10 organization tips that make you feel like ‘The Home Edit’ gave you a makeover

I’ve always been an aspirational organizer. I love watching spaces transform from drab to fab in mere minutes. But when it comes to me actually organizing, I struggle. Aside from finding the time, I never know exactly what to do, or where to start. When I heard that Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin—the master organizers behind the home organization company The Home Edit—brought their skills to Netflix with a new series titled Get Organized with The Home Edit, I was beyond excited. Finally, I can watch organization hacks over and over again.

While I’m thrilled to watch them conquer clutter with their unique interior styling, practicality and humor, I’m reminded of how their book, The Home Edit, also helped me contain chaos while navigating kids, travel and work.

I still haven’t mastered organization, but I’ve come a long way. I’m creating labels and even categorizing shoes by color—trust me, the organization Gods are smiling. My top decluttering rule? Set up a system that works for you so you can easily maintain it.

Here’s what else I’ve learned from The Home Edit that helps my family stay organized:

1. ROYGBIV whenever possible.

If it makes sense, line items up according to the rainbow. Many times, this is part of a functional system, but sometimes it’s just pure fun.

2. Think in odd numbers.

Three baskets on a shelf look a lot better than four. If you need to fill the space, center the baskets and spread them out evenly.

3. Stack when necessary.

If you can stack, stack. But think about the visual weight and distribution beforehand. You don’t want things to look lopsided or top heavy.

4. How to organize baby items:

• Baby appliances should be moved to the bottom shelf for easy access.
• Coordinating appliance supplies and small items, like pacifiers and bottle parts, should be organized into adjacent stackable drawers.

5. Corralling art supplies:

• All messy art supplies should be isolated into their own bins—they don’t play well with others, and therefore get no other bin roommates.
• Craft supplies can be separated into two groups: “better in a canister” and “better in a drawer.” There’s no right or wrong answer, but if you have different storage options, it’s best to use everything available. Canisters can be utilized for larger groups and smaller pieces can be placed in drawers.

6. A sporting goods hack:

Utility racks normally reserved for mops and brooms work great for storing baseball bats.

7. Wellness items:

• The first step for every wellness cabinet is to determine what wellness means to you. Are the contents part of your daily routine, or an infrequent attempt at making matcha? You don’t need to give up valuable real estate to something that’s only occasionally used.
• Sort workout equipment by partner, so everyone has their own sets in labeled bins.

8. Junk drawers are okay:

So what if a drawer holds random items? As long as everything is contained and categorized, and makes sense in your daily routine, it’s all that matters.

9. How to organize your fridge:

Transfer as much packaging as possible and opt for reusable containers. Eggs can go in stackable organizers, milk and juice go into glass pitchers, and cut fruit should go into glass food storage containers.

10. Having trouble deciding what to toss or keep? Here are a few things you think you need, but really don’t:

• Pumpkin puree and cans of condensed milk that will expire before next thanksgiving.
• Souvenir cups from theme parks.
• Items that have missing parts. You’re more than likely not going to repair the item, so just get a new one.
• Vases that arrived with floral deliveries.

Ready to start organizing? The point is to work at your own pace and create a system that works for your family. And yes, mama—leave the guilt behind when it comes to owning things. It’s okay to have stuff as long as you remember that every item has a place.

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