# The Home Edit by Clea Shearer & Joanna Teplin - Blinkist

What’s in it for me? Learn a fun way to create order in your home.

You probably already know by instinct that how you feel and function is influenced by the state of your environment.

A tidy room helps you sleep better.

An office with everything in its place improves your performance.

And it’s comforting to know your kids are playing in the safe spaces you've created for them.

Everyone loves an organized home, but few like the hard work involved in creating one.

But what if it wasn’t hard at all?

What if it was even fun?

In this Blink, you’ll learn the process that has transformed housekeeping into a teachable art.

From now on it’ll be easier to declutter, organize, and maintain high standards of order in your home.

The benefits of keeping an organized home

How we organize our homes and possessions has an emotional impact on our lives.

Some of the objects we own are imbued with meaning.

It matters where you place them in your home, how you interact with them, and how other members of the household feel about them.

The way we handle certain objects also determines how we find closure.

You care about the heirloom that tells your family’s story.

Donating baby clothes after your last child has outgrown them can fill you with gratitude and love.

If you’ve recently lost a family member, you might find it particularly hard to organize your photos.

The fond memories could feel out of place while you’re grieving.

Situations like these are tough, but clearing that physical space can be therapeutic.

And as well as the emotional subtext of our possessions, there’s the pragmatic side to running an efficient home too.

It saves time and reduces stress when everyone in the house can find what they need.

If your kids know exactly where to take and keep their toys, books and clothes, you’ll have more time to do other things.

That’s a great way to keep your cool and reduce tension.

Not losing track of items in the back of the cupboard also means you won’t buy things you already own.

You’ll save money when you can see exactly how many boxes of tissues you have.

And you’ll have a rough idea of when you need to buy more, so you don’t run out.

If your house is organized, you’re also less likely to buy things that you don’t have space to store, which helps limit clutter.

To top it all, a well-organized house will do wonders for your wellbeing.

A clean, orderly, airy house will calm you down and make you feel good.

People feel grounded when they live in a pleasant house.

It helps you breathe and is a sure way to eliminate stress.

Now that you can picture what to aspire to, let’s explore exactly how to get there.

How to declutter your home

Even if you understand the benefits you’ll gain from creating a functional home, the task might feel overwhelming and about as exciting as going to the dentist.

So, how do you go about achieving this feat in a fun and sustainable way?

First, it’s important to stay motivated.

To do that, keep the bar low initially.

Start with only those parts of the house that you can organize in one attempt, like a drawer or under the sink.

Pick a single drawer and organize it using the technique you’ll learn in a moment, then try the pantry another day.

This slow and steady build-up will keep you engaged, until you’re ready to tackle more complex spaces, like your wardrobe.

Editing any space starts with taking every single item out.

Whether it’s your drawer, the fridge, closet, entry, or mudroom, simply take everything out of the space.

Doing this will rid the space of small objects hiding under a pile or in a dark corner.

You’ll also be able to better judge the size of the space and the type of organizers that can fit into it.

As you empty the space, group similar items together.

You can choose to group them according to color or function.

If you’re working in the bathroom, you can decide to group different products of the same brand together.

Always start from general categories before breaking them down to specific categories.

For instance, creating a breakfast category will include more items and make it easier to manage your pantry.

However, having a lot of oatmeal could prompt you to add an oatmeal category.

Once that’s done, you’re ready for the next step: editing proper.

It’s time to have an honest conversation with yourself about what you really need and what’s just occupying space.

You’ll have to decide what deserves your time and attention, and get rid of stuff you don’t use.

To make this easier, have a plan for what you intend to discard.

Do you want to donate those items?

Do they belong in the bin?

If there’s an item you rarely use, find space for it in your storage room or attic.

For example, legal documents you’re required to keep can conveniently sit on the top shelf or in the basement.

Find the courage to discard what you don’t need.

This will create a nice airy feel in your space, and make room for valuable items you use.

After editing, analyze your space.

What size of containers and organizers can fit in it?

Buy sizes that will fit together well in their designated space.

Selecting organizers in the same color or collection will give your space a polished look.

You’ll get them cheaper if you buy in bulk.

Have a look at the negative spaces in your home too – the parts of the home where nothing is standing – and decide if you want to take advantage of them.

Then, put on your gloves and clean your space, to get it ready for the next exciting stage.

How to organize

Organizing is a fun and creative process.

This is a chance to give form and function to your home, in a way that suits you.

Start by placing your grouped items – like all that oatmeal in your pantry – into their organizers.

Make sure there’s a bit of room left in each organizer, to accommodate anything new you buy.

Once your organizers are ready, place them inside your drawer, pantry, fridge, or whatever spaces you’re organizing, leaving a gap between each of them.

Then step back and admire your handiwork.

You’ll immediately feel a sense of achievement.

If you want to take things a step further, organize your items according to the rainbow spectrum.

This will create beautiful patterns around your home.

