19 common mistakes when organizing home space

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

This is not the same as cleaning.

Despite the apparent simplicity, the correct organization of home space and the distribution of things in places have their own subtleties. The specialists told what could go wrong along the way and how to fix the mistakes.

Lisa Zaslow Professional space organizer, founder of Gotham Organizers.

Many people live in disarray for a very long time before changing something. Although the proper organization of space improves the quality of life, helping to solve the "minor" problems that annoy every day - a kitchen drawer, where you can never find a can opener, or a cabinet door that opens only if you push it hard.

1. Buy organizers before sorting things out

It is necessary to look through things not only in order to put aside the unnecessary and leave the necessary. This helps you understand what and how much you have. More often than not, we don't even realize how many clothes, kitchen or office supplies we have until we start taking them apart.

If you buy items to organize the space in advance, you run the risk of underestimating or overestimating the real stock of things. In the first case, you will have to spend even more money, and in the second, many unnecessary organizers will remain in the apartment.

2. Fill the space with organizers

Special devices for sorting things are great. But do not forget that a house should remain a home, and its main component should not be lost - comfort. Endless organizers at every step "gobble up" the space and make the apartment more like a warehouse.

Shauna Turner Professional space organizer, founder of The Seana Method.

A common mistake is overfilling space and containers with things. A good system should be flexible and easy to use. If you have to cram things with difficulty to fit into the organizer, the system does not work.

3. Overestimate your strength

Parsing an entire wardrobe at a time is more likely to deprive you of strength and energy than help to put things in order. It is better to sort things by category: for example, disassemble shoes today, bags and other accessories tomorrow, shirts the day after tomorrow, and so on. This will help keep you focused.

Janie Eiron Professional space organizer, founder of Clutter Cowgirl.

Do not waste your energy and run around the wardrobe all weekend. I sort things out in three blocks of three hours each. This can be quite emotionally difficult, so it's worth splitting the triage into small chunks of time to keep you motivated. Set a timer and take breaks if necessary.

4. Leave old and unnecessary things

Throwing away things that once had value is certainly difficult. But this is necessary in order to make room for new, necessary things. Don't be afraid to part with the past - it will help you take care of the future.

Linda Samuels Professional Space Organizer, founder of Oh, So Organized.

One of the biggest mistakes people make when organizing space is ignoring the power of sorting. Before choosing the best way to parse things, you need to let go of those that you don't need and don't use. This is the only way you can create real order in the house.

5. Try to follow Instagram trends

A glossy picture is far from the main goal of organizing space. Sorting should primarily be functional, save energy and time, and reduce the daily stress of finding the right things.

Barbara Reich Professional space organizer, founder of Life Organized.

Most of the photos with the organization of the space on Instagram are staged. In real life, no one has so many colorful clothes or, conversely, blouses of the same color, colorful food in the refrigerator, or any other items.

If you look closely at the before and after collages, you will notice that they are different things. And in the pictures of refrigerators, there are no half-empty bottles of milk or juice at all. So you have two ways - to really organize your space or arrange everything beautifully for an aesthetic but fake photo.

6. Putting away the necessary things in inconvenient places

Everyone has a certain set of things that are needed absolutely every day. Do not put them in distant boxes or in different parts of the house, otherwise in the morning you will have to run around the apartment with burning eyes in search of what is needed, and then again think over the organization of the space from scratch.

7. Don't measure things

Things can be surprising - you can't even imagine how much space your favorite sweatshirt can take, and a seemingly small organizer can hardly fit into a huge closet. It is better to know exactly the size of things and carry a ruler with you in order to choose suitable accessories for sorting and storage.

Carolyn Rogers Professional Space Management Consultant at Neat Nerd Solutions.

This is especially important if you want everything to look beautiful and aesthetically pleasing. Cute wicker baskets lose their charm when they are overflowing with clothes and barely stick to the shelf. Remember to measure not only the items you plan to buy, but also the place where you intend to put them. This will help avoid unpleasant surprises.

8. It takes a long time to make decisions

When sorting out old things, sometimes you have to be merciless. Ask yourself if you will ever need this sweater, set or rug, and in what situation you will choose them, and not something newer. If the answers to the questions are lengthy and unclear, it means that the thing you do not need so much and, perhaps, just takes up space in the apartment.

Julie Naylon Professional Space Organizer, Founder of No Wire Hangers

Clutter is delayed decisions. If your intuition tells you to leave something, leave it. After all, this is not the last opportunity to say goodbye things.

10. Do not use markings

Everything seems to be perfectly organized in the house, but wait - where is that warm scarf that you bought for the cold autumn last year? As a result, the search lasts several hours, and the apartment is again in a mess of "gutted" lockers. Marking will help save time, energy and good mood.

Lisa Zaslow Professional space organizer, founder of Gotham Organizers.

Do you think you remember in which far corner of the closet you put Christmas balls, tinsel and other decor? Unlikely. Take a large marker and write clearly what is in each compartment so that you can easily find any items.

