The Four Most Common Messy Areas in the Home and How to Organize Them
Home organization can have a huge impact on how your space looks and feels. Learn about the four most common messy areas in the home and how to organize them in this Lowe’s video:
Entryway
This is the area where you walk in the door, drop off your keys and kick off your shoes, and it’s also a place where mail and packages can pile up. Turning it into an intentional drop zone will make it work much better.
Installing floating shelves is a great way to add function and style; make sure they are securely fastened (either find studs or use heavy load anchors). Use bins or baskets to store things like extra envelopes, stamps or small packages. Attach traditional cabinet knobs to the wall to act as hooks for purses, hats or keys. Get mail sorted with a hanging mail organizer; this will keep mail off all of your surface and prevent any important mail from getting lost.
Pantry
The pantry is an area that can get really messy very quickly with all the day-to-day use. Start by taking everything out and placing them in an open area.
Give the pantry an overhaul with a quick paint job (optional), then install new wood shelving. Cut the wood shelves down to size to fit the pantry and install simple ledger boards on each wall for the shelves to sit on top of. Vary your spacing between the shelves to accommodate taller and shorter items. The shelves will make it easier to store bins and organizers and will be able to hold more weight. Add a pull-out drawer organizer at the bottom for storage.
Before putting anything back into your pantry, take a look at your items and make sure nothing is stale or expired; if so, toss them out. Sort your products into baskets and bins and designate areas of your pantry for various food items. As a rule of thumb, the items you use the most should be kept at eye level. Kids’ snacks should be in an easy-to-reach area so they can help themselves. Once you assign a place for everything in your pantry, label it as a visual reminder where everything belongs. For clear containers, print the words out in your favorite font on plain paper, slip it into the container and trace with a chalk marker; it looks cute, and you can wash it and swap it out as needed.
One area you might not think to utilize is on the inside of your door. Mounted door shelves are a great place to add extra storage. Just make sure you have enough clearance inside your pantry so that the door can still close.
Coat Closet
A coat closet tends to become a catch-all for all kinds of things. Start by taking everything out, including the upper shelf.
Apply a fresh coat of pain (optional), then install a closet organization system that will allow you to store a variety of items. Add hooks on the inside of the door to store tote bags and utility multi-tool hangers to store items like brooms. The more items you can get off the floor, the better.
Under-Sink Cabinet
An under-sink cabinet can be a super tricky place to keep organized. Things just get tossed in, and when one thing falls, everything falls and makes the mess even worse.
Take everything out and give the bottom of the cabinet a really good wipe down. Before purchasing any storage, it’s important to measure your space and see what your working with. Pipes underneath the sink can make this space a bit awkward, so make sure you measure carefully to make sure any storage your adding will fit.
A two-tiered caddy can store cleaning solutions and supplies. Get a caddy with a pull-out track so you can access everything without having to reach way into the back of the cabinet. Stackable baskets are a good option for storing cleaning tools like dust cloths and rags.
3M Command Hooks are your secret weapon for staying organized under your sink. Stick them on the inside of your cabinet to hang smaller items.