It's also very functional.

Kids will revel in the challenge of sorting items by color.

Imagine all your books lined up on the shelf from red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet.

It’ll be easier to find your t-shirts when they’re lined up in that order inside an organizer too.

There’s a natural flow to it, that just feels good.

To make your home even more accessible, add labels to your organizers.

Labels might sound trivial, but they’re actually the secret to long-term success in organizing.

Your partner, kids, and guests will find their way around without having to ask you.

From here on, organizing becomes as easy as placing your grouped items into designated spaces.

In your fridge, you can have milk, water, and juice line the top compartment in glass pitchers and acrylic holders.

Just below you can save pre-cut fruit in storage containers.

A step down, save meal-prep and produce in open containers and drawers.

Have frozen fruit in separate bins.

The same organizing principle applies everywhere.

It’s just a matter of getting the right containers, labeling them, and fitting them where they can easily be seen and managed.

Once your organizing is complete, success becomes a matter of maintaining your system.

Let’s look at how you achieve this next.

The upkeep

The joy of organizing your home can quickly turn into disappointment, as you watch your good work descend into chaos.

How do you stop yourself and your family or housemates from going back to square one, after your initial investment in time and effort?

The first thing you need to keep your organizational system working for the long term is commitment.

Keep an eye on your home and correct issues as they come up.

You already have a solid foundation.

Build on it.

The good news is, you don’t have to do it alone.

Enlist your partner.

You’re already on a great path, if your efforts are making their lives easier.

That should motivate them to pitch in and help maintain your system.

Kids are never too young to learn either.

Explain to them why having a well-organized home is important, and how they can contribute.

Once you get your system in place, you might slide back into the habit of buying things you don’t need, to put in spaces you haven’t intentionally created.

To prevent this, always leave extra room within the spaces you declutter for future purchases.

Try as much as possible not to accumulate stuff.

Adopt a one-in-one-out policy – getting something new only after you’ve discarded something you already have.

Keep working on your organizational system until it becomes a way of life.

Before you know it, it’ll be second nature.

Useful tips to improve your home

Once you’ve established a solid foundation for organizing your home, you can branch out and incorporate some bonus techniques to elevate your environment further.

For instance, coordinate hats at the entryway to give it character and make you and your guests feel welcome.

Do the same with towels in your bathroom, to add some color.

When you make purchases, remove any extra packaging so that the new item will fit well into your organizer without hogging the remaining space.

But if the packing is minimal and beautiful, you can leave it on if it brings a smile to your face.

Maximize the usable space you have available to you, so that you can store more in a functional way.

For example, if you have no shelves or cabinets in your laundry room, keep lightweight baskets on top of the washing machine.

Stackable vertical storage in other parts of the house will serve the same purpose and carry more items.

Introduce door storage racks to gain some extra hanging space.

You’ll also get a kick from lining pantry spices up by alphabet, color, or container size.

These are simple ways to improve the aesthetics of your home, but there are other ways to improve safety and accessibility.

Adult medication should be kept on high shelves, far from the reach of kids.

However, kids should have easier access to items like bandages on lower shelves.

It’s also safer to store heavy items on lower shelves.

This will stop you or other members of the house carrying heavy items over your heads.

Are there items in your home you’re struggling to make space for?

There are quite a few storage options hiding in plain sight.

The space beneath the bathroom sink can certainly hold a few items.

Under-shelf organizers will mean you can fit more in and keep items organized and visible.

Move things you don’t frequently use to the guest room.

You could also create an office in the guest room to use when it’s unoccupied.

Create a docking station for all electronic devices.

This is a great way to switch off and disconnect while your devices are charging.

Designate a space to manage all incoming and outgoing mail.

That way, you won’t be mixing up mail and bills with other paperwork in your home office.

What about those sentimental items you want to keep?

Give each member of your household a small box to store their treasures in.

As kids grow older, they’ll need study space.

A wall-mounted desk will save you time and a lot of space.

Mount one of these in the guest room too.

Pens and pencils will fit neatly into colorful cups.

As a creative pursuit, there are countless opportunities to stay organized.

Have fun tweaking and improving the style and functionality of your home, and enjoy greater efficiency and peace.

Final Summary

To organize your home, start with the easiest space you can handle and build up till you’re confident enough to tackle more complex projects.

When you declutter, take everything out of that space, group similar items together, and discard those you don’t need.

Grouped items should go into one labeled organizer.

This is a sure way to help your partner, kids, or guests find what they need.

Buy matching organizers to add some class.

To spice it up, organize your items according to the colors of the rainbow.

Colors are intuitive and offer a fun learning opportunity for younger members of the family.

Always try to maintain an airy feel by spacing your organizers and leaving enough room for future purchases.

This will help you maintain your system.

Maintaining your system also requires the help of your family members or housemates.

Ask for everyone’s commitment to keeping your home appealing and functional, so you can all enjoy the benefits.