Everything Has a Home
The Foundation of an Organised Home
My most important organising principles is very simple: everything you own should have a home.
Every single item in your house should have a designated place where it belongs. Not somewhere it happens to end up, but a place where it actually lives.
When everything has its own home, tidying up becomes remarkably easy. You don't have to think about where to put things. You already know where they belong.
No Homeless Belongings!
Think about the things that tend to accumulate on kitchen counters, tables, chairs or in corners.
Often, they aren't there because we're too lazy to put them away. They're there because we haven't decided where they belong.
Perhaps it's a pair of scissors, a charging cable, a handbag, a stack of documents or something you recently bought.
If an item doesn't have a designated home, every time you tidy up you have to make a new decision about where to put it.
And that's unnecessary work!
When I'm organising or decluttering, I want to make sure that every item I decide to keep has a place where it belongs.
Give Every Item a Proper Home
A good home for an object should be practical and easy to access.
Things you use frequently should live somewhere convenient. Things you use only occasionally can be stored further away.
For example, everyday cooking utensils belong close to where you prepare food. Important documents need a designated filing place. Cleaning supplies should be stored where they're easy to find when needed.
And don't forget the little things. Even small items such as batteries, spare buttons, keys and charging cables need somewhere to live.
When everything has its own place, you also know where to find it. No more searching through drawers and cupboards for something you know you own!
Make Their Homes Beautiful, Too
Here's something I find particularly important: the homes of your belongings deserve some attention, too.
We want our own homes to be pleasant, comfortable and beautiful. Why shouldn't we apply the same thinking to the places where we keep our possessions?
A drawer doesn't have to be a chaotic collection of things just because nobody sees what's inside when it's closed.
A cupboard shouldn't be so overcrowded that you have to push everything aside to retrieve one item.
And a storage box doesn't become organised simply because you've put a lid on it!
Try to make these little homes tidy, functional and pleasant. Repair or replace broken storage solutions when necessary, and avoid cramming more things into a space than it can comfortably hold.
This doesn't mean buying expensive organisers or matching storage containers. Often, the simplest solution is the best one. A clean drawer with enough room for its contents can be perfectly beautiful.
Organising Becomes So Much Faster
Once everything has a home, tidying up is no longer a complicated project.
You pick something up, you know where it belongs, and you put it there.
It takes seconds.
Instead of spending time making decisions, moving things from one surface to another or wondering where to store them, you're simply returning things to their proper places.
And this is the foundation for another organising principle I love: Don't put it down, put it away.
But that principle only works when everything already has somewhere to go.
Start with One Drawer or Cupboard
You don't need to reorganise your entire home at once.
Choose one drawer, cupboard or shelf. Take a look at what's inside and ask yourself:
- Does everything here actually belong here?
- Can I easily find and take out what I need?
- Is there enough room to put everything back comfortably?
- Is this a pleasant, tidy home for these belongings?
If the answer is no, make some changes. Remove unnecessary items, decide where the remaining things belong and arrange them in a practical way.
Then move on to another little area whenever you have time.
Eventually, you'll have a home where not only you, but also all your belongings, have a place of their own.
And that's when keeping your home organised becomes so much easier.