How To Organize Like a Pro: Tips From Home Organizers

Learn how to organize like a pro! Read tips from professional home organizers and conquer your chaos once and for all. It’s easier than you might think.

Are you a natural born organizer? Is there even such a thing?

For some people, the ability to keep things in order is something they’ve always had. It’s in their blood. The chosen few seem to inherit the trait, born into a long line of people who keep tidy homes and highly organized lives.

As for the rest of us? Well, we have to work on being organized. It’s a skill to refine, a muscle to develop, a challenge to conquer. Chances are, you’re in that group – that’s why we’re on this journey together!

Wondering where to begin? Get our FREE guide, The 30-Minute Organizing Secret, and discover easy ways to overcome the chaos of clutter – even with kids at home!

How To Organize Like A Pro

Here they are. I have tips directly from professional home organizers that will help you completely organize like a pro. Every room and closet in your house can be neat and tidy in no time at all.

All five of these tips are essential. If you follow all of them, you’ll have a home that actually stays organized.

Put Things Where They Belong

First, get into the habit of putting things away where they belong after you get them out. If you make this a lifestyle and a habit, you’ll have a lot less mess to clean later.

Lisa from Neat Freak McKinney said the key to staying organized is to create a system that works for you and your family.

Another way to make it easier for you to put things away is to cut down on how much you buy. This tip is directly from Lisa: “Buy less, (you don’t need it just because it is on sale!) that will help keep the clutter down.”

Make It Routine

Next, if you want to organize like a pro, you need to make it a part of your daily routine.

If you are having trouble enjoying organizing every day, do it in small bursts. Rachel owns A Beautiful Mess 101 in Texas and always encourages people to organize small things like drawers and cabinets first.

“I encourage people to start small, like a junk drawer or a cabinet. Or even just a linen closet. You will see a win in just a couple of hours. Getting small wins is the biggest help to get you motivated.”

Carve out fifteen minutes at the end of the day, every day, to put away anything that’s out of place. Better yet? Get into the habit of organizing and cleaning as you go.

Jennifer from the Chaos Boss has even more advice: make part of your routine preparing for the next day. “Spend the last 10 minutes of your day setting up things for the next day. All of the small things you prepare today will help you to have a smoother, less stressful tomorrow.”

Use The Right Tools

You’ll be amazed at how much easier it is to keep everything organized when you use the right tools. So many professional organizers told us the secret to their success is using the appropriate bins and baskets.

If you need baskets, bins, files, hanging organizers, and other devices to help you organize your stuff, order them. Lots of the organizing experts we talked to raved about the clever solutions at The Container Store.

Think beyond what they sell at the store. Keri from One Mama’s Daily Drama loves upcycling and repurposing things around her home. “I’ve turned cereal boxes into magazine organizers, cut down cardboard to make drawer dividers, and painted empty glass jars to hold pens.”

Let Things Go

It will be so much easier to keep things organized when you only keep the things you use and love. In fact, that’s another secret of the pros. They don’t keep excess clutter around their house, they get rid of it.

Margaret owns The Clutter Bee, LLC. – a professional relocation service. She helps people organize before and after they move homes. She is always encouraging people to donate items they don’t want or use.

“We always tell them that if you don’t need it, donate it; someone might be wanting it and will use it all the time!”

Abby from Just a Girl and Her Blog agrees. She has lived in both a really small apartment and a large house and discovered the secret to staying organized in both places is to only keep what you need.

“I think the key to staying organized in any size house is decluttering so that you’re only dealing with the items that you truly love and/or use often.”

Know Your Why

Finally, as you organize your home, know your why. What is motivating you to organize your home? Write this reason down and focus on it when you lose the desire to clean it.

Do you want an organized home because you want a peaceful home? Maybe you discovered that when things are tidy you can find them faster. It’s also safer to have a clean home.

All professional organizers know why they love organizing. They feel happier when the space around them is all sorted and controlled. Can you relate?

Organize Like A Pro: Use Creativity

How creative do you get when it comes to home organization?

Most people think of organization as something process-driven and procedural, but in reality, organizing can be a highly creative process. When you’re faced with a strange collection of clutter or a small storage space, there might not be an obvious way to organize the mess. Instead, you’ve got to think out of the box and come up with a solution that’ll work for you and your home.

Websites like Pinterest and the rising popularity of do-it-yourself projects has led to an explosion of creativity and new ideas for home organization. Struggling to find an easy way to organize your nail polish? A quick search will give you hundreds of ideas to pull inspiration from.

Creative Home Organizing Tips from Experts

Struggling with Creativity? Call A Pro!

Another great way to get some creative energy supporting your home organization process? Call in a home organization expert or consultant to help you tackle your mess. They’re well-trained in uncovering creative home organization solutions and generating ideas to help you conquer your clutter.

Repurpose Things As Organization Tools

In fact, the element of creativity is one of the things I love the most about home organization. And if you look around, it’s easy to see examples of creative home organization in action, like:

Repurposing shoe boxes to store and organize everything from photographs and postcards to cables and cords.
Using tension curtain rods as dividers in kitchen cabinets to keep cookie sheets and cutting boards neat and orderly.
Using magnetic containers to store spices in the kitchen, paper clips in the office, and makeup and earrings in the bathroom.

Another versatile thing you can use is a hanging organizer. From easily stowing baking supplies and winter gear to keeping your bathroom toiletries in order, there’s no shortage of ways you can repurpose a hanging closet organizer to hold more than your clothes.

Organize Like A Pro: Final Thoughts

It’s actually pretty easy to organize like a pro. You just have to organize your thoughts first. Let go of stuff you don’t use and don’t want. Then, create systems that work for your family.

Professional organizers make organizing a lifestyle habit. You can too! It just takes a little practice.

Struggling to get motivated? Sign up to get our FREE guide, The 30-Minute Organizing Secret, and discover easy ways to overcome the chaos of clutter – even with kids at home!

Professional Organizers You Should Meet

Want to hear more from the professional organizers themselves? Check out some interviews that will inspire you.