Q&A for How to Organize Your Room

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  • Question
    How can I make my room less cluttered?
    Susan Stocker
    Professional Cleaner
    Susan Stocker runs and owns Susan’s Green Cleaning, the #1 Green Cleaning Company in Seattle. She is well known in the region for outstanding customer service protocols — winning the 2017 Better Business Torch Award for Ethics & Integrity —and her energetic support of green cleaning practices.
    Professional Cleaner
    Expert Answer
    If you want to keep your room clean and organized, you need to have a routine! Make sure everything has a place, then put everything back in its home before the end of each night. Also, always put items like your keys and bags in the same spot.
  • Question
    How do I start getting organized when I have so many things in my room?
    Community Answer
    Start in one small area at a time. Take breaks. Come back to it often.
  • Question
    How can I organize my room without throwing anything away?
    Community Answer
    Buy some containers and sort everything out. Things that you don't use frequently can be put in containers under your bed or on a shelf in your closet. Things you use a lot can be kept closer at hand.
  • Question
    What if I have limited space?
    Community Answer
    Try to get a stack of shelves that are quite thin but tall that will allow you to organise things into different sections with very little floor space needed.
  • Question
    Do you have an answer for keeping my room clean when I have friends that mess it up all the time?
    Community Answer
    Tell your friends nicely that you want to keep your room looking neat and tidy. If you don't want to do that, then as soon as your people come over, tell them as you are pulling stuff out that it all has to be put back when you're all finished doing things. That was just a long way of telling you that all you need to do and let them know, because, hopefully, they will respect your space. If they don't, then don't take them to your room and just stay in areas where they need to respect the space. Or, go to their rooms and mess up their space instead.
  • Question
    Where can you get containers and boxes for organization?
    Community Answer
    You can get containers and boxes from most stores including Target, Hobby Lobby, Walmart, and The Container Store. For specific sizes, you might want to shop online. You should also check out Craigslist for people giving away boxes after a move, or check with stores you visit to see if they throw out their perfectly good boxes.
  • Question
    How do I pack away everything after Christmas and my birthday?
    Community Answer
    If your room is clean, then just find new "homes"/ places to put the things away, and if your room is a mess then the first thing you have to do is clean it. Recycle anything rather than throwing away decorations, etc.
  • Question
    How do I organize a bucket full of stuff?
    Community Answer
    Get bins or organization boxes, but mostly think of things you could get rid of. You could put up a shelf to help with the clutter too.
  • Question
    How can I put my toys away when they need five bins?
    Community Answer
    Find bins and organize yourself. Recycle things that need to go, but keep things that you will use again in the future.
  • Question
    How do I organize a room that has my belongings, my dad's work clothes, my mom's dresses, and baby clothes taking all the space?
    Community Answer
    You can get a small dresser for your dad's clothes and baby clothes, and hang up your mother's dresses. You could also ask them if they would mind putting these things back in their own rooms, as you're finding it hard to enjoy your own space.
  • Question
    How can I organize my bedroom closet space when part of it's blocked by a sliding door?
    Community Answer
    Sliding doors are usually removable, so get someone who's handy to help you take them down so you can organize.
  • Question
    How much do we change in a room or house of a deceased loved one?
    Community Answer
    Some people leave the room of a deceased loved one exactly as it was, as a kind of shrine. This is a personal choice, but quite unhealthy emotionally. It stops the grieving process from completing its cycle, prevents closure, and keeps the living trapped in the past permanently. Wait until you feel comfortable. Don't rush in to sort out their belongings (this can be a response to distress and you may give away things and then regret it later). Let a few weeks or months go by and then calmly begin to sort out their things and clear the room.
  • Question
    How can I tidy up a room that will get dirty again?
    Community Answer
    Just make sure you straighten it up a little bit every day, this way you'll hardly ever have to do a big cleaning job. Just pick up after yourself and put your things back where they belong.
  • Question
    What if my parents come in during the "pull everything out" stage and totally freak?
    Bonez0r
    Community Answer
    If you know or suspect that your parents would totally freak at the sight of your work in progress, tell them of your plan beforehand so they either don't come in until you're finished, or they are prepared for the mess if they do decide to take a look. Another solution is to wait until you're alone in the house and know you won't be disturbed for an hour or so (or however long it takes you to organize).
  • Question
    What if I am a kid?
    BabyFuki
    Community Answer
    It's the same thing. Just organize everything in bins and buckets in your closet or under you bed.
  • Question
    What if my mom doesn't like messes but I have to make a mess to organize?
    Community Answer
    Tell her you're in the process and that as soon as you're done your room will look so neat and tidy, she won't even know you had the capacity to be so nicely organized.
  • Question
    How do I clean a room when I share it with another person?
    Community Answer
    Try cleaning your own side or ask them to clean their side too. You can even clean together, and have fun to make time fly by.
  • Question
    Where else can I organize my dresses if they take up space with all my shirts?
    Community Answer
    You can fold them, or ask a family member if you can hang your dresses in their closet.
  • Question
    Some little kids used my clay for pottery class and left clay all over my floor. How do I scrape it off?
    Community Answer
    Try wetting the clay with a spray bottle. It should come off easily when wet.
  • Question
    How can I organize my closet when I have a little closet?
    Community Answer
    You can always put some of your clothes in a drawer and put your dresses or suits in your closet instead. That may free up some space.
  • Question
    I have a very small room and I have some certain things that are special to me that I don't want to throw out but they just seem to clutter up my small space. What should I do?
    Community Answer
    You can put them in containers and either put them in storage or in your closet. You could also look into investing in shelves.
  • Question
    How can I organize my room? I have a very small room, and not a lot of bins.
    Community Answer
    Definitely find a way to use vertical space better. For example, use non-decorative shelving (something that actually fits things, unlike the single shelves you'd get for an accent or for displaying things). Also try to find things in your room that can double as storage space (for example, store things under your bed in boxes (could be cardboard) or use any wall with niches to put shelves in).
  • Question
    What if my room was used for something else before it was my room?
    Community Answer
    That's okay, it's your room now. If possible, move anything that was left behind into a basement, attic, or other room. See if you can paint it, or put up posters to make the room feel more like it's yours. Think creatively.
  • Question
    Where should I keep my dresses if I don't have a dresser?
    Community Answer
    I would recommend storing your dresses in a closet if you have one. If not, you could lay them gently in a box and keep that under your bed.
  • Question
    How can I get my younger sibling to clean up her own mess and keep it clean?
    Community Answer
    Encourage her. If your sibling is young, around 4-8, set up small “games” in each area of her room to make her exited (“shooting” dirty clothes into dirty hamper “hoops”, put the items where they belong, etc.). Talk to her about keeping her room organized so she can feel better about herself and her room.
  • Question
    I have a white board in my room, but I can never decide what to write on it. Any suggestions?
    Community Answer
    You could draw on it, write your to-do list or your schedule for the week, jot down notes or reminders, or even write down some motivational quotes.
  • Question
    I have stuff that I don't want to throw away, but it's embarrassing. Where do I put it?
    Ellie
    Community Answer
    Keep it where people are unlikely to look, such as a shoebox in your closet or under your bed, or in a bin under or inside of other bins.
  • Question
    How can I organize my room when it is so packed with things that I don't want to get rid of?
    Community Answer
    Like the author said, you can organize everything into boxes. Boxes can easily be stored under the bed or in closets.
  • Question
    I have a bunch of miscellaneous objects that I don't know how to group together. What should I do with them?
    Kelis Reeves
    Community Answer
    If the objects you're speaking of are trinkets/figures/etc., you can probably sell them at your next neighborhood yard sale (if you have one). People love getting their hands on collectibles. If you don't want to sell them, then look on websites like Etsy for creative or unique storage options. You might be able to find a cool shelf or storage bin to keep them in.
  • Question
    What if I share a room with two messy brothers who mess it up right after I clean it? Plus I don't have much space since it's a small room and three people are sharing it.
    E
    Community Answer
    Maybe you could try and separate the room into sections using tape. You can also ask your parents about getting your own room.
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