How to Quickly Organize Your Home’s Messiest Spots

When my husband and I moved into a house in the ‘burbs, we were astounded at just how much space we suddenly had…until we filled it up with enough cleaning products and power tools to start our own general store, and had no idea how to organize them. It doesn’t help that as a market editor, my job involves a lot of hands-on testing and learning about new-to-me brands—which means a revolving door of products at my literal door.

Home52’s senior content lead, Arati Menon, has a different kind of problem: not enough storage space. While living in an apartment in New York hasn’t (yet) taught her to be a minimalist, it has turned her into a bit of an expert at finding storage where there is none. Still, there remain quirks (and messes!) in her space that need additional wrangling.

Our spaces and organizing principles (or lack thereof, for me) couldn’t be more different, so we challenged ourselves to use the same Neat Method Grid Storage and Rattan baskets to redo our most-used—and least-organized—spaces. For Arati, it was her bathroom, bedside area, and linen closet; for me, my laundry room; and for both of us: the ever-tricky pantry shelves.

The results? Well, you’ve gotta see them for yourself.

Jada: When it comes to my pantry, I don’t have any organizing principles, so almond butter and canned goods are mixed in with sweets and baking supplies. The first step was to pare things down, so I repurposed deli containers, low vases, and even a trifle bowl for loose snacks and candy, and composted items that were well past their prime. I then paired like with like, so condiments and larger boxes of sweets got their own sturdy wire basket (much like a grocery store display); while the lightweight rattan baskets were better suited for bags of granola and baking supplies. While my pantry drawers were wide enough to accommodate two large baskets side by side, I decided to switch up the orientation to create an extra corridor for items I reach for on a daily basis: Immi instant ramen and almond butter.

I started out with five shelves of chaos and ended with four organized drawers—and no, that’s not bad math. The top-most drawer is now completely free; and while I have no doubt that it’ll get filled up quickly, at least I’ve got a method to the madness.

Arati: I don’t have a traditional pantry (did I mention my New York-size dwelling?) Instead, my kitchen is packed with drawers, which wouldn't be a bad thing if they weren't both too tall and too deep. Yep, you guessed it: they’ve become magnets for mess. This particular drawer is where I’d dump every unopened and half-full bag of staples willy-nilly (the “before” image speaks for itself). Enter the Grid Storage Basket, which I got in a beautiful spruce green—spruce, sprucing up...get it? I used a couple of them in the drawer—two mediums that fit perfectly, side-by-side—into which I stacked my baking goods and pastas and grains respectively. The transformation is truly spectacular; I no longer cringe when I reach for the bag of flour.

Jada: Our mudroom pulls triple duty as our laundry room and side entrance, so it needed to be functional and welcoming. I moved a bunch of kitchen and bathroom cleaning products to their respective rooms so they’d be easier to grab, and kept the extras in the mudroom. Larger bulk bottles of soap and hand sanitizer were relegated to a cavernous area underneath the last shelf that’s thankfully hidden by a shoe bench.

I used a mix of wire and rattan baskets to corral everything else that was left—and there was a lot. I placed laundry products and cleaning liquids in a large wire basket, and stored lighter essentials like microfiber cloths in the handmade rattan ones. This freed up a shelf for hats, sunglasses, and even mail—all the things that we grab on the way out of the house, and need to dump on our way in.

Arati: The thing about good-looking baskets is that you start to find spaces for them in areas that you never thought of as having organization potential! Like my bedside table, which was the very antithesis of the beautifully curated, alarmingly spare nightstands you see on your social feeds.

I employed one of these lightweight, handmade rattan baskets—which ended up being the perfect size for its shelf—to corral my books, essential oils, e-reader, headphones, and various other bits and bobs. In turn, it adds a wonderful touch of handmade texture to the area. To double the fun (and because I’m a fan of symmetry), I’m now going to do the same with my husband’s side of the bed.

Arati: We recently updated parts of our bathroom, though didn't undertake structural changes. But while we gained in looks, we didn’t quite gain in storage. There’s a wall ledge and a windowsill that I’ve put to use (and there’s always room for a tray on top of the toilet), but I hadn’t anticipated the precious space I would uncover under my wall-mounted vanity. Turns out the large rattan basket was perfectly sized for slipping under it, just right for housing extra toilet rolls, hand towels, bulk soap, a bath mat, and some cleaning supplies (yes, all that!). While the basket tucks away neatly, I honestly quite enjoy leaving it to peek out a little—see what I mean about a beautiful storage solution?

Arati: I am fortunate enough to have a large linen closet, a rare treat in city apartments. However, I had spent little time organizing it. I used both kinds of baskets (rattan and wire) and to change that, employing them to house my bulk cleaning and laundry supplies, as well as toilet rolls and spare bulbs, plus all the random electronics that my husband seems to amass with no intention of ever using them. Well, as it turns out, all those tangled wires have never looked so good! I also used the opportunity to organize the big empty space below, tucking in my cleaning caddy and organizing things like my paints, hardware supplies, and unused decor items.

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What are your most-used, least-organized spaces? Let us know below!

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