An Uncluttered Home Starts By Mastering Three Zones

Taming the clutter in any space can be a particular challenge, especially the more people who live in your home helping to create it. Instagram's @clutterbug_me, however, has some excellent advice on how to help keep your home clutter-free by focusing on three very important spots. Doing so creates a sound system of organization behaviors that can help solve many of your clutter problems before they even start. By dedicating certain areas and zones in your homes specifically for clutter and regularly sorting items, you can create an organized home that is as functional as it is stylish. The three zones include a clutter catcher, entryway organization, and a command center.

For the first zone, which is great for communal spaces like living rooms and kitchens, create a clutter catcher in a dedicated spot. To prevent clutter from accumulating in your home, pick up anything on your floor, seats, or table surfaces daily and toss it in. This keeps items like remotes, hair ties, toys, chargers, and throw blankets still in the room in case you need them again but firmly out of sight and in one place instead of scattered everywhere. The popular doom box (didn't organize, just moved) idea to help clean up a space quickly is built on the same principle. Weekly, go back through and move everything to its permanent home in your space. Some great options for clutter catchers include Amazon's Deco 79 Seagrass Baskets or, for something covered, this FIYAMMY Rattan Basket with Lid.

Clutter is typically of one of a few different varieties. One type includes things that come in and out of your home on the regular, like school bags, keys, shoes, outerwear, umbrellas, and mail. Creating a zone for organizing and storing these things in particular in or near your point of entry can go a long way toward keeping them from migrating to other parts of the home. If your home lacks a defined entryway, use pieces of furniture and decor to outfit and define one near the door. This may mean bins, racks, or hooks for keeping everything neatly contained by the door. Giving kids a dedicated spot to hang up coats and put away bags as soon as they enter helps them be able to quickly find and grab them on their way out the door. Ditto for items like dog leashes, car keys, and sunglasses.

Places like IKEA have many great storage solutions for your entryway that fit the bill perfectly for multiple needs, like the popular HEMNES Shoe Cabinet or the PINNIG Coat Rack. Place a bowl on top of these furniture pieces to hold your wallet and keys, too. Or, try these chic Svimi Stackable Storage Drawers from Amazon for ultimate flexibility.

Another one of the best zone strategies for decluttering your home is to create a home command center. This is where you store important paperwork, flyers, bills, calendars, and communications with others that live in the home in an efficient manner. Having a well-organized center in a central space in the home is important, since it allows you to store all these things compactly and in one place. This makes them far less likely to clutter up other spaces and keeps them easy to find when you need them in a hurry.

This may mean a dedicated spot in your kitchen or other communal space outfitted with elements like file systems, message boards, and calendars that help to store things and communicate more efficiently. It may also be a great place to store regularly needed items like batteries, chargers, scissors, and simple tools, where they won't get lost. Outfit your command center with pieces like this 1Thrive Megan Wall Organizer from Amazon or this Custom Command Center on Etsy, both of which have message boards, calendars, and space for stashing important documents. You can also DIY your very own household command center with boards, baskets, and other kinds of storage. Other great additions include file systems, like these X-cosrack Detachable Hanging Wall Files or this stylish Prosumer's Choice Bamboo Charging Station.