books can always be found here, or the read books can always be found here. So, it's a system that really marries form and function in in one solid swoop.”
6. Remove any barriers
“Really think about who's using the system,” says Joanna. “We want to remove as many barriers to entry as possible, so you don't want to put things up so high that you're going to have to get a ladder to put something away, because nobody's going to go and get the ladder. It's just going to sit on the shelf and never get put away.
“So again, always think about trying to remove the barriers, so that everyone in the household can maintain it.”
7. Wrangle your cords
“Electronics such as printers and laptops come with a lot of connected cords,” says Clea. “Using cord wraps to collect them helps keep everything streamlined and less cluttered. We also suggest adding cord labels to your power strip, which will prevent you from turning off your Wi-Fi when you just meant to unplug a lamp.”
8. Take it slow
“Take it slow and in bite-sized pieces,” says Clea. “Don't start with a huge project. Start very small and see your way through from A to Z so you understand the steps, the editing process, how to categorize, and how to keep things maintained in the long term.
“There aren't that many shortcuts when it comes to organizing - I wish there were. It would be a lot easier to film a TV show if we could just skip to the good part! But just remember it’s a process, and you can't really skip any part of that process.”
You can listen to the Woman’s Hour interview with Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin from The Home Edit on ´óÏó´«Ã½ Sounds, where you can also catch any other episodes you’ve missed. Join the conversation on and @bbcwomanshour.