How to Make a House Look Like ‘The Home Edit’

Shannon Quinn - October 19, 2020

The Home Edit has quickly become one of the most popular Netflix series of 2020. Soon after the premier of their new series, the book The Home Edit: A Guide to Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals became a New York Times bestseller. Professional organizers and hosts of the series Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin are both clearly super-talented when it comes to transforming a home into an organizational dream. Here at Home Addict, we’ve put