Table of contents for Organizing Room by Room 2021 in Real Simple

You probably have a space in your home where you put the things you don’t know what to do with. We all have these orphan items that find a temporary home in a drawer, a nook, a shelf, or perhaps a whole closet or basement wall—and sometimes that space becomes a permanent home. Which is fine, except for the niggling, nagging knowledge in the back of your brain that if you don’t assign things a proper place, you won’t be able to find them when you need them. By using Organizing Room by Room, you can give happy homes to all those orphan items, so you can spend less time hunting for that stray receipt or cord or scarf and more time doing the things you truly enjoy. All…

CREATING A COCOON of coziness starts in the living room, which means it needs to be a space you and your family can really live in. And, well, it can be tough to get your snuggle on with stacks of old magazines dotting the coffee table and toys strewn about the floor. But here’s the best news: The living room is an area that everyone in the family inhabits, so that means that everyone in the family is responsible for keeping it tidy. Doling out the duties means you’ll get to that “ahhh” feeling even faster. Your living room is also the perfect place to marry form and function. Sure, you technically need a media console to hold your TV and cable box, but it’s also a place to…

THE LAUNDRY ROOM isn’t the most glamorous room in the house, and it’s not like anyone really sees it, so it’s tempting to treat it like a junk drawer. But dropping random stuff in there like sports equipment or your gift-wrap supply “just for now” quickly clutters it up—and leaves you with a sock drawer full of singles or missing soccer jerseys on game day. The good news? One big overhaul of your space should be all it takes to set new patterns in motion. The laundry room doesn’t often get that dirty, thankfully. Take the time to spiff up the space for whomever is doing laundry, and it will make the chore less of a pain. Because as soothing as it is to press your face into a…

OUR EXPERTS LAYNE BROOKSHIRE is the founder of Ms. Placed Professional Organizing in Austin, Texas. ERIN ROONEY DOLAND is a decluttering pro from the Washington, D.C. area. She is the author of Never Too Busy to Cure Clutter and Unclutter Your Life in One Week, Editor in Chief of Tumbleweed.Life, and Editor-at-Large of Unclutterer.com. JORDAN MARKS AND CHERYL ARZEWSKI are the cofounders and owners of It’s Organized, a home organization company in New York, New Jersey, and California. ANDREW MELLEN is a New York City-based organizing and time management expert, blogger, podcaster, and author of Unstuff Your Life! ASHLEY MURPHY AND MOLLY GRAVES are cofounders of NEAT Method, a lifestyle service that provides luxurious and smartly appointed living spaces around the country. JASON URRUTIA is an interior designer and…

Step 1 The Prep CONFER WITH YOUR TEAM. “It’s essential to get everyone in on the process to ensure buy-in. Without collaboration, it’s unlikely anyone will honor your unilateral decisions on where things live,” says New York City–based professional organizer Andrew Mellen. Spark your family’s interest by transforming a key shared space, like the mudroom. “Organizing is contagious—usually the less interested parties just need to see progress in one area to get on board,” says Jordan Marks, cofounder and owner of It’s Organized, with locations in New York City, New Jersey, and California. Ask everyone to share ideas on how your home could function better. Then divvy up jobs based on strengths: If your husband loves to wheel and deal, he can sell items on NextDoor; your teenager can…

WHETHER YOU COOK EVERY DAY or you’re more of a special-occasion chef, arranging the right setup for your workspace is the first step to any great recipe. Without a well-thought-out setting, important tools disappear, and well-intentioned sous chefs can’t find what they need. But in a cleverly organized space, the work just flows. Making items visible and accessible means it’ll be easier for whoever is making breakfast to do it in less time and with less hassle. Keep in mind that your kitchen isn’t just utilitarian. If the growing popularity of open floor plans with spacious islands is any indication, a kitchen is also a popular hangout during parties (it’s usually where the apps are, after all) or on weeknights before the food hits the table. Making it an…

YOUR BEDROOM is your sanctuary—and it’s also the place where you frantically try on every pair of jeans before deciding on a trusty black skirt as you run out the door. Your bedroom is where you keep your most precious items, such as that necklace that’s been passed down from your grandmother. And it’s the place that holds the one piece of furniture that offers true peace—your bed. But even though your bedroom is meant to be a place of serenity, it can often be where clutter piles up the most. And, if you share a bedroom with a partner, that can mean double the pileup, so it’s important that everything have a designated place (no drawer overflow allowed), and there are systems at work to make sure things…

CREATING A WARM WELCOME starts in your entryway. It’s the first space guests will see when they come over, and it’s usually the last place you’ll breeze through before running out the door (hopefully, with your car keys this time). So, it’s worth making sure your entryway is a pretty and practical space. Artful arranging and sprucing up with fresh flowers and personal objects create an inviting vibe for anyone who passes, whether it’s neighbors, in-laws, or, most important, you after a long day. But a visually pleasing (aka clutter-free) entryway isn’t just for when guests are on the itinerary. Being organized as you head out the door in the morning—and knowing exactly where you last set those keys—can make a difference in how you start your day and…

FOR A ROOM that has so much traffic and holds so many things—from razors to electric toothbrushes (and their chargers) to toilet paper—it’s kind of shocking how little storage space most bathrooms have. That means you often have to edit and think creatively about where to put those extra toothbrush heads. The medicine cabinet is a good place to start. By using that space efficiently, you’ll make mornings and evenings that much smoother. But there are plenty of other ways to cleverly use what little bathroom space you have. Because the bathroom is a space that everyone in the family visits every day, multiple times a day, it’s important that everything has a place, and that everyone knows where that place is, especially when the toilet paper runs out.…

IF YOUR KITCHEN is considered the heart of your home, then your home office is the brain. It’s where you knuckle down to tackle taxes, bills, and other financial papers—and because of that, it needs to have systems so that things don’t fall through the cracks. While it can seem like a chore to spend time on a space that’s essentially for working (and at home of all places!), the payoff to keeping your home office in check is huge. When you think of it that way, it becomes increasingly important that you treat your home office the same way you would your office at work. Supplying yourself with the right tools—from scanner to filing systems—is an important first step to making your new organizing goals a success. A…