I'm slowly working my way toward a more organized home. My husband died 18 months ago, and reorganizing my space to reflect my taste (rather than ours or his) has been both rewarding and challenging. The primary bedroom is next (I still stop myself from calling it 'our' bedroom). The most recent win for me was installing puck lights on the underside of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that are located behind a fireplace. (Pictures would help here!) The lighting upgrade encouraged me to purge and reorganize the books, add plants and photos and mementos, and make that area mine.
I love how many commenters here have small homes! I am in the same boat, a small home lover who has a cozy home that is driving me a little nutty. My pain points that I would love to learn more about are how to edit and maintain kitchen counters when cabinet space is occupied. I don't have a pantry in my home and the storage area in the laundry nook is edited and organized but also full. Reading comments from others also reminds me that I need to get honest with myself and confront the "should" and "maybe" items that are still occupying prized space in each room, closet, and drawer of my home. I love your work and the community that you have created, Shira! :)
No matter how many times I try, I cannot get my incoming mail and paper clutter under control! I’d also love to do a more ruthless edit of my closet so my clothes have more breathing room!
I go through the mail daily. I immediately recycle or shred mail paperwork and only keep items that require action. Perhaps adding yourself to no mail lists? I think there are no mail lists for catalogs and credit card offers, etc… I’m trying to stop it from coming into the house to begin with. Good luck to you! It’s a real challenge.
We are three weeks away from moving from our home of 23 years with very little storage into a relatively new build with a TON of storage. While I'm super excited that everything will finally have a place, I don't want to unnecessarily FILL the space with unneeded items, just because I can.
Thank you so much for spreading joyful organization to the world. I’m actually struggling with our whole home. We live in a 1,090 square-foot two bed/one bath condo. We have three little ones sharing one bedroom. We constantly feel stuffed to the gills, even though we are continually purging items. I’ll spend days organizing, for it only to be upended in a matter of hours. Trying to keep systems is hard when living with four other humans who don’t share your desire for things to be orderly…feels like a never-ending battle.
Ooh, systems to the rescue! It sounds like you're already doing great with decluttering, but might need to put some foolproof systems in place to help keep your space functional. That's my jam if you want to get in touch!
Most challenging are my workhorse surfaces: kitchen counters, bedside tables, desk, and my reading/writing area where books, journals, Kleenex, pens, hand lotion, printed articles, mail…all pile up! I’m just starting to read Minimalista and can hardly wait to edit and style my home.
I like the tip to store clean glass food containers in the refrigerator. Definitely going to give that a try. My trouble spot to tidy up and get under control is paper clutter. It seems I have a sentimental attachment to random notes.
An area where I would like your advice is on how you organize paperwork...?
We are in the process of building a (regular size) home, but whether a space is small or big, it always comes down to how streamlined the organizational systems for the different areas of living are.
I love Marie Kondo's take on paperwork: just throw it out! She has no patience for it. I try to follow her lead more or less, and digitize what I truly need (like tax stuff). My files are now just a slim tote with a couple dozen folders inside. When it gets full I go through everything and get rid of what is no longer relevant.
My husband is a saver (and loves snagging free stuff that people give away) so we have a garage full of future projects (wood scraps, broken furniture, a wine fridge that needs a new temp regulator…) and things keep piling up without any rhyme or reason. One of our ongoing struggles is me trying to convince him to throw away his old college binders 🥴
Oh my gosh the kitchen including the fridge & pantry. I also struggle with our home ‘office’ which is only a small pencil desk in the dining room. It has become a cluttered spot as all paper seems to end up there. It’s embarrassing sometimes especially when you have guests over!
I have a small home with very little storage space. We don't have a pantry, so my biggest struggle has been storing food so counters don't look cluttered. I also haven't found a spice organizing system that I like yet.
I also didn't have a spice organizing system. Lazy Susans saved me. I don't know which brand I bought (clear, plastic, inexpensive, durable), but I bought a package of three small that fit perfectly on a 27"x10" cabinet shelf. Maybe something like that could work?
Most challenging area - the "just shove it in there, we'll deal with it later" cabinet that houses all of the stuff that has no obvious or immediate home
Most challenging is my kitchen - stuff just piles up on the countertops until I just don’t know what to do with it. I’m looking to move from a rental single family home to buying a condo and am so excited to learn all your tips to organize a smaller space and feel so much freer!
I'm slowly working my way toward a more organized home. My husband died 18 months ago, and reorganizing my space to reflect my taste (rather than ours or his) has been both rewarding and challenging. The primary bedroom is next (I still stop myself from calling it 'our' bedroom). The most recent win for me was installing puck lights on the underside of floor-to-ceiling bookshelves that are located behind a fireplace. (Pictures would help here!) The lighting upgrade encouraged me to purge and reorganize the books, add plants and photos and mementos, and make that area mine.
