Martha Stewart Reveals Her Best Practice For Keeping An Organized Home

Is there anything that Martha Stewart doesn't know how to do? From providing us with countless easy decor hacks to creating her own home goods line, she basically wrote the script for perfecting domesticity, especially when it comes to hosting. During her recent appearance on TODAY, Stewart revealed some of her secrets and advice on what not to do when it comes to hosting guests. The bottom line: Stewart advises against being disorganized, saying that "not being organized" is the biggest mistake people can make when having guests over. "Pre-organization really does help a lot to get you in the mood and it also helps you a lot with so you don't leave things out and forget ingredients," Stewart told Shop TODAY explaining that she relies on making lists to keep her own tasks organized. 

In fact, this strategy can be applied to many facets of your home life. Expanding on her love for lists, Stewart explains, "I do it for my garden, I do it for my home, I do it for my laundry, I do it for my wardrobe." If you're planning to throw a party or just stay up on your chores, you can take a lesson from Stewart. So, get started on your to-do list to keep yourself and your home organized and decluttered. 

While we wish we could get a personal look at exactly what these lists look like, we have a pretty close idea thanks to her book, "Martha Stewart's Organizing: The Manual for Bringing Order to Your Life, Home & Routines." The book contains templates including Stewart's own personal calendar and offers tricks and tips for every room in your house. It also has checklists and to-do examples that will help get you started on the organizing path to success. 

If you want to create a solid list-making routine, you can also buy yourself a helpful tool like Of a Happy Kind's To Do List Notepad. This offers separate categories for different important to-dos, like "top priorities" and "for tomorrow," so you can easily visualize everything that's on your plate. Create separate lists for things like monthly home maintenance tasks or seasonal outdoor chores so you can focus on specific areas as needed. To help stick with your habit, set aside time to regularly update your list and make sure nothing falls through the cracks. As a bonus, checking items off your list will give you a sense of accomplishment, making your new routine more satisfying.