Reclaim Your Space!

Do you have a space in your home that serves more than one purpose? Does it ever get out of control? Whenever a room or space has multiple functions it is even more likely to be overwhelmed by clutter or dumping. Dumping = setting something down with the intention to put it away later, and instead, setting something else on top of it later. Here are a few tips to follow to reclaim your space and start enjoying ALL of your home again. 

This family has a room that functions as an office, craft room, closet, storage space, and it's where the man-of-the-house gets ready for work. Meaning suits, shoes, shirts, ironing board, pants press, steamer, etc. are all kept in here as well {Yes, he is a very well dressed man}. That's a lot of functions for any space, and as you can see, it was getting out of hand. Here's how it was revived to give these folks back their space {and sanity!}. Oh, and no additional purchases were necessary, meaning it was FREE!! Does it get any better? 

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Start Simple: 

The easiest place for me to begin organizing is where it's already most organized. When working with others, this helps me see what organizing methods work for them, and in my personal spaces, it just keeps me motivated. So in this space, I wanted to start behind the stack of bins and boxes in the pictures below. There is a small cubby unit there that was pretty organized already and seemed like a great place to begin.

{Don't mind the cat, he was just way too comfortable to move!} 

First, I had to sort through the large stack of "dumped" items, the bins and boxes on the floor. It ends up that most of it had a place where it could be stored nicely their basement {Oh, what I would do to have a basement!}. Also, I was able to combine two of the bins into one, giving them an extra storage bin for the room or anywhere else they may need. 

And now time to address the cubbies! For these nice little cubbies, I gave each one a specific category and worked with the family to put some finishing organizational touches on their personal documents. They already had many organizing supplies, so this process was incredibly easy and just involved moving some things around a bit. I used my new label maker {Best gift for an organizer ever!!} to give each shelf a name. 

Now they can easily access, and see, their personal documents. We could have added a bunch of pretty decorative cubed bins and organized their belongings like that, but that would have cost $$, and who wants to spend $$ when you don't have to!

While organizing the shelves, I also started sneaking over to the desk to organize things. Many documents that were on the desk were easily stored in the newly categorized cubbies. However, even after that, the desk was still not very functional. 

{Eeeek!}

Maintain Sanity: 
Looking at over-cluttered spaces could inspire some people to get a book of matches and just burn down the place, but before going pyro, take a deep breath and look carefully at everything. Start addressing one thing at a time, and slowly but surely, you will begin to put down the matches. 

Everything in this space can easily be stored in a functional way that does not involve throwing it on the desk. Most of the items on the desk were mainly for crafts and hobbies. I was able to store it in their "craft cabinet" that is located just next to the desk {not seen in the picture, yet}.

A Place for Everything: 
Everything in your home should have a place {just a little theme of mine, In Its Place NYC}. Whether everything stays in that place is a different story. But even when it doesn't, knowing exactly where to put it back makes keeping places clutter free so much easier. 

Which brings us to the "craft cabinet":

Again, there was some organization here it just needed a little touch to make it more functional. After removing items from the space and shifting things around, I was able to categorize the shelves just like with the cubbies. Using labels, I organized the shelves into categories that made items easier to store and locate.  

{On top of the cabinet: These were items she wanted readily available, such as her daughter's scrapbook. Storing these on the outside made them easy to access, and the boxes are so pretty, who would want to hide them?}

{Inside the cabinet: Scrapbooking supplies and tools}

{Arts & crafts, recognize the basket from the desk?}

{Projects, caused by Pinterest; it's just too inspirational}

{Crocheting/knitting/fabric}

Now we have a lovely space that is easy to keep up with. Also, by using old shoeboxes and gift boxes for storage, this cabinet cost zero $$ to organize. Ahh, I love it! 

Do it Daily:
To keep up with clutter, it's important to always just put things away when you're finished {easier said than done, I know}. However, making it part of a daily routine really helps. Meaning, address some area of clutter while you're doing something else that you do daily. I typically "close the kitchen" while brushing my teeth. It gives me something to do other than just staring back at myself in the mirror, ensures that I brush long enough, AND the kitchen clutter gets straightened up in the process. Now, this works for me because I live in an apartment and my kitchen is 10 steps from the bathroom. For those of you in larger homes, other things you could do would be tidying up the bathroom while brushing, wiping down the kitchen counter after making coffee, or hanging up the morning outfit rejects between Bravo shows {ashamed to say it, but this is a favorite of mine}.

With the last area, the "dressing area", it was mainly about putting things away and storing the packed up toddler bed in a more suitable location {their basement}. 

After moving items and creating storage space, more room was left for his necessary things. 

All of his dressing items are now in the same space in the room and are all easily accessible and easy to put right back when finished. Also, if they choose to leave the ironing board up, there's space to do so!

Everything in its Place:

Creating a place that is free of clutter is not the easiest thing to do in the world; however, once you do have that clear space, it is much easier to maintain. 

After organizing the cabinet, desk, and cubby unit, many of the items that were on this dresser were able to be easily stored throughout the room. 

Now the dresser is clear of clutter and can be used solely as an area to show off jewelry. This also makes it easier to see all the jewelry that she has, which is a lot! Also, by finding a place for the bins and boxes in the corner, the steam carpet cleaner was able to be slightly hidden in the corner. 

This family is now able to use their space for all the necessary functions without headache and by following the organizing tips, they will be able to easily keep it that way!
To recap: 
- Start Simple
- Maintain Sanity
- A Place for Everything
- Do it Daily
- Everything in its Place

How do you reclaim your space? Any tricks for helping beat clutter? Please share! {I recently updated the comment restrictions. Apologies to those who have tried in the past!} 

Thanks for visiting, 

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