The 1 Reason You Still Have A Cluttered House & How To Fix It

You would think after getting rid of 80% of our stuff for a long distance move we wouldn’t have a cluttered house anymore. At least that’s what I thought. I was very wrong. Our house often looked cluttered until I figured out a better way to solve our clutter problem. That was by getting completely organized.

Sure we’ve accumulated some new things over the years since we made that long distance move that basically forced us to start over. However, I was shocked to see how quickly our house started to look cluttered again.

We use everything that we have and we don’t have a lot, but still my house looked cluttered.

When The Answer Is Not Decluttering

We’ve decluttered a lot in our lives so I obviously believed it was just time to declutter again. I planned out a decluttering marathon and the only things I managed to declutter were the clothes my son grew out of.

Sure, we got rid of some of his toys that he no longer plays with too, but still my house looked cluttered. That’s when I realized the answer to my cluttered mess was not decluttering.

I needed to find creative storage solutions and get organized. We use everything we own but I needed to find a way to organize it all.

If you haven’t yet decluttered your home I have a great post on how you can declutter your home quickly here.

A Non-Cluttered House is Organized

Organization is not just putting things where you think they should go but instead organizing based on where you use something the most.

For instance, I used to always do my makeup in the bedroom. I had better lighting and it was more comfortable than standing in my cold bathroom. So I found a way to organize and store my makeup in my bedroom.

A cup with makeup brushes placed in front of a mirror

When 2020 hit though I never left my house which meant I stopped wearing makeup. Well, it’s 2021 and I’m not going back to that life. So my makeup is put away in a drawer in my linen closet for special occasions only.

Putting things where it makes sense for daily, weekly, or monthly use is an important part of getting organized.

Examples Of Organizing Based On Use

My son will often bring his books out to the living room to read them. However, getting him to put them back in his room typically takes 30 minutes because he runs from the front of the house to the back only carrying one book at a time.

We have a single kallax shelf from IKEA in the living room and I have him store all of his books there instead of in his room. He’s more likely to read his book and then put it away right away instead of having books all over my living room. It also means I no longer have to wait for 30 minutes to vacuum my living room while he’s taking one book at a time to put away.

I bought a hutch last year to set up a coffee bar and free up my limited counter space in the kitchen. The hutch doesn’t just store my coffee though. I keep cat food in the bottom, extra food storage in some of the cabinets, my teas, and hot cocoa in this hutch in order to free up extra cabinet space.

Finally, my biggest struggle was the constant flow of toys coming into the living room and not leaving. In order to stop an endless battle with my kid about this I put two bins in my faux fireplace. I simply grab a bin, collect up the toys he’s likely been playing in the living room with and place the bin back.

If the bin gets too full I take the whole thing back to my son’s room and have him put his toys where they belong. It keeps us from having a daily battle about toy pick up, but also allows me to clean and control clutter on my own schedule.

Storage Options To Organize Your Cluttered House

There are a few storage options that have helped us get organized and control clutter in our home. Most of these items are decorative and are super helpful in making your home feel welcoming while also hiding away clutter.

Three Tier Carts

These handy carts are fantastic for everything from organizing office supplies to organizing your bathroom. I’ve seen them used as side tables, end tables, and carts for holding kitchen supplies. Three tier metal carts are a fantastic way to add extra storage spots to a room on the cheap.

Since I have a plain table top type desk with no drawers or storage I have one of these carts sitting next to it. In that cart I store my bullet journal supplies, post it note pads, and some other regularly used items.

In my bathroom I use a three tier cart to hold extra beauty supplies and a few other bathroom related products.

Next to a bed I might place a small lamp in the top tier, put TV remotes, lotions, books, and other bedtime items in the bottom two.

Three tier carts are a handy organization tool and their uses are pretty much endless.

Storage Ottomans

Storage ottomans are a great storage option to add to your living room. In order to avoid constant removal and placement of the top, I would likely use the storage ottoman for my seasonal blankets and throw pillows.

However, storage ottomans are also great for storing toys, games, crafts, and more. Add a small bed tray to the top for your daily use items and maybe a decorative piece to finish off your living room decor.

Shoe and Coat Racks

Having specific places to put your regularly used items is a great way to keep your home organized instead of cluttered. We have a shoe rack right by our front entryway and it keeps that area so much cleaner than when we just piled up our shoes in that corner.

If you are lucky enough to have a front entryway closet you can place your shoe rack right inside in order to hide away this clutter. If not a simple shoe rack or one that hides them away is a great option to keep your entryway looking organized.

Use Small Totes and Bins

I use fabric bins to help keep our home organized. I use them to organize toys in the kids room, we organize office supplies with them, I store homeschooling workbooks in them, and my husband uses one to store his socks in with his dresser hutch.

Small totes are great for organizing your storage spaces like closets. I use small totes for crafts, first aid boxes, and more.

Two bins made out of a woven bamboo like material to organize a cluttered house

Rolling Drawers

Since my office is set up in my living room I have a set of drawers to hold extra office supplies. I keep cleaning wipes for my monitors and glasses, notebooks, extra pens, and extras of all my office supplies.

A set of rolling drawers can make all the difference in hiding away extra clutter so you don’t have these things all over your desktop or out where it’s able to be seen. It also makes it easier to get to must use items.

Organizing Your Home To Avoid Clutter

Clutter isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We all use multiple items on a day to day basis. Being mindful of where you use these items is a great start to understanding what types of organizational products you need to add to your living spaces so you can hide away these items.

It’s not always about having less stuff, sometimes it’s just organizing your items in the right places. What are your favorite organization tips? Let me know in the comments below. Follow us on Pinterest for more like this and pin this to your favorite organization boards.

Facebook

Twitter