Simple Yet Effective Hacks to Organise Your Home

The process of organising a home may seem daunting, but it really doesn’t have to be. Wondering how? Well, “start with one room at a time and work your way through all the clutter in your home,” says Dipti Das, AVP-Design, HomeLane. 

In an exclusive interview with RoofandFloor, she shared some hacks and smart ideas that can make organising your home feel like a breeze. Here are the excerpts.

Organising your bedroom 

Keeping your bedroom storage organised can be a constant struggle. Overflowing closets, piles of clothes everywhere and the desk in disarray can add to your stress levels and drain your energy. We know, we’ve been there. 

Start by purging your room of anything you don’t need, and work with a blank slate. There’s a well-known theory that most of us only use 20% per cent of our belongings. If that’s you, let go of the 80 per cent that you don’t use. Keep only what you need and throw away or donate what you don’t. The fewer things you have to work with, the neater your room will be. Once you have the bare minimum, you can separate your belongings into groups.

• Use drawer dividers

Drawer dividers are a genius hack that will help you to achieve Marie Kondo levels of neatness in your drawers. They make sure no space is wasted, and everything has its own place and is easy to find. You can opt for store-bought drawer dividers, or make them yourself. 

• Use the inside of your wardrobe shutter

Are your belts and scarves in a tangled pile at the back of your closet? A space that’s readily accessible and yet largely under-utilised is the inside of your wardrobe shutter. Use this space to organise your belts and ties; a few hooks or a rail that’s attached to the shutter should do the trick.

• Storing scarves

Hooks are great for organising your scarves too. Hang them on the wall, behind the door, or below a ledge.

• Jewellery organiser

There’s nothing that contributes to clutter more than jewellery that’s not organised well. Earrings can be pinned up on a soft board or stored in a mini chest of drawers on your dresser. Necklaces and neckpieces could be hung up on decorative knobs that are fitted on a wooden panel. Bangles could be stacked up on a bangle display stand, or inside a drawer with dividers.

• Storage boxes 

Invest in a couple of storage boxes that can hold knick-knacks and neatly label them, so that you know what’s in them. Your closet will become easier to manage in an instant. Cardboard boxes that are wrapped in pretty paper will work as well as fancy store-bought bins.

• Tuck your shoes out of sight

A hanging shoe rack is another genius hack that takes care of all your shoe storage woes. This neat canvas hanger can go inside your wardrobe, behind the bedroom door or on your balcony.

• Additional storage ideas

If you still need more space, think of swapping out your box bed for one which has drawers below. You’ll be surprised just how much the drawers below a queen-sized bed can hold.

Another great idea is to add storage lofts above your wardrobe if you haven’t done so already. Large suitcases and boxes that you do not need on an everyday basis can easily go in there.

Organising your living room 

The living room is the first place that your guest gets to see and creates a positive impression. So, it is essential to set-up and maintains the space based on your comfort that also suits your personality. 

• The space below the staircase 

In most homes, the space below the stairs is not used – a little thought and ingenuity can creatively transform this forgotten nook. Build drawers for your shoes, create some extra seating if you have enough headroom, or make a cupboard for books. 

• Staircase wall

The wall that runs along your staircase can be converted into useful storage for books, artefacts or anything else you can think of. This picture shows a clever use of the adjoining wall for additional floor to ceiling shelving.

• Suspended storage

This lovely hack lets you have the storage shelf you need, exactly where you need it. Suspend a rough-hewn slab of wood on ropes from the ceiling, and voila. You have a floating bookshelf right next to your reading nook. 

• Bookshelf below the window seat

The little-utilised space below the window can easily convert into a window seat with storage below. Pop in the books you are currently reading, and you have an adorable reading nook.

• Additional storage

There’s never such a thing as too much storage space in any home. A bare wall in your family room can be made to look impressive as well as add functionality with a skinny shelf on wire racks. The heights of the shelves are adjustable, and you can add closed shutters for part of the unit. Pop in some pretty wicker baskets for storing odds and ends.  

Organising your kitchen

Messy countertops are your worst nightmare in the kitchen. Redo your old drawers and shelves to get efficient under-the-counter units that pull out, swivel and rotate to allow you to access every bit of below counter space. You can also add open shelves for extra space if needed.

• Organise your kitchen drawers once and for all!

Swap out all your kitchen shelves into storage drawers with organisers. These can be custom-adjusted to match your plate sizes and neatly store all your cutlery, pots and pans.

• Hang up your pots and pans

This grid that’s suspended from the ceiling above your island kitchen is the perfect place to hang up your pots and pans, right next to where you need them. 

• Hang hooks from the towel rail

Coffee mugs have a way of accumulating and occupying too much space in your cabinets. Free up the shelves by adding a few heavy-duty hooks to a towel rail, and hang up the mugs next to the sink. The hooks can be used for ladles and spoons too.

• Magic corner solutions

The space in the corner of an L shaped kitchen is often hard to reach, but clever storage units like a Magic Corner can be installed to ensure that every bit of available space can be easily accessed.

Organising your bathrooms

When doing up your home décor, bathrooms are often relegated to the end. Pay them the importance they need by transforming them into glamour rooms. 

• Towel rack

We love this towel rack in ornamental wrought iron that holds beautifully rolled up towels next to the sink. A shelf at the far end of the bathroom is just right for luxurious bath amenities.

• Ladder storage

Short on wall storage space? This skinny ladder floor-to-ceiling storage can hold a great many things.