Look around your house and be honest: are you drowning in stuff ? I know I am. Between a toddler, one on the way, two cats and a personal inability to throw out junk “just in case”, it’s rare I see the actual surface of my floor or countertops.
Without a home organization system that works for you, the sheer amount of objects you have accumulated throughout the years can quickly overrun your home. Many of us tend to put away stuff “for now”, only for our closets and cabinets to fill up, preventing us from seeing what we own. “If you can’t find something, it can feel easier to order another one than to spend 20 minutes searching,” Amy Berryhill, a professional organizer and owner of Spiffy Chicks , said.
The best way to make space for everything you need is to make intentional – and stylish! – choices about how you organize your home . “We like to think about organization as an extension of the design process, finding ways to give everyday items a designated home without sacrificing beauty,” said Audrey Scheck, an interior designer and founder of Audrey Scheck Design .
Corralling the chaos can feel intimidating enough of a feat as it is, but ensuring it actually looks good is a task for the pros.
The storage solutions that work for your bedroom might not work in every room of your house. In the bedroom, Richards recommends a storage bed “to provide a huge amount of hidden storage”.
Hydraulic-lift beds have storage beneath the mattress, but they do require a bit of elbow grease to lift, so they’re best for things such as backup bedding or seasonal clothing. If you need more regular access, a bed with built-in side or front drawers can work nicely. Instead of a traditional bedside table, Richards said: “Wide nightstands with drawers or low dressers can give you much more functionality.”
When I was bed shopping last year, this bed was one of the top contenders, in part because of how well the front drawer integrates into the design.
When I was bed shopping last year, this bed was one of the top contenders, in part because of how well the front drawer integrates into the design.
It may be a little bigger than your standard bedside table, but this compact dresser serves as a practical nightstand with its generous drawers. Vintage-inspired spindle legs give it an inherited look and because it’s lifted off the floor, it’s easy to clean around .
Use a similar strategy for your living room and look for coffee tables with drawers or built-in storage or spring for a sofa with hidden storage beneath its cushions. (I have a Cozey Atmosphere sofa and it’s ideal for stashing throws, blankets and toys.)
For overstuffed closets that give you agita each time you open them, Richards has an easy fix. “Wooden hangers immediately make the space feel more considered,” she said. Berryhill bought her wooden hangers 25 years ago, “and they still look great today”.
“These durable, uniform hangers instantly elevate a closet and create a boutique-like feel,” said Berryhill.
Your home office might be the foundation of your livelihood, so it’s worth paying attention to how you style and streamline it. “For a desk, an integrated USB-C grommet can be a small detail that makes a big difference in keeping cords organized and out of sight,” Richards said.
“Keep cords contained and easy to identify,” said Berryhill. “I match these ties to the cord color so they blend in rather than adding visual clutter.”
It’s not the prettiest thing you’ll ever own, but installed flush on to any desk with the right-sized hole and thickness, this power grommet provides access to USB-C and USB-A ports and two power outlets without the visual noise associated with tangled cords.
Wrangling an unruly pantry in the kitchen can be a nightmare and it really helps when you can see what you have. To that end, the goal in this room is to decant as much as you can. “Wire storage baskets are one of our favorite solutions for pantry organization because they keep food contained while still making everything easy to see and grab,” said Scheck.
“I love decanting spices into these glass bottles so you can then buy in bulk more easily,” said Michele Vig, an organization expert, the founder of Neat Little Nest and author of The Holistic Guide to Decluttering .
“These canisters are useful for baking ingredients and snacks because you can easily see what you have while creating a cohesive pantry,” said Berryhill.
“These bins work well in pantries and can really elevate the look,” said Vig. “With metal bins like these, I like to use these magnetic labels on the front to finish the look.”
For more general storage needs in every room (and if you have the space), Richards swears by built-ins and baskets. “They allow you to use every available inch and, most importantly, give you a place to neatly hide away the things we inevitably accumulate,” she said. If you’re looking for an affordable built-in option, Ikea will work with you to design a bespoke solution. The custom-built Pax unit in my garage works triple-duty as a jacket closet, a shoe rack and shelving that houses everything from power tools to canned goods.
“I like decanting laundry products into these attractive containers when they’re going to be visible,” said Richards. “It removes the visual clutter of branded packaging and makes an everyday space like a laundry room feel much more considered.” (They’re also ideal for bathroom products including cotton swabs and cotton balls.)
Berryhill would rather see a client buy a few high-quality products than a lot of inexpensive options that will degrade over time. “Look for sturdy natural fibers, bamboo, wood, heavy canvas, metal and durable plastics,” she said. Elements including woven rattan or seagrass baskets, marble trays and glass jars are all great options that can look elevated without necessarily being expensive.
“If we’re organizing a formal living room, a highly designed family room or a high-end kitchen, we might invest in a higher-priced bin or basket because it’s more connected to the overall look of the space,” said Vig. For Scheck, even something as simple as using a woven basket instead of a plastic bin can make everyday storage feel much more intentional.
For a playroom that will eventually become a guest room, or a child’s bedroom that might become an office when they flee the nest, you want your organization gear to be resilient, easy to clean and durable where messes, spills and yes, horseplay abound.
“These highly designed bins come at a fraction of the cost of higher-end ones from The Container Store,” said Vig. “They add a beautiful touch to the design of a nursery or toy room.”
