Apartment Organization Tips

Life is busy. Sometimes, it’s challenging to keep your apartment organized.

I get it.

But a disorganized home can make it very difficult to be productive. Having too much clutter around can slow down your work pace, making it hard for you to get things done. A lot of people avoid organizing because they think it takes too much time. But, it doesn’t have to be time-consuming. You can start small and get organized over time.  Treat it as an ongoing project, and getting everything in order will feel less daunting. Are you ready to get started? Follow these five tips: 

1. Clean Up Your Desk Space

A lot of people prefer to head to the library or Starbucks to work and study, but it’s not hard to create a home office. If you don’t already have a desk at home, get one. Carve out a corner of your living room or bedroom and put a desk in. Make sure it’s not too big, or your room will feel even more cluttered.

Once you have your study area set up, pick up some organizational accessories, such as:

  • Office storage boxes
  • Accessory trays
  • Storage towers
  • A chord protector
  • Letter storage boxes (Unless you go paperless, which we discuss later.)

You get the idea.

If you already have a desk, but don’t have the tools you need to stay organized, consider picking up some of the accessories listed above. They’ll make your life a lot easier, trust me.

2. Go Digital 

Clutter tends to build up quickly. Whether it’s documents, mail, or old assignments, it’s easy to find yourself overwhelmed by paper. And nothing is worse than having to dig through stacks of junk mail to find something important. If you are guilty of hoarding papers, you need to stop ASAP. Are you suffering from this bad habit? If so, the solution is simple: Go paperless.

Toss what you don’t need and scan the rest. By scanning everything, you’ll cut down on a lot of physical clutter. Plus, it gives you a digital backup, so you never have to worry about losing anything.

Once you’ve done that, you can embrace the digital lifestyle even further by:

  • Ditching the sticky notes and using a note application instead
  • Uploading those CDs from high school onto your computer
  • Using cloud storage to keep your documents safe

Going digital will make your apartment much more organized and, thus, help you accomplish a lot more.

3. Don’t Overlook Storage Essentials 

Never underestimate the value of totes, filing cabinets, and drawers. For busy people, these are the keys to a clean, organized lifestyle. They simplify your life and make it much easier to find things when you need them. But storage containers aren’t just useful for work. They’re also valuable for organizing your clothes, accessories, and personal items.

Here are a few tools that might help:

  • Shoe boxes (to store shoes or other accessories)
  • Cabinet-sized pull out drawers
  • Door and wall racks
  • Accessory trays that fit inside a dresser
  • Shoe shelves for your closet
  • Baskets for your trinkets
  • Rolling carts

The more you can compact your clothing and household items, the more room you’ll have for your workspace.

But: Don’t make the mistake of buying a bunch of boxes, then haphazardly shoving things into them. Create a system for organizing, then do your best to stick to that system. You’ll be shocked at how much time it saves you in the long run.

4. Use Decor to Boost Your Mood

Throughout this article, I’ve been stressing the importance of organizational accessories. Well, that includes selecting the right color scheme for your home. If you’re scratching your head wondering what this has to do with productivity, let me explain:  Lighter colors such as pink, sky blue, and yellow can improve your mood. When you’re in a good mood, it’s easier to get things done.

Patterns are important, too. Stay away from wild and crazy patterns (or at least keep them away from your workspace). Distracting patterns can subtly pull your attention away from whatever task you’re working on.

And how is the lighting in your apartment? If it needs some improvement, you can swap out harsh incandescent lights with LED bulbs. LED bulbs are not only energy-efficient but also provide better lighting. Your lighting, patterns, and colors throughout the apartment will help to calm you down and encourage you to get work done!

5. Write Daily To-Do Lists

Last but not least: Writing daily to-do lists can work wonders for productivity. Get into the habit of making lists with a productivity app or by typing them out on your computer. If you’re more of an analog person, there’s nothing wrong with writing them down the old-fashioned way. The important part is that you have a list of tasks to accomplish each day. Just don’t allow your lists to pile up (as we discussed in #2). Otherwise, you’ll end up creating more of a burden for yourself. As you accomplish tasks (go you!) don’t forget to check them off. It’s healthy to reward yourself for getting things done, and nothing feels better than checking items off a to-do list!

So how about it? Are you ready to give these tips a shot?

Regardless of whether you try one or all of them, any attempts to organize your apartment will pay off big time. Staying on top of the mess and returning things to their proper place will banish bad habits. Soon you’ll spend less time sifting through the clutter and more time being productive!

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