Tackle One Small Category Of Items

If you notice an area of your house is looking particularly messy, try tackling it one type of item at a time. “Group items by category first so that you can see just how much of each item you have—you may not have realized that you had so many wooden spoons, for example,” says Morrissey. Following with the kitchen theme, pull out all the spatulas and sort through them. Repeat with knives, then whisks, and so on.

When you put the items back, “arrange things to make them easy to put away,” she recommends. The idea here is if you have to move a bunch of items to put your slow cooker back in the cabinet, you’re probably just going to leave it on the counter for a few days. “This will make it more likely that things will get put back after use.”

5 of 6