Master the Art of Organising Your Home
Decluttering and organising your home helps create a sense of calm and make everything easy to find—especially when moving house.
Moving is the perfect time to sort through your possessions, get rid of unwanted things, and get organised in your new home while you’re unpacking boxes and finding new places for each item.
Lizzie Grant, a London-based professional organiser from Simplify Stuff, shares her expert tips to tackle house organising room by room and make a fresh start in your new home.
Start With the Bathroom
“The bathroom is a great place to start. It tends to have fewer items to sort through than other rooms, which means you can quickly see results. Organising your bathroom can transform it from a purely functional space into a relaxing place to indulge in a bit of self-care.
“First, group products into categories so similar items are together. Check if any have passed their use-by dates. Typically, makeup and toiletries have an expiry date of six to 12 months after opening, so keep that in mind. Decide how many of the remaining products you actually use and let go of anything you no longer need.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
As you put things onto shelves, keep similar products together with labels facing forward so you know what you’ve got. We often re-buy things like shampoos, only to find some we already had.
Use wooden boxes with lids to store items like toothbrushes and shaving chargers so they’re tucked away neatly. The less that is on display, the tidier the space will feel. If possible, put cleaning products away in a cupboard or in a different room.
Bathroom Organising Checklist
- Find a place for everything in your bathroom
- Group similar products together with labels clearly visible
- Utilise storage boxes to hold items and keep surfaces tidy and clear
- Keep cleaning products in cupboards or in a dedicated space elsewhere
Maintain Calm in the Kitchen
“Kitchens tend to get cluttered quickly, making it hard to find the ingredients you need and difficult to prepare meals. Take time to declutter and organise this space, and you will quickly find you can channel your inner Nigella again.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
When deciding where to store things, think about what you use daily, or just a few times a month and organise items according to frequency of use.
“Be realistic about which items need to be easily accessible on your countertops.
“This particularly applies to large appliances, which take up a lot of space. Do they really need to be out all the time? Lesser-used items should be stored high up or low down, and items used more frequently should ideally be at waist-height so it is easier to get them out when you need them.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
Use drawer inserts to group things like cutlery and items in your kitchen “junk drawer”. Clear glass jars and labels are a popular way to store food items such as pasta, teabags and cereal. The containers allow you to see how much you’ve got left – and it’s aesthetically pleasing, too. Opt for containers of similar sizes to save space.
Can’t keep tupperware under control? Match containers with lids to make sure you do not have more than you need, advises Lizzie. Then store lids in a spare container to avoid them sliding all over the place.
Kitchen Organising Checklist
- Decide what you need on your countertops and what can be stored away
- Keep appliances and items you use regularly within arm’s reach
- Transfer loose foods to clear containers to track how much is left and save space
- Use drawer inserts to organise utensils and other small items
- Keep tupperware lids matched to containers
Declutter Bedroom Wardrobes
“Your bedroom should be a haven for rest and relaxation, without piles of clothes on the floor. Taking the opportunity to declutter your wardrobe when the seasons change is the perfect way to calm the chaos.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
In your wardrobe, categorise types of clothes so they’re together (dresses, shirts, trousers, etc.). You could even go one step further by putting them into sub-categories such as formal, casual, long sleeve, or short sleeve. To help you put outfits together, keep similar colours within each group. Use drawer dividers to itemise things like socks and underwear.
As you’re going through your clothes, try to get rid of anything that you don’t love and wear regularly.
“Be honest with yourself. What do you really love and wear? If you find it difficult to decide, pick your top three favourites in each category that you definitely want to keep, then use this as your benchmark against which the rest have to match up to.”
“If you are short of space and have clothes you use less regularly or seasonally, store these out of the way in vacuum pack storage bags. Use shelves at the top of wardrobes or storage under your bed to clear space in your wardrobe for clothes which you wear daily.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
Bedroom Organising Checklist
- Categorise similar clothes together
- Sort clothes by colour
- Use drawer dividers to organise items such as socks, ties, and underwear
- Donate or throw away anything you don’t wear anymore
- Hang things you wear regularly so they’re easily accessible
- Store seasonal clothes or pieces used less regularly in vacuum bags
Create a Relaxing Living Room
“Your living room should be a space where comfort and calm reign. This is a room which often caters to more than one person’s hobbies, interests and relaxation techniques, so it can really benefit from some organisation.
“If you have hobbies which you do in your living room, such as knitting, yoga or crafts, dedicate a space for these items to live. Declutter anything you no longer need or use, then organise the rest using baskets with lids or containers on shelves.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
It’s nice to display things you like, but try to limit what’s on show to things you really love.
“Grouping ornaments differently and breaking up shelves with small prints and books can really refresh the feel of this room. Set aside a shelf for books that you haven’t yet read but would like to. This makes choosing a new book more enjoyable.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
Those with young children will know how easy it is for toys to take over a living room. Get your children involved in decluttering these. Give each of them a basket or box for toys they play with regularly and want easy access to. Everything else can be stored away in boxes or in their bedrooms.
“Donate toys that are no longer played with but are still in good condition. There are lots of fantastic charities that take donations of children’s items, such as Little Village HQ, which ensures these go to families who need them most.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
Living Room Organising Checklist
- Carefully choose items you want to keep on shelves for a decorative display
- Dedicate specific areas for hobby items and toys
- Break up the room with selected decorations, prints, and books
- Create a mini library with a shelf of unread books
- Encourage the whole family to help declutter, including children
- Donate unwanted trinkets and toys that are still usable
Keep Focus in the Home Office
“If you are working from home regularly, it’s vital that your workspace is clutter-free and organised so your productivity is not negatively impacted. Both digital and paper organisational systems are key, as is having a dedicated space for your stationery.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
For paperwork, shred or recycle as much as possible. Digitise documents (by scanning or photographing them) that you need to keep and fi le them with a helpful name. This is an ideal solution to save physical space—but do make sure it is all backed up, advises Lizzie.
If there is anything you need to keep a physical copy of, store it out of the way.
“Think about whether your paperwork fi ling system is working for you. If not, ask yourself why it is not working. Consider whether there are other systems you would prefer to use. For example, box files or magazine fi les with labelled plastic pockets for documents rather than a fi ling cabinet.”
- Lizzie Grant, Simplify Stuff
On your desk, pop a couple of pens into a pot and then tidy away any other stationery into a drawer or in a box on a shelf. Limit items like plants, photographs and candles to just one or two.
Home Office Organising Checklist
- Improve productivity by keeping your desk clutter-free
- Digitise documents to save space
- Organise physical documents and paperwork in a suitable fi ling system, such as box files and labelled folders
- Select just a few key pieces of stationery in a pen pot on the desk
- Keep decorations on the desk to a minimum How to Get Rid of Clutter
You’ll find that a little bit of organisation can go a long way. Decluttering can feel like a daunting task, and there are several ways to approach it—but the best way is to focus on one area at a time.
- Decide what can be kept, donated, or thrown out
- If you aren’t sure if something should be kept, it’s probably best to throw it away
- Make use of storage containers to group items together and keep clutter tidy and out of sight
- Find a new home for anything you keep right away to avoid cluttering other areas
- Organise your home in short time periods to avoid feeling overwhelmed
Once you’ve sorted each room, not only will your new home feel clear and calm, but hopefully you will, too.
Spacious Homes for Every Need
With a Berkeley Group home, you’ll find spacious rooms you can use to stay organised, focused, and relaxed.
If you’re thinking of making a move, take a look at our available properties or get in touch with a member of our team today.