“These fabric bins from Ikea cannot be beat on price and the range of colors makes it easy to match the aesthetic of a room,” said Vig. “These are spacious, and for well under $10 a bin, they can turn a playroom into an organized oasis in no time.” When they (or your children) have outgrown the playroom, repurpose these bins for storage in the garage or mudroom.
Junk drawer clutter is a real beast – it grinds your gears when you do see it, but it’s typically out of sight. For these, Richards said organization products such as plain drawer organizers and the like are perfectly fine, and tend to be more affordable too.
“These drawer organizers create categories and clear boundaries within a drawer, making items easier to find and put away,” said Berryhill.
Chances are your house already has an existing style – so there’s no need to buy grandmillennial everything just because it’s trending, especially if it’s not your vibe. Instead, select items that look and feel harmonious with your unique space and not like an afterthought.
Related: Which rug is best for your room? 21 expert picks, plus tips on choosing pile, size and material
When Vig works with a client, she always identifies a home’s current aesthetic , and allows that to guide her choices. “If the home is very white, bright and minimal, we will follow suit and add bins that match the aesthetic so they feel like they disappear into the design,” she said. She recommends sticking with a couple of materials or styles rather than opting for a wide variety that can increase visual clutter.
Rattan is a surprisingly versatile material because any space can benefit from warmer, more natural textures. Richards relies on rattan and woven baskets to add visual interest to sterile shelves, “particularly in spaces like laundry rooms, and they can work across many different design styles when the scale is right”. If rattan feels too fussy, Richards recommends other materials, such as wood and plaster.
If your personal aesthetic runs the gamut from traditional to contemporary, Richards suggests marble catchalls or trays on surfaces including console tables or countertops. “They create a beautiful first impression when you enter a home,” she said. And a tangle of headphones, sunglasses and general purse detritus looks and feels much better when consolidated into a container. “Grouping like items into cohesive baskets, bins or trays gives the eye a place to rest while keeping everything accessible,” said Berryhill.
Leather is an unexpected material for home decor, so this valet tray is a nice pick, with its unique snap corners and a lovely full-grain leather construction.
“I love this as a catchall because the stone has such an original color and character,” said Richards. “It turns an everyday organizational piece into something that feels like a decorative object.”
“Hyacinth bins can really elevate the look of your storage solution, and to get six bins for under $100 is a great price for a natural material too,” said Vig. “Usually these go for $25 to $30 apiece elsewhere.”
“A round tray is particularly useful for grouping items together,” said Richards. “It makes a beautiful whisky tray, for example, while keeping bottles organized and visually contained.”
Organizing your clutter doesn’t mean relinquishing a chunk of precious space to a hefty storage unit – instead, think of it as reclaiming space previously lost to clutter.
Vig recommends building the design of your space around the largest piece of storage furniture. “Too many small pieces of storage in a small room can make the room look too broken up,” she said. “Oftentimes, investing in one larger storage piece can become both the design feature as well as a storage all-star.” Ideally, your furniture should serve multiple purposes to clear up space, such as an ottoman or bench with built-in storage, according to Scheck.
Next, Berryhill recommends looking for “unused real estate”, including walls, the backs of doors, the full height of closets and cabinets, and under beds.
“We recently organized a laundry room that also served as a mudroom and had run out of storage. Adding shelving and cohesive bins allowed us to capture unused vertical space and gave the family what felt like an entirely new storage area,” she said.
I’ve bought these affordable hooks three times. Not only because they look interesting enough to serve as wall art, but because their thick and sturdy hooks hold everything from wet towels to heavy backpacks, helping me take advantage of unused wall and back-of-door space.
Instead of a sterile plastic bin, bring warmth into rooms designed to promote calm and rest with woven natural fibers. (Bonus: this bin will work swimmingly in multiple contexts around your home.)
And for situations where you’ve got plenty of space to stash your stuff, but you can’t seem to access it due to depth or height restrictions, Berryhill suggests turntables and deep bins for pantries and cabinets. These accessibility tools will help you recoup inaccessible or underused space.
“Turn difficult-to-access deep cabinets into functional storage with deep bins,” said Berryhill. “Pull the bin forward like a drawer to access what you need.”
“These are one of my favorite tools for higher shelves and deep cabinets because everything becomes accessible with a simple turn,” said Berryhill.
Other pieces you might enjoy from the Filter , the Guardian’s guide to buying fewer, better things:
Which rug is best for your room? 21 expert picks, plus tips on choosing pile, size and material
The best bath towels of 2026 in the US, from fluffy to quick drying – tested
‘Stores an ungodly amount of stuff’: 11 products our writers rely on to organize and declutter
Without a home organization system that works for you, the sheer amount of objects you have accumulated throughout the years can quickly overrun your home. Many of us tend to put away stuff “for now”, only for our closets and cabinets to fill up, preventing us from seeing what we own. “If you can’t find something, it can feel easier to order another one than to spend 20 minutes searching,” Amy Berryhill, a professional organizer and owner of Spiffy Chicks , said.
This report is published with credit to theguardian.com. Full available text from the wire is above. Read on theguardian.com →
Source: theguardian.com · Marissa Miller. Published 3 Sept 2026, 07:15 pm.
