How to Keep Things Neat

Do you want to keep things neat at home and the office?

Are you looking for practical tips that will make your belongings well-kept and organized?

Keeping things neat doesn’t have to take up hours of your time.

In fact, just a few minutes worth of time will help you keep things in order each and every day.

In this post, you’ll find several practical tips to help you keep things neat.

Have a messy room or disorganized space and not sure where you should begin?

Simply choose one or more of these tips and apply them to your living space.

You’ll see a big difference in how things look!

Give items a home.

It’s extremely important to give new items a permanent home or storage location whenever they first enter your home or office.

This tip works twofold. First, you can easily find what you need when you need it. And second, you can easily tidy up when you are finished using the item.

Here’s some prompts to get you thinking about storage spaces in your home and office:

  • In which room does it make the most sense to store this item?
  • Where in this room does it make sense to store this items?
  • Where in my home or office do I currently store similar items?
  • Would it make sense to create a unique storage location for this item?

Contain items.

Here’s a quick question for you. Which looks more tidy, a pile of pens lying out on top of a desk, or that same pile of pens placed into a cup or pen holder?

Obviously, it goes without saying that the pens in the cup holder will look much more tidy.

No matter whether an item is large or small, items that are not contained can quickly make a space appear untidy.

What’s more, since items are not contained they are more likely to float about a room all over the place!

To combat this, contain items in containers. You can choose from a wide variety of containers in which to store your belongings.

Depending on the items in question, you can use glass jars, metal canisters, plastic tubs or containers, baskets, wooden crates, cardboard boxes, old mugs or coffee canisters.

Stack and square off items.

This is one of the oldest tidying tricks in the book.

If you want to make a huge difference in aesthetics in any space, then you’ll want to take a few moments to stack and square off items.

This tip works best when you have a lot of items in plain view. As you’re using items on a regular basis, you just want things to be a bit more easy on the eyes.

So how do you do this? It’s simple. All you have to do is stack and square off items for a neat and tidy look.

For instance, you can stack and square off magazines, books, and file folders for a more cohesive look.

Create a holding station for regularly used items.

One of the most difficult parts in keeping a room tidy is figuring out what do with those miscellaneous items.

This can include such everyday items as those found in your pocket or purse, including house keys, car keys, wallet, cell phone, and so on.

Instead of leaving items scattered about in different areas of your home, create a single holding space. You can use this space as both a drop off and pick up location for items.

What can you use for a holding station? You can use a clean bowl, basket or other container to hold items and keep thing tidy.

Lastly, leave your container in the hallway, on a kitchen counter, on your desk in your home office, or other frequented area of the home or office.

How about you? What do you find is the most difficult thing about keeping things neat and tidy at home or at the office? Join the conversation and leave a comment below!

5 Unexpected Things You Need to Organize a Work Notebook Mockup
About the Author

Rashelle

Rashelle Isip is a New York City-based productivity consultant who helps successful entrepreneurs and business owners manage their time and energy so they can reduce stress, work less, and make more money in their businesses. She has been featured in Fast Company, Forbes, NBC News, The Washington Post, NPR, and The Atlantic. Get her free guide, 5 Unexpected Things You Need to Organize a Work Notebook, by clicking here.

2 Comments

  1. Juanita Vega DeJoseph

    Good Article. My biggest challenge is paper clutter and craft items. Both don’t have a home and that’s what I’m working on in myhome office which doubles as a craft space.

    Reply
    • Rashelle

      Hello Juanita, I’m glad you found the post helpful. Let us know how the process goes in processing paper clutter and finding a home for craft items in your office. Sometimes just having things contained in a temporary home helps you to better see the layout of your space and get your mind thinking about potential storage options. Thanks for your comment! Best, Rashelle

      Reply

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