I love how many commenters here have small homes! I am in the same boat, a small home lover who has a cozy home that is driving me a little nutty. My pain points that I would love to learn more about are how to edit and maintain kitchen counters when cabinet space is occupied. I don't have a pantry in my home and the storage area in the laundry nook is edited and organized but also full. Reading comments from others also reminds me that I need to get honest with myself and confront the "should" and "maybe" items that are still occupying prized space in each room, closet, and drawer of my home. I love your work and the community that you have created, Shira! :)
Thanks, Emily! I love this community and so grateful for all the thoughtful comments. xo
Our house has few closets so trying to find a home for everything has been difficult.
Also the kids room…do you have suggestions for teaching kids how to notice clutter or things out of their place?
No matter how many times I try, I cannot get my incoming mail and paper clutter under control! I’d also love to do a more ruthless edit of my closet so my clothes have more breathing room!
I go through the mail daily. I immediately recycle or shred mail paperwork and only keep items that require action. Perhaps adding yourself to no mail lists? I think there are no mail lists for catalogs and credit card offers, etc… I’m trying to stop it from coming into the house to begin with. Good luck to you! It’s a real challenge.
I’ve added myself to every single ‘do not mail’ list I can find. I honestly need to just DO IT and not let it pile. All good points though 😊
I struggle to organize my water bottles and knowing what I should keep and what to get rid of because my husband likes keeping them all😜
We are three weeks away from moving from our home of 23 years with very little storage into a relatively new build with a TON of storage. While I'm super excited that everything will finally have a place, I don't want to unnecessarily FILL the space with unneeded items, just because I can.
Thank you so much for spreading joyful organization to the world. I’m actually struggling with our whole home. We live in a 1,090 square-foot two bed/one bath condo. We have three little ones sharing one bedroom. We constantly feel stuffed to the gills, even though we are continually purging items. I’ll spend days organizing, for it only to be upended in a matter of hours. Trying to keep systems is hard when living with four other humans who don’t share your desire for things to be orderly…feels like a never-ending battle.
Ooh, systems to the rescue! It sounds like you're already doing great with decluttering, but might need to put some foolproof systems in place to help keep your space functional. That's my jam if you want to get in touch!
Most challenging are my workhorse surfaces: kitchen counters, bedside tables, desk, and my reading/writing area where books, journals, Kleenex, pens, hand lotion, printed articles, mail…all pile up! I’m just starting to read Minimalista and can hardly wait to edit and style my home.
I like the tip to store clean glass food containers in the refrigerator. Definitely going to give that a try. My trouble spot to tidy up and get under control is paper clutter. It seems I have a sentimental attachment to random notes.
Hi Shira, I really enjoy your blog! Thank you!
An area where I would like your advice is on how you organize paperwork...?
We are in the process of building a (regular size) home, but whether a space is small or big, it always comes down to how streamlined the organizational systems for the different areas of living are.
I love Marie Kondo's take on paperwork: just throw it out! She has no patience for it. I try to follow her lead more or less, and digitize what I truly need (like tax stuff). My files are now just a slim tote with a couple dozen folders inside. When it gets full I go through everything and get rid of what is no longer relevant.
My husband is a saver (and loves snagging free stuff that people give away) so we have a garage full of future projects (wood scraps, broken furniture, a wine fridge that needs a new temp regulator…) and things keep piling up without any rhyme or reason. One of our ongoing struggles is me trying to convince him to throw away his old college binders 🥴
the storage space above my garage is my pain point right now
Oh my gosh the kitchen including the fridge & pantry. I also struggle with our home ‘office’ which is only a small pencil desk in the dining room. It has become a cluttered spot as all paper seems to end up there. It’s embarrassing sometimes especially when you have guests over!
I have a small home with very little storage space. We don't have a pantry, so my biggest struggle has been storing food so counters don't look cluttered. I also haven't found a spice organizing system that I like yet.
I also didn't have a spice organizing system. Lazy Susans saved me. I don't know which brand I bought (clear, plastic, inexpensive, durable), but I bought a package of three small that fit perfectly on a 27"x10" cabinet shelf. Maybe something like that could work?
Most challenging area - the "just shove it in there, we'll deal with it later" cabinet that houses all of the stuff that has no obvious or immediate home
Most challenging is my kitchen - stuff just piles up on the countertops until I just don’t know what to do with it. I’m looking to move from a rental single family home to buying a condo and am so excited to learn all your tips to organize a smaller space and feel so much freer!