11. Take too long breaks when sorting things out

It is not necessary to reorganize the entire house at once. Make a schedule, divide the apartment into zones - this will help to effectively sort things out.

Long breaks during one "run" make it difficult to hold attention. You will probably want to drink tea, then watch TV, and 10 minutes later, after evaluating the pile of unassembled things, put them out again at random, because you no longer feel like cleaning. It is better to devote 15 conscious minutes to organizing the space every day.

12. Putting everything in boxes

Organization of space and cleaning are not the same thing. The first is designed not to make the house cleaner, but to help to correctly distribute things around the apartment so that they are convenient to use.

Jeffrey Phillip Professional space organizer, interior designer.

I often see how people stuff completely unrelated things in one closet and call it organizing space. Yes, they cleaned, which means that the house is clean and tidy. But they didn't categorize things at all.

This deprives them of the main advantage of the organization - saving time and effort on finding important things and the ability to always and effortlessly remove them to the allotted place.

13. Putting things in order in several parts of the house at once

We talked about not setting too ambitious goals. This is just one of them. The simpler and clearer the plan for sorting things, the better it will be to organize the space.

Sarah Giller Nelson Professional space organizer, founder of Less Is More Organizing Services.

Let's pretend that you are taking things apart on your desktop. Suddenly you have found something that should be in the kitchen. You go there, put the thing in the locker and understand that it would not hurt to put things in order there too. While you are cleaning the kitchen, find an item from the bedroom. You put it back in place. But wait - what a mess! Now you have three zones to sort through, your free time is running out, and you have no idea where to start.

This problem can be solved quite simply. When cleaning, keep a small bucket or laundry basket nearby and put anything that needs to be moved there. Once you're done cleaning, you can put your belongings back into place.

14. Set aside items that you plan to give or donate

Many people do not just throw away things, but give them to friends or donate funds to help those in need. This is definitely the right approach. But here, too, there are some subtleties.

Shauna Turner Professional space organizer, founder of The Seana Method.

Try to overcome the urge to just toss the items that need to be given away in a separate pile in the corner to deal with later. Better to put them at the entrance or immediately take them to those who need them. Otherwise, you will either start going through all your sweatshirts and trousers again, doubting whether it is worth giving them at all, or you will get used to the fact that they are in the corner, and you will never take them apart.

15. Use an inflexible organization system

We often forget that free space in the apartment is limited, and we buy new things every month. This means that there is no single system of organization, and there cannot be, because things are constantly traveling from the store to your home, then to your favorite shelf, and after a few years from your apartment to someone else's or to a landfill.

Therefore, leave your favorite items, but do not forget to put a bag next to them for unnecessary clothes that it is time to give away. Keep all the papers in a convenient place, but do not leave unnecessary documents just because at one time you bought a beautiful daddy especially for them. Prepare "emergency exits" in your organization system and it will serve you for a long time.

16. Create too complex a system of organization

When starting to organize a space, it's easy to get carried away and overdo it. Try to divide things into clear and simple categories that you can use in practice.

If you have enough items in reserve, create small "pantries". For example, if you have a lot of blue pens, this does not mean that they should all be on the table. Let only one remain at hand, but in the desk drawer there will be all the necessary supplies of stationery in case something suddenly runs out.

17. Don't ask family members for their opinion

Whether you live alone or alone, organizing space is a fun and exciting adventure. You can only think about yourself - where it is convenient for you to store keys, how to arrange kitchen utensils and what to leave on the table by the bed, and what to put in a drawer.

When you have a family, things are much more complicated. Do not forget to ask your family how they prefer to organize their space, but rather sit down and make a suitable plan together. Otherwise, you will constantly find things in the most inappropriate places, which means you can forget about order.

18. Don't keep order

Organization of space is not cleaning, the effect of which lasts forever. It also needs to be regularly supported, otherwise all efforts will very quickly turn out to be in vain.

Kelly Powell Chief Professional Space Organizer at Dexterous Organizing.

Despite the fact that cleaning and organizing space are two completely different things, they have something in common. And this is the maintenance of order! We do not believe that our apartment will forever remain perfect after a single cleaning.

Likewise, do not assume that the system of organizing space does not need to be maintained. It is not difficult - it is enough to set aside at least 10 minutes. Even simply putting things back in their place every day can help keep things tidy and become a healthy habit at the same time.

19. Don't ask for help

Linda Samuels Professional Space Organizer, founder of Oh, So Organized.

One of the typical problems with organizing a home space is that when people do not know what to do next, they do not turn to friends, family, or specialists. As a result, things remain unassembled for months and even years.

If you have a question that you cannot figure out on your own, do not despair and certainly do not leave the organization. On the Internet, it is easy to find descriptions of many convenient systems, books and videos with useful tips. Ask your friends how they sort and store things. Look for what is right for you, and organizing your home space will turn from a routine to an interesting activity.