7 Little Tips for Organized Living

Tips & inspiration from around the world

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My new book, Organized Living, turns six months old today. To celebrate, I wanted to share a favorite feature from my friend and colleague,

Laura Fenton

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Laura writes about small spaces and sustainable living, and I highly recommend checking out her books and newsletter, Living Small.

The following is an excerpt from Living Small by

Laura Fenton

- read the entire post right here.

Featuring the homes of 25 professional organizers, which range from big to tiny and spare to pleasingly full, the book is a study in all the different ways a home can be organized. It’s also peppered with useful advice that will help anyone living in a small space. So, I pulled out 7 ideas from Organized Living that I plan to borrow:

1. Create a transitional place for clutter

Two different organizers suggest storing an empty basket in a central place to gather all the debris that tends to pile up in a day (organizer Tinka Markham Piper calls it a “crap collector” while Holly Blakey calls it a “transitional basket”), but whatever you call it, it should live in a central place, where you can easily stash all the items that need to bre returned to their proper homes.

2. Style your hard-working spaces

Teasing out the lessons from Tinka’s home, Shira writes, “Add pops of color and joyful touches to the utilitarian areas of your home, like the laundry room, entry, and food pantry.” While later on in the book, we see wardrobe organizer Jean Gordon’s linen closet where baskets and canvas bins hide T.P. and household essentials, like sunscreen, bug spray, and first-aid supplies. Seeing the photos (below) I appreciate how a little styling can go a long way to make utilitarian spaces more joyful, and in my experience, when something is beautiful, you’re more likely to maintain it.

In case you missed it: There’s a full tour of Tinka’s home from Shira’s book up on Domino.com

Colorful and quirky or neutral and streamlined–you can organize your home however you like.

3. Go truly minimal with bed linens

With no linen closet, Ashley Murphy of NEAT Method owns just one set of sheets per bed. Shira writes, “Sheets are washed and immediately returned to each bed—no storage (or folding) necessary.” We’ve been unintentionally doing this since we got a bigger bed (and haven’t yet settled on our dream linens), and I can report it also keeps you honest about letting laundry pile up.

Laura Cattano's chic and minimal studio in Brooklyn

4. Photograph favorite outfits

Here’s a simple-but-so-smart wardrobe planning tip: Shira writes that Jean Gordon suggests “snapping photos of favorite outfit formulas and making an album for visual styling reminders.” I’ve heard of documenting outfits before, but I love the next level step of making themed albums: Date night, WFH, evening events, etc.

5. Store leftover containers inside the fridge

I don’t know why this one feels like such a big “aha,” but Shira tells us that Wiebke Liu, the founder of BlissHaus “stores her glass food storage containers in the fridge (even when clean and empty!) to save space.” It’s no different that storing pans in the oven, but I never would have thought to try it. Examining the photos it looks like Wiebke uses Bormioli Rocco’s Frigoverre containers.

Continue reading right here…

🎉 Giveaway! I’d love to send one lucky winner a signed copy of Organized Living with an epic treat bag full of surprises. To be entered to win: like this post and tell me which area you’re struggling to organize in your home or life in the comments below.

🎤 Fun Feature: What a thrill to be interviewed by NYT bestselling author

Elise Loehnen

Click here to read the feature which covers the inspiration behind my latest book, thoughts on visual pollution, and tips for organizing with kids.

🎧 Listen Up: I’m talking about how to organize your home, life, and mind in mid-life on the Women in the Middle podcast. Listen here.

📖 On my Nightstand: Currently reading (and loving) From Strength to Strength by Arthur Brooks.

Also! I’ll be signing and personalizing any copies of Organized Living ordered through my favorite indie bookshop, Mrs Dalloway’s, all month. Order here and just note in the comments at checkout if you’d like your book signed and any special requests.