How to use your home decor to de-clutter your space

The scene: You’re running out the door in the morning, already late for your 7 a.m. Vinyasa flow, when you realize you can’t find your keys, yoga mat, or that pesky other sneaker. Cut to being locked out of class for missing the first sun salutation, and cursing yourself for having to pay for a workout you didn’t even get to do.

If this sounds all to familiar, to you too, fear not: The problem may not be you, but rather, your stuff. 

“If you do not have items in your home that promote good organizational habits, your home will not be organized,” says interior designer Diana Hadchity Chedrawy. “Functional accessories and storage pieces that help keep your home organized should be placed strategically in all areas of your home. This will help you with your organizational habits and will keep your home looking neat and not cluttered.”

Here, interior design pros break down how to use home decor to make your home super organized and your mornings a breeze.

Divide your drawers

Everyone’s guilty of having that terrifying bedside table drawer filled with everything from scissors to old takeout menus to free beauty product testers that you swear “you’ll get through someday.” Instead of letting it all collect into one big, messy pile and slamming the drawer shut, the pros suggest investing in dividers to keep things organized. Depending on your level of de-cluttering skill that container can even go on the dresser. Now, repeat after me: Junk drawer, no more.

Utilize double duty decor

There’s something to be said about furniture that provides your home with a dose of fashion and function, especially when it keeps your living room from looking like a hot mess. “I love multi-functional furniture pieces and accessories that help keep your home neat and organized such as an ottoman bench with storage, an antique chest, or a coffee table with drawers for storing books, magazines, throw blankets, or the TV remote,” says Hadchity Chedrawy. The thought of never having to search for the remote between the couch cushions again is reason enough to invest.

Organize your bathroom with accessories

Turning your bathroom into a spa-level sanctuary doesn’t necessarily mean re-decorating with a clawfoot tub or heated floors. Instead, interior designer and co-founder of The Cristalline Elizabeth Kohn suggests making a few small changes to your accessory game to keep things organized and Insta-ready. A few of her favorite hacks? Glass cups for q-tips and cotton balls, a luxe-looking toilet paper holder, and a pretty hamper that masks the look (and, ok, the smell) of dirty workout clothes.

Give everything its own place

When it comes down to it, every item in your home should have somewhere (ideally somewhere pretty) to belong. Keep your yoga mat in a beautiful basket, your a.m. and p.m. vitamins in their own little bowls, your journal in a drawer on your nightstand, and your desk clear and uncluttered. The more space you designate for particular items, the less likely you’ll be to wind up with things strewn everywhere.

Create a drop zone

Dropping your keys and kicking off your heels is arguably the best part of coming home at the end of a long day (second only to the feeling of taking off your bra). But then when it’s time to leave again, you’re stuck searching for your keys and trying to find a matching pair in a random pile of shoes. To avoid the stress with this fairly inefficient system, Hadchity Chedrawy suggests creating a “drop zone” in your entryway to keep things organized. Add a wooden or metal shoe rack to store your shoes, a basket or tray for mail envelopes, and a key hook or tray for storing your keys when you get home. Now, the only thing you’ll have to blame for your tardiness is your ten-step beauty routine.

Now that the rest your home is organized, take it to the closet with these super-simple folding hacks and then into your kitchen with this cold-weather ready makeover.