My Perfected, 5-Step Guide to Organize ANY Space

Regardless of wherever you are organizing, this perfected system will teach you exactly how to declutter. Trust me when I say your house is going to look brand new in no time!

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I have been organizing for as long as I can remember. And until recently, I would just start a project and keep going until I finish.

When I sat down to write this article, I realized I had been unknowingly following the same process every time.

Needless to say, I have tested this 5-step guide to organize and it works to clean up literally every space. With all that said, let’s get right into how to declutter any and all of your spaces!

This post is all about how to declutter in 5 steps!

My 5-step guide to organize:

Clear, Categorize, Control, Return, Label

Step 1: Clear

No matter where you are organizing, you need space. If I am trying to declutter the kitchen, I take everything out of the cabinet and put it on the island or table. If I am organizing in my bedroom, I may put everything on my bed.

After you clear everything, wipe down the surfaces. It has most likely not been cleaned in a while.

Step 2: Categorize

Now that you have everything laid out somewhere, you want to move everything into piles of like-items.

Try to make your categories as specific as possible. For example, when I organized my pantry, I had a pile of oils, a pile of vinegars, and a pile of dressings.

Another part of categorizing (depending on the space) is getting rid of the items that don’t belong. This includes things to throw out, donate, or move to another part of the house. Don’t forget to check expiration dates if you are organizing with food.

This is such an important step in learning how to declutter so be sure to spend some time here!

Step 3: Control

For most spaces, bins and organizers are necessary to better maintain the organization and properly declutter.

I love love love bins for almost everywhere I organize. They make everything look so nice and actually work to keep everything where they should be.

Now that you categorized everything, all you have to do is put each category in a bin. Some of my favorite bins are linked below!

I love these woven baskets for spaces like bathrooms, linen closets, and bedrooms. They come in multiple colors and sizes which makes them perfect for any space. Click here for open baskets and click here for baskets with lids!

For the kitchen, I love clear bins. Click here for a great set, which also comes in a bunch of sizes. These are great for pantries of any size, as well as other kitchen cabinets and laundry rooms. Click here for another super affordable option that can be used for any space.

The last of my favorites are these stackable plastic bins. I use these literally everywhere around my house. They are perfect for shoes, toys, crafts, bedrooms, laundry rooms, and everywhere in between. Click here to check them out. These also come in a bunch of sizes and quantities.

If you are interested in the makeup/desk organizers in all the pictures, click here to check them out. They were so helpful to keep all my makeup nice and organized in my two drawers.

Step 4: Return

You should now have a bunch of bins and organizers filled with all your categories. All you have to do now is put them back in the empty space.

Keep in mind that just like you put like-items in each bin, you should put like-bins next to or near each other. For example, I have all my breakfast bins together on one shelf in my pantry, and my oils and vinegars in another. That will further maintain everything you organized.

Step 5: Label

This might be the most important step of this whole process. LABEL EVERYTHING.

I cannot emphasize this enough. Even if you think it is obvious, it may not be to someone else in your house. Put labels on your items, put labels on your cabinets, put labels on your bins. (Yes, I am the person that labeled my label maker. No, I do not see a problem).

When you label everything, it basically forces you to put things away in the right places. And after you spent time organizing everything, you definitely do not want it getting messed up right away.

Click here for my favorite label maker. I have been using this for about a year and absolutely love it.

I hope you now have the motivation to take this 5-step guide to organize and put it into action! While the goal is to stay organized, you might run into a few messes once in a while.

For more information on regular speed cleans to keep everything in place, check out my article about How to Clean Your Bedroom in 5 Simple Steps. Don’t forget to comment below where you used this method to organize! I love seeing photos of your finished products!!

This post is all about how to declutter!

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