These are the easiest ways to organize your home just like The Home Edit! Learn hacks and the most important steps you shouldn’t skip.
Have you watched the Netflix show, “Get Organized With The Home Edit?” If you haven’t watched it yet, maybe you’ve heard your friends talking about it or you’ve seen things online. Whether you’ve seen it or not, you’ll discover some seriously clever tips that will help you get organized.
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Who Is The Home Edit?
The Home Edit is a business that two amazing ladies started together in Nashville, Tennessee. The owners and founders are Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. They met through a mutual friend who thought they would work well together as home organizers.
After meeting in 2015, The Home Edit (THE) was born! Their home organization business really took off with Clea’s eye for social media design – their Instagram page is stunning. Joanna’s daughter went to the same preschool as Christina Applegate’s daughter. They met and impressed Christina so much that she recommended them to her friend Selma Blair.
On September 9, 2020, they released a show on Netflix called, “Get Organized With The Home Edit.”
Clea and Joanna have built an empire. Not only do they have a wildly successful home organization business, but they have 3 best-selling books and exclusive THE products for sale at The Container Store.
After browsing their Instagram or watching their show, you will be inspired to tackle the craziness in your home.
Home Edit Methods
THE created a 4-part system that they use whenever they are on a job. We can use this same system in our homes too. Here’s what they are and what they mean.
Edit
The very first step is to edit. This is a really nice way of saying, get rid of things. If you don’t use it and don’t need it, throw it away or donate it.
Categorize
Next, pull everything out and start sorting. The categorize stage is where you start creating groups for your things.
For example, if you are organizing your pantry, you would sort your food into categories like:
- Dry goods
- Snacks
- Drinks
- Canned Foods
- Storage Supplies
Contain
Since THE has their own products for sale at The Container Store, they highlight this step very frequently.
After you categorize everything, create a home for them. Place them in containers or establish some kind of zones and boundaries for your stuff.
It’s also very important to contain things in your containers. Don’t just throw everything in a basket. Use smaller containers to keep everything separated inside your larger boxes.
Maintain
Finally, the systems you create should be easy to maintain. That’s why they suggest you label your boxes. It’s also important to continue to edit what you own as you buy more things. Once you outgrow your space, it’s time to make some changes.
How To Get Organized Just Like The Home Edit
Now that you know more about them and their system, I wanted to highlight some of the brightest gems they shared on their show. These are nuggets of truth that will completely change how you approach getting organized.
Create Zones You will use
First, think about your current everyday habits within the space you are organizing. What do you do frequently? Create zones around these habits.
For example, if you drink coffee every day, then you should set up and organize a coffee station in your kitchen.
Use Matching Hangers
This tip is specifically for organizing closets. When you use matching hangers, the entire closet will look polished. In fact, it’s pretty amazing what a huge difference this one change can make.
Choose Your items or your space
Sometimes you have to choose between your items or your space. You can’t have both and let them shine.
That is, unless you are Khloe Kardashian and have a garage the size of some people’s houses!
For us regular folks, create systems within your room and area that fits. After your collections outgrow your space, you’ll have to either give up more space or edit your things better.
Leave Room To Grow In
As you set up your systems, don’t pack them as full as possible. Spend time on the edit phase so that you have room to grow. It’s a fact of life – you are going to bring more things into your house. Leaving room for these potential products is smart and thinking ahead.
Don’t store things you don’t want
Spend plenty of time in the “edit” phase. THE focuses so much on the beauty of home organization that it’s important to only store the things that you love and will use.
If you don’t want it, give it to someone who does. It’s much more important to value your space and display the things that you use regularly.
Set a space limit
As you create your zones, make a conscious decision not to go beyond those limits. If you reach your storage limit within that zone, edit what you have, and move things to long-term storage or get rid of it.
Dedicate a zone for “To-Do” projects
This next idea is so perfect for anyone that has projects that they start and don’t finish.
Create a work zone where you store the projects that you are currently working on. Set up a tabletop and work area for space to do them.
The visual reminders will help you get them done.
Change your vocabulary
One thing I noticed as I watched their show is that they are very intentional with the words they use to describe the cleaning and organizing process. Words are powerful and can shape your entire attitude.
When you have a positive and welcoming attitude, you will make more effective changes.
Here are just a few words they used to describe other things.
- Archive – instead of store or get rid of
- Aspirational clothes – things you might actually be able to fit into again someday
- Sentimental – things that actually mean something and you keep for emotional reasons
Categorize things within categories
This is another thing that Clea and Joanna are known for. They perfected the art of sub-categorizing things.
For example, in a closet, they will sort clothes by type with the pants in one area and shirts in another. Then, within those categories, they sort the clothes by color.
This is how they achieve the iconic ROYGBIV rainbow organization style that beautifies their Instagram account.
Contain things
Finally, it is important to know when to use clear containers and when to use decorative opaque ones.
If you have a habit of throwing things in a basket just to forget about it then you need clear containers.
Clear containers let you see exactly what is inside of them. This way, you know how full it is and whether it is time to edit your container again.
Inspiring Words From The Home Edit
The ladies behind THE are some seriously inspiring people! Their Instagram feed, books, and now their hit show are all motivating people around the world to clean out their closets and organize their bookshelves by color.
I’m going to leave you with some inspiring words from Clea and Joanna:
Maybe we can’t control what’s going on in the outside world, but we can create some peace in order in our own homes. Even if you’re new to organizing, it can help you, too.
With that said, YOU MUST START SMALL. The last thing you need is to be feeling overwhelmed.
The Home Edit
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More Home Organization Ideas
We love learning from the pro’s and these people know their stuff. Here are some more tips and tricks directly from the organizing experts.
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