7 Easy Strategies to Streamline and Declutter Your Space

If you've ever wished that your daily routine was more streamlined, you're not alone. With people spending more time at home than ever, it can be easy to feel overwhelmed with to-dos and clutter piling up. Carly Adams, owner of Sacramento-based organizing company Tidy Revival, helps clients by using decluttering as the foundation of home organization. She shares her secrets to creating a simplified, organized space with storage systems that are easy to maintain. Use her tips below to make an impact on any space in your home and help you create simple, organized storage solutions.

1. Set Goals and Note Current Habits

Before you begin decluttering, take a step back to figure out what your goals are for that space and what habits you'll need to adjust in order to make it happen. For example, if you're revamping your master closet, establish a routine in which you hang up clothes daily instead of tossing them on your favorite chair (we've all been there).

2. Remove Trash and Recycling

Once you've set your goals, start decluttering by removing the easiest items first: trash and recycling. Be on the lookout for empty boxes, shopping bags, and unused packaging. By getting rid of these things first, you'll be able to see the rest of your items more clearly and can start to make the tougher decisions.

3. Ask Yourself These Decluttering Questions

Before you actually organize a space, you'll need to declutter. This ensures a more simplified organizational strategy instead of storing clutter that you'll still have to sift through to find what you need. To decide what needs to go, ask yourself if you use, want, need, or love an item. Often we keep items out of guilt or habit; these questions will help you make decisions that are best for you, as opposed to someone else.

4. Group Like Items Together

As you begin decluttering, group your "keep" items into categories. This makes it easier to create a strategy for your space. It will also help you to find what you need when you need it and to take note of any extras you have on hand. For example, in a bathroom, categories might include makeup, hair products, skincare, medicine, and first aid.

5. Note Duplicates

Depending on what you're organizing, you might want to declutter duplicates or simply make a note that you have plenty of backstock of a particular item. The right number of things to keep in each category depends on the person and available storage, so ultimately you should do what's right for you. That said, if you're short on space and stressed about clutter, it might be time to say goodbye to your two-year supply of deodorant.

6. Keep Daily Items in Reach

To streamline your routine, keep items that you use daily within easy reach. Additionally, make sure that the items you use least often aren't taking up prime storage real estate. This might mean that you need to re-evaluate the layout of the area you're working in. Oftentimes a shuffle can be the game-changer in how efficiently you're using available space. For example, in a kitchen, water glasses should be stored closest to your fridge or sink; your coffee supplies should also be in the same area. Keep seldom-used items like seasonal entertaining accessories up high since you don't need to access them regularly.

7. When in Doubt, Go Vertical

When planning storage solutions, look for unused space. More often than not, the answer is to go vertical. Whether you're adding extra shelves to a cabinet, using shelf dividers, or adding a bookshelf, plan for your solutions to utilize every vertical inch possible. As you maximize your storage space, you'll be able to create more homes for things that otherwise might have found their way to your home's drop zone. The more items that have designated homes, the less likely that clutter will creep up on you.

Simplifying your storage is ultimately about asking yourself what's working and what needs to change. By removing items that no longer serve you or that you don't actually want in your home, you'll make room and save energy for all the things that do.