Organize Your Home To Make Life Better, Not To Look Perfect

When you’re dreaming of a picture-perfect home, with everything in its place, it’s hard to ignore the barrage of aesthetically pleasing storage solutions out there. Influencers show off luxury bins, fill fridges with clear acrylic containers, and arrange their closets as if they’re a department store.

But all of this meticulous organization doesn’t automatically make your life easier, no matter how good it looks.

Focus on function when it comes to organizing your home. Don't force systems simply because they look pretty or are trending. Consider how you live life and your personal habits to determine the most effective way to organize your space. Accept good-enough storage solutions that make daily activities easier without compromising your budget.

A well-organized home adds value to your life because it makes things go smoother, reducing stress and creating peace. But there’s such a thing as organizing too much and misplacing your efforts on how things look. You could end up more stressed than before.

Organizing Your Home With A Focus On Function

Following your favorite home-organization influencers is a great way to keep up with the latest storage options and stay inspired. However, be careful not to fall into a comparison trap where you end up assuming your home needs to look the way they do on Instagram.

When you put your focus on the aesthetics, you’re no longer thinking about what you actually need. Instead, you start trying to squeeze, cram, and force your belongings into whatever containers or organizing methods you’re trying to copy. This practice is the opposite of what effective organizing is all about.

Downsides Of Chasing Pretty When You’re Organizing Your Home

It’s not that there’s anything wrong with wanting your closet, pantry, or even the inside of your junk drawer to look good. If you love the idea of pens and pencils lined up in rainbow order à la Home Edit, go for it.

However, here’s the catch. Only organize your belongings in that way if it’s easy for you to maintain. In other words, if you know you’re not the type to return a pen to its proper position in the color line, don’t bother. Otherwise, you waste a bunch of time setting up a system that you aren’t even going to use.

Here are a few pitfalls that can occur when you organize with pretty as your top priority.

• You waste time and money on storage solutions and systems that you won’t actually use.
• Things could end up taking longer for you to find, put away, or handle because you’ve organized them in a way that doesn’t fit with your lifestyle.
• You feel as if you can never live up to the perfectly organized spaces you see in magazines or on social media.
• As influencers change up the latest organizing trends, you feel like you have to change your home, too.

Ultimately, if your main focus is making everything look like it belongs on a magazine cover, you’re likely to be disappointed. It might last for a few days, but inevitably, if it isn’t designed to work with your habits, it disintegrates back into the chaotic jumble it was before.

Consider How To Organize Items To Make Life Easier

Again, there’s nothing wrong with organizing your home in a way that looks good. However, your main focus should be on how your spaces function. If, after your efforts, the space functions better, makes life easier, and brings you a sense of peace, you’ve succeeded.

It’s also a good sign that you’ve focused on function if the systems you put in place stick long-term. This isn’t to say you won’t make a few small adjustments here and there or tweak things as life changes. However, a solid system works for you on the daily, with minimal need for reconfiguration.

Five Top Priorities When You’re Organizing Spaces

No matter what space you’re organizing, whether it’s a massive garage or a tiny bathroom, make sure you’re checking off these boxes.

1. The Space Makes Sense For You

The biggest consideration when organizing your home is to think about how you want your house to function. It's also critical to implement systems that support the life you want to live.

Start by identifying pain points over aesthetic flaws. For example, do everyone's shoes end up in a pile by the front door, creating a trip hazard? If so, a basket or shelf to organize them likely takes precedence over replacing your old mail bin with a pretty new one.

Take notes, or simply pay close attention to your daily routines. These rituals are typically strong indicators of where clutter truly starts in your home. Implementing systems in these areas that fit your lifestyle and habits helps alleviate clutter and increase efficiency. 

Your well-organized home will look different from someone else's. Perhaps you have kids, pets, or elderly parents living with you that affect how daily life goes. Maybe you work from home, requiring different things than someone who commutes daily. Always make sure your focus is on how the space must work for you and any others living in it.

2. You Only Keep What You Need

Do you know those TikTok videos of influencers organizing about 200 or more bottles of nail polish or hair products? Their shelves look more like they belong in a professional salon than in a home bathroom.

The point is, these things can be meticulously organized and still be overwhelming. Unless you use every single one, you're wasting time and money taking care of so much inventory. Therefore, declutter before you organize, and only keep the things you need, regularly use, and absolutely love (within reason). Choose what adds value to your life, not just quantity. It’s not about trying to achieve the Insta look.

3. Don’t Purchase Storage Solutions Until Necessary

One of the most wasteful mistakes in home organization is buying a bunch of bins you don't need. But the regrettable effect of chasing perfection is often acquiring the latest and greatest storage solutions, then not using any of them.

Before you buy anything, declutter and plan first. Once you know what you're keeping and how you want to organize it to best suit your needs, decide on your storage options.

Also, assess various containers that you already have. You may be able to repurpose them or use some as temporary storage. It might even be that they work perfectly fine as a permanent solution. If you're okay with good-enough storage, you can save a lot of money. But knowing what you need, the proper sizes, etc., also saves you money. Therefore, be intentional and prudent when deciding when to spend and when not to.

4. Focus On Systems That Make Life Run Smoother

Instead of worrying so much about how things look or over-organizing spaces you don’t use often, focus on frequented zones. These areas will return more benefit for your efforts. Think places like entryway drop points, the kitchen, the laundry room, and your primary bathroom.

When you can make these spaces more efficient, it carries over into other areas of your life. The results are a decrease in your mental load, which can pay dividends in peace of mind and overall well-being. 

5. The Finished Project Fits Your Habits

A good way to determine if a space is organized well for you is to ask yourself, “Do I have to put a lot of thought into accomplishing this task?” If not, then it’s good to go. You’ve set up a system that gels with your habits, making your home and you feel lighter.

Other Signs Your System Is Working

If you’re not sure if you checked all the boxes, use these indicators to assess the effectiveness of your organizing project.

• Except for a few tweaks, the system remains intact weeks after implementing it.
• Your home stays relatively tidy because it’s now easy for you to put things away.
• You no longer run late or feel like you’re rushing to get out the door because you can find what you need quickly.
• Projects, homework, and other tasks don’t take as long to complete.

The Real Goal Of Organizing Is A Home That Works For You

Pretty is great, functional is better, at least when it comes to organizing your home. Focus on how your spaces operate and work within your lifestyle and with your habits. Do what makes life easier, and let aesthetics come second.

Overall, you want your home to work for you and make life run more smoothly. That’s the goal of home organizing, not to keep up appearances and replicate TikTok trends or Pinterest posts.

Related Guides:

• Why Does The Clutter Keep Coming Back?
• What NOT To Do When Decluttering
• Conquer Clutter Chaos: 8 Common Clutter Zones And How To Fix Them