We are sharing a simple guide for how to organize your room. Whether you are a tiny home dweller, live in an apartment, or a 5-bedroom house, organization is a great way to enjoy your living space and want to spend more time in it.
Through our downsizing and leaning into a more minimalist lifestyle, we can easily share with you the best way to keep your clutter cleared out. We can also tell you that having a space that has too much stuff can really damper your mood, and stress level, and reduce productivity. So, how do you avoid having a messy bedroom or living area? Weโll tell you all about it.
A Guide on How to Organize Your Room
Organizing your room is something that not only should be done for your mental wellness, but it can prevent things from unmanageable with clutter. Keeping your room organized and having systems in place allows you to save time and money.
Time will be saved because your organizational system prevents you from losing items, or spending so much time looking for an item. Money can be saved for the same reason. When you live in chaos, where items do not have their designated place, you are more apt to buy things on repeat, wasting money.
get into to maintain its overall cleanliness and functionality.
By following our simple steps, your space will be one that you fall in love with. After all, space is your sanctuary.
Decluttering
Before you begin to organize and clean your room, you must have a decluttering process. You can read more on How to Start Decluttering. Just about everyone has stuff they do not want, need, or use.
Ever heard of the 80/20 rule? Itโs the Pareto Principle. It means that most people only use 20% of their items 80% of the time. So, with that being said, 80% of your stuff is not being used.
As you assess the space you will be organizing, consider your storage space for the items you have. You donโt have to store items you want or need to get rid of. Rather than moving items around that donโt matter, send them to a station. What do we mean by a station? Read on and we will tell you.
The biggest lesson we can share with people, from our own experience is, that just because you have extra space, it doesnโt mean you need to fill it.
Create Stations
Whether you are organizing a small bedroom, a home office, or a living room, create a few stations. Any professional organizer will tell you that you need to have a keep station, a donation station, a sell station, and a trash station.
You can create these stations with the floor space you have, in piles, or you can use storage bins. Expert tip: the more you have to think about the items you are considering letting go of, it probably means you should just let them go. Found something you forgot you had? You must not have needed it, so get rid of it.
As you organize your room, you will find it can be meditative. Time spent dwelling on physical items and whether to keep them or not is time wasted.
Assess Your Daily Life for Systems
Itโs always a good idea to consider your daily life and how you want to use the space that you are organizing. If it is your bedroom, what do you have to have on your bedside table? Do you even need a bedside table? What is the first thing you do in the mornings when you wake? Do you get dressed? Have those items easily accessible in the closest dresser drawers.
Donโt buy storage solution systems, or those cute clear containers before you figure out exactly what you need. You may find that as you declutter, you have more room in your bedroom closet than you thought.
When you assess and set up systems for daily routines, you allow for a tidy space without even trying so hard. Have a designated spot for your keys, wallet, phone, coat, etc. If you are the first person awake in the morning, make your everyday items simple to access. For example, if your closet is on the right side of your bedroom and you sleep on the left, consider changing the set-up.
Often, simple life changes help with organizing your space. The only way to organize a room is when you do it for what works best for your lifestyle.
Furniture with Built-In Storage Space
As we mentioned in our blog post on Minimalist Home Decor, opting for furniture that can serve as extra storage space. For example, you can have a bench that is also an area to store off-season clothing and off-season items. An ottoman with storage space is ideal for small items you need to access regularly.
Under-the-bed storage is one of the top solutions for items you do not need to access as much. Ask anyone who lives in a college dorm. If your bed frame allows room for bins, you can store items there, especially if you live in a small space. Opting for clear bins under the bed is an easy way to be able to easily locate what is stored under your bed.
Being smart with storage is the best way to organize your room.
If your bed does not have enough space for storage, and it seems like the ideal situation for you, consider getting bed risers. We did this for years to create the ideal storage system.
A great place to store extra blankets, sheets, and pillows, especially if you have a small area, is under the bed in airtight containers. This creates a system that makes sense for easy access.
Labeling
Bins and areas need labels. We always say, the less you have to think, the better. This comes with anything in life, but your organizing process should be putting the work in up front so you donโt have to do a lot of planning and you can spend less time thinking on the back end. This is where labeling comes in.
Labeling is great while you are learning the organizational process you are creating. If you donโt have a label maker, just use tape and a marker. It doesnโt have to be complicated.
Make it Pleasing
We are not aiming for perfectionism here, but to make your space pleasing to the eye. The simpler and cleaner things look, the better they will feel. Organizing is not shoving items out of site. It is preventing areas from becoming your dumping ground. It is giving every item a home.
Try to avoid piling things up. For example, if you just finished folding laundry, go ahead and put it up. Donโt store the folded pile on the tops of dressers or leave the laundry in the laundry room. Put it where it belongs. If the clothes are dirty, take them to the laundry room or hamper.
Go Easy On Yourself
It may take a few hours or a day to organize your room. The fact that you are putting in the work is a great first step. Once you have the items you use, wear, or that bring you joy in their organized home base, be sure to check to see if the system works. You may find that you need some tweaking as you go.
The only way to keep things organized is if the system works for you. This is why many professional organizers will tell you that you, the client, have to be part of the process.
After you are finished organizing your room, schedule regular maintenance sessions to keep the space organized. Spend a few minutes each day tidying up and doing quick tasks to prevent things from spiraling out of control.
Benefits of Organizing Your Room
When you organize your room, you will feel an instant high. There isnโt anything quite like it for us. We instantly feel a weight lifted. Your mood will be better, and more than likely you will find your stress level has reduced.
Read more on this topic when we discuss Can a Messy Room Cause Depression?
And if you are struggling with all the items you have, you may want to read, Too Much Stuff, Not Enough Space. Spoiler alert: itโs not that you donโt have enough space. Just saying.
FAQs | Frequently Asked Questions
When you create your organizing stations, take the bin you want to donate to your local Goodwill or thrift store. If you want to sell, we recommend Poshmark for clothing. It is the route to maximize your return with the time spent in getting items listed to sell.
Assuming you have already decluttered, use slim hangers to maximize your space. Consider using storage bins and if you have room, put a laundry basket to collect dirty clothes as you take them off to change into something else.
Go digital! You can read how to organize receipts for your business and use the same method for any paperwork.
