7 Organization Tips to Make Your Home Feel Like Home With Curb-It

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7 Organization Tips to Make Your Home Feel Like Home

by Lorna Hordos

It’s no secret that your living space can have a big effect on your mood. Whether it’s the walls and windows or the furniture in between, every component of your home can have a powerful impact on your state of mind. So if the clutter in your house is starting to get to you, try a few of the home organization tips below to help you enjoy more peace of mind.

1. Think About Spaces That Inspire You

Whether you spend a lot of time at home or only a little, think about the places you love to be — a cozy local cafe, for instance — where you’re at ease. What about these spaces do you love? Maybe it’s a combination of the minimalistic design and warm, happy colors. Or perhaps it’s a balanced mix of textures — wood, wicker, stone — and the fragrance of a candle. Jot down a list of these qualities and start scribbling down ideas on how to translate these sensory details into your own home.

2. Make a Schedule

Avoid the common I’ll-do-it-later excuse by penciling in a home-organizing schedule. Having a realistic plan and deadline keeps the project moving forward. The bonus? Clearing away clutter and organizing your space is cathartic and may even help reduce anxiety.

3. Purge the Excess

Are you still staring at that hodgepodge of furniture and accessories donated by a well-meaning loved one when you first moved out on your own? You were probably grateful for the windfall originally, but now it’s blocking you from personalizing your home. Here are some tips on how to start the home purge:

Empty jam-packed closets, cupboards and drawers, neatly putting back only what you need and love. This creates order, allowing you to toss expired or outdated items, take stock of the essentials and easily see what’s left inside.
Remove everything from open shelves and bookcases, and then put back your favorite pieces, leaving space for impact. Position just one large item per shelf, alternating sides for balance.
Store unsightly necessities — paperwork, spices, keys, personal products — in nice baskets, bins or storage containers.
Drag dusty junk out from under your bed. If you forgot you had it, you likely don’t need it (but someone else might).
Open boxes shoved into storage spaces. Again, freeing up space promotes a sense of relaxation, organization and hominess.
Use a junk removal service, such as a Curb-It, to take it all where it needs to go.

4. Part With Family Heirlooms

Items with sentimental value, say, a dining table inherited from a parent or grandparent, can be difficult to part with. But when a passed-down heirloom is in need of heavy repair or starts to cramp your style, it might become more of a burden than an item with nostalgic value. If you can’t refurbish it, take a few pictures and find creative ways to honor the piece before it’s gone. Or, pass it on to a family member who’d appreciate it — like a young relative who’s just starting out on their own.

5. Create Niches

Do you work from a small apartment? Consider creating an office at one end of the living room, forming visual separation with area rugs. Live with roommates? Create a space where you can unwind and relax alone, like as a meditation zone in your room. It can be as simple as placing a jumbo floor pillow in the corner of a den or in each bedroom, next to a lamp on a stack of good books.

6. Rearrange Furniture

The only way to make a home feel like your home is to arrange it and rearrange until it suits your unique needs and desires. If your living room seems more like an open dance floor than a comfortable conversation nook, pull the furniture away from the walls, grouping it in the center for a cozy vibe.

7. Change Up the Accessories

Don’t overlook the small things. Edit and move accessories, until each setting speaks to your style sensibilities:

Part with art that you’ve outgrown. Try your hand at abstract painting, or order prints that make fitting jumping-off points for each space in question.
Gather up like-colored items to define schemes in other rooms.
Hang plants to draw the eye upwards and free up space below.
Say goodbye to ho-hum utilitarian blinds and welcome in interesting window coverings or toppers made from decorative tea towels, torn cotton strips, silk sheets, rustic burlap or vintage napkins.

Home organization ideas seem endless, but you’ll know that you have it right when your home feels like a place you’re happy to spend days or weeks working, sitting quietly by yourself or with family, socializing online, discovering hobbies or maybe contemplating additional ways to turn your home into your haven.

Lorna Hordos is a home-improvement business owner and freelance writer. She has composed thousands of friendly, helpful home and business articles for numerous clients, including WordPress.com, AZCentral Business, Bizfluent, Kardiel, Lowe’s, Daltile and ModernMom.

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