The Smart Organization Habit That Helps You Declutter Your Home

When you look around your home and see clothes, office supplies, toys, and random objects strewn across every room, it can be extremely stressful. Luckily, Maria Baer, founder of The Baer Minimalist, an organization and style company near Indianapolis, spoke exclusively with House Digest about clutter, how it affects us, and how to manage it.

Making sure every item in your house has its own home is a great way to help prevent clutter from accumulating, and with this habit you can keep your space neater and feel better. "Clutter weighs on us in more ways than we might realize," Baer said. "What should be a peaceful sanctuary where we have the ability to relax, can instead, greet us with a never-ending to-do list of items needing to be put away, cleaning projects and the huge pile of returns and donations that may never make it out of the door." Rather than holding onto more and more stuff overtime, Baer suggests going over everything you own and creating hubs where your belongings can live.

Maria Baer told House Digest exclusively that one of the best strategies for decluttering your home is for each item in your house to have an appointed spot where it always returns when you're done using it. Your system could also be organized by groupings, keeping similar objects together. "This allows every person living underneath your roof the ability to know where to find items, but to also be an active participant in tidying up at the end of the day," she said. Since each object has a designated spot in your home, it will make cleaning up as simple as putting away the silverware. Just like how a fork or spoon has a special place in your cutlery drawer, every item in your home should have a similar space.

Baer explains that this may seem too difficult, and suggests making this change a little at a time. "For many families, this may seem like a far-fetched reality, but by creating systems over time, it is absolutely possible to achieve this level of organized bliss," she said. Rather than trying to re-organize your entire house at once, start small and find a place for a set of similar items. For example, Baer recommends having a drawer or cabinet to store all types of tools instead of keeping them in multiple locations. She also suggests keeping all clothes, regardless of season, readily available in your closet or dresser.

Once you begin organizing the objects in your home, Maria Baer explained to House Digest exclusively that it's important to let some stuff go as you straighten up your home to finally deal with overwhelming clutter. "The process can be exhausting as we encourage clients to evaluate every item within a given space, but what you are left with is a room or closet that is filled with items you need, love and utilize," Baer said. "Just consider why you are holding onto particular items. If they are no longer serving you, allow them to bless the community in which you live." As you start to find homes for all your belongings, take a look at each one and think about how useful it is to you and if it has any sentimental value. Otherwise, it can be thrown away, repurposed, or donated.

For those with kids, this might mean taking old artwork and using it for crafts or to decorate your child's room. Additionally, Baer recommends that parents only leave out enough toys to fit on one or two shelves. The rest can be hidden away and then switched out over time, rotating the toys to keep them interesting and prevent a mountain of dolls and cars in your living room. By starting these simple habits, you can help make your home a more peaceful, clean place to enjoy.