These days, it seems that everyone is either moving into a new house or on a serious organizing kick, decluttering and establishing new order.
At Target, we’ve developed a bit of a decluttering obsession of our own, which is why we tapped Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin, the ladies behind popular organization company The Home Edit, to be our new organizing experts. Known for their pristine organization and clean aesthetic, the Nashville-based company has a serious fan club—including celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Rachel Zoe and Vanessa Lachey.
To keep with the summer moving and cleaning theme, Clea and Joanna started us off with a few pro tips on how to best execute a well-organized (and relatively painless) move. Take a look:
Getting Started:
Tip #1: Break it Down Room by Room
CS: “To make moving stress-free, we suggest taking on the task room by room instead of tackling the whole house at once. If you pace yourself, you'll be able to accomplish more and stay motivated as you go.”
Tip #2: Purge Before You Pack
JT: “Before you pack or unpack a single box, take a pass through each room and open all the cabinets, closets and drawers. Keep only the items you love or use, and donate or toss the rest. Purging before packing is the best way to start fresh and move into your home clutter-free.”
Tip #3: Get Organized Now
CS: “Getting organized before you move is a game-changer. The goal is to avoid free-floating items in your boxes by containing as much as possible using bins and supplies. For example, organizing your laundry supplies into bins, your bath and beauty items into drawer inserts and your clothing on proper hangers makes packing and unpacking effortless.”
Settling Into Your New Home:
Tip #4: Unpack First, Organize Later
JT: “It's okay to unpack first and organize later—if you try doing both at the same time, it can become overwhelming. The key is to first place the items you're unpacking in the correct closet, cabinet or area, and come back to organize more thoroughly once you've emptied the boxes. Once you're unpacked, you can shop for all the bins, baskets and containers to properly organize your new home.”
The Kitchen:
Tip #5: Maximize Your Space
CS: “Use baskets for hard-to-reach pantry shelves, and on the floor to maximize your space. You can use the extra storage to hold paper and plastic goods, back stock items and bulk groceries.”
The Pantry:
Tip #6: Long-Term Organization Starts With Labels
JT: “Divide your pantry items into easy-to-organize categories such as breakfast, dinner and snacks. Place each category into a bin (or multiple bins!) and arrange them on the shelves. Put a label on each bin as a set of instructions for the household. Labels are the key to long-term organization and make maintenance easy!”
The Bathroom:
Tip #7: Create Your Own Storage Space
CS: “Use a floor basket to hold hair tools or extra hand towels. It’s a stylish solution for additional bathroom storage! And if you don’t have a linen closet, create one with a free-standing cart! Use it to store folded towels, toilet paper and daily beauty items.”
The Closet:
Tip #8: Color Coordinate
JT: “Hang your clothing by type, then color-coordinate that category. Lining up your shirts, pants, dresses, etc. by color is a simple way to give your closet a polished look, and makes it easy to find the items you’re looking to wear each day. We like to use huggable hangers in a closet to maximize space and uniformity.”
The Playroom:
Tip #9: Try Kid-Friendly Toy Crates
CS: “Use toy bins that are lightweight and easy for kids to handle themselves. The wooden crates are perfect for holding everything from blocks and dolls to coloring and activity books.”
Want more moving inspiration? Check out Target.com for more ideas on how to get organized with The Home Edit.
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