Organisation has somehow become synonymous with acrylic containers, vertical storage mania, and endless Amazon links to solve every storage problem under the sun. I am a firm believer that you cannot buy your way out of a clutter problem (unless that money is spent on garbage bags). If you, like me, want an organised house without driving up plastic tote stock prices here are my favourite tips from the best of the best. These organising expert tips are all about mindset shifts rather than gadgets and will cost you nothing.

Organising Expert Tip #1: Three Words

Peter Walsh, author of Let It Go, is a fountain of knowledge, or maybe he is THE fountain of knowledge. One of my favourite bits of advice I’ve heard Walsh give was actually during an interview on the Clutterbug podcast.

Walsh says to go through each room in your home and come up with three words that describe how you want that room to feel. The example he gives is asking what three words describe how the hosts would want their bedroom to feel. Retreat, calm, relaxing are offered. This makes it easy for people to edit down the items in their room- it is as simple as saying “do the kids toys in my bedroom work towards these goals?”. By creating shared expectations it is easier to get all members of the house on the same page.

Organising Expert Tip #2: Easy to Clean

While I have admittedly moved on from the KonMari method, some of the lessons I learned from Marie Kondo will stay with me for life.

In her book The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up Marie cites studying the way that professional chefs run their kitchens. Through this experience Marie learned that the most important thing is to maintain a kitchen that is easy to clean. Where you might sacrifice some time having to reach further for cooking items, you ultimately save tenfold in cleaning. For example, keeping your spices on the counter might seem practical, but when they become covered in cooking oil and dust the convenience quickly becomes a moot point. Coincidentally enough there was a time in my life I actually owned a restaurant! I can attest to the fact that having everything we needed at arms reach at all times would have been a disaster. It is much easier to pull out the appliance you need than it is to move it to clean your counters multiple times a day.

Organising Expert Tip #3: Let Go

Matt Paxton, author of Keep the Memories Lose the Stuff, focuses on the emotional ties we have to the things we own. Paxton has an extensive career working with people who struggle to let go of things. If you are somebody who is holding onto a lot of sentimental items Matt Paxton is the man for the job. I couldn’t possibly summarise the “Legacy List” concept and Paxton’s entire system so quickly, but the most important takeaway (in my opinion) is that you do not need to keep sentimental items. There are plenty of ways to honour things without giving them a home. Arguably, passing things on to people who need them is a better way of honouring important things than keeping them in storage could ever be. Guilt shouldn’t keep you from enjoying your own home.

Organising Expert Tip #4: Grab a Garbage Bag

Cassandra Aarssen has an entire philosophy that matches your decluttering and organisational style to your personality. While the Clutterbug system is well worth exploring, my favourite thing Cas promotes is this: grab a garbage bag right now and go throw stuff out. Like literally right now. Get up, grab a garbage bag, throw out a bunch of stuff. Throw out ancient, almost empty condiments from the fridge. Throw out expired medications and broken things. Grab a box and fill it with things you don’t need and donate it to the local charity shop. The best time is now.

I’ve talked about being stuck in a cycle of perfectionism and procrastination before and this is the one time where failing to plan is the way to go. You will feel better getting rid of a single bag than you will waiting for the right weekend to start.

Organising Expert Tip #5: Don’t Organise by Type or Area

Some systems say start with areas, Mari Kondo says start by types of things. I say do neither. Am I an expert? No, but you made it this far so stick around.

Bonus expert organising tip: organise in the way that is easiest for you. When you are feeling overwhelmed by multiple places there is nothing saying you can’t just empty them all into one big box and sort through it at once.

For example, I have two small children and sometimes it is more practical for me to declutter from one central location. Instead of purging the junk drawers (the ones that shouldn’t exist but somehow do since we moved in), I dumped them all into one bin to sort through at the kitchen table. If I have to take a break it’s a lot easier to come back to. One box of junk also feels better than multiple messy drawers.

You have to do what works best for you, your family, and your schedule. The best method is the method you will do, not the most proper one.