The research is in: a tidy home is a happier home. Studies show that a cluttered environment can cause anxiety, physiological distress, and even a state of depression. Conversely, a clean home promotes a state of mindfulness and increased physical activity. “There’s a powerful connection between physical tidiness and mental tidiness,” says Tyler Moore, a father of 3, New York City educator, and founder of the home organization and cleaning supersite, Tidy Dad. “Oftentimes the state of our home is a physical manifestation of the clutter that we feel in our brains,” he says.
Moore has helped countless people manage their cleaning and organizing needs, and he says tackling one’s spring cleaning goals doesn’t have to be overwhelming. “I strongly recommend starting with a small space such as your personal closet,” he says.
After applying the first three of the following tips to one space of your home, repeat until every room or area is organized to your satisfaction. Then, follow the last two tips to keep things that way.
1. Gather everything into one place. When organizing a space, it’s important to gather all clutter and items into the same place. “It’s easier to determine what to keep and what to discard if all items are in a central location together,” says Moore. From there, sorting things into individual categories becomes essential. For a closet, categories such as shoes, shirts, jeans, and hatware could all be their own categories. “Once items are sorted into like categories, you have a much better idea of what needs to be organized,” explains Moore.
2. Spend time with the items. Once everything is gathered together and categorized, you’re ready to begin the process of editing. “Editing,” as Moore calls it, is the task of deciding which items to keep (“Choose the items you want to bring into your future,” he says), and which ones need to be donated or thrown away. Moore says editing is “a deeply emotional process” because people have meaningful attachments to many of the things they own. “As you edit, sit with your feelings, then develop a strategic plan for how to move forward,” he suggests. This means honing your decision-making abilities and setting limits on the number of items you’re comfortable keeping in that space.
3. Give everything a home. One of the most vital steps of cleaning and organizing is for everything you decide to keep to have a specific place to go. “It’s important that systems are logical and that items are stored in the locations where they are frequently used,” says Moore. Also keep in mind who will be using the things you store and which items shouldn’t be accessible to every member of your household. “When organizing for kids, consider what items you want kids to have access to and which items you don’t,” he says.
4. Establish good maintenance habits. Finding a home for everything is only the beginning, keeping things organized is just as important. Moore says everyone has to get in the habit of returning things where they go after each use. “Putting things back in their home location is the key to keeping a space organized,” he says. Such habits are likely to change over each season of life, but at a minimum, Moore recommends “a 10-minute nightly tidy” to ensure that everything is where it’s supposed to be. “Set a timer and work from one room to the next, returning items to their original location,” he advises.
5. Get the whole family involved. While tidying one’s home often starts with the adults, children can learn to do their part, too. “Our girls are young and are still learning what it means to tidy up a space,” explains Moore. “As they have gotten older, we’ve gradually given them more tidying responsibilities.” Such responsibilities include reminding children to put away their toys, cleaning up play areas before bedtime, and encouraging kids to pitch in with family chores such as putting dirty clothes in the laundry and setting up and cleaning up after meals. “Kids enjoy gradually taking on more responsibilities,” Moore says, “but it’s important that organizational systems are set up to support them with their increasing independence.”
In the end, a cleaner space physically can also lead to a cleaner space emotionally. “I’ve learned that as we’ve simplified our home, I’ve been able to make more mental space for the things that are important,” Moore says. “The goal of organization is to design a system that simplifies your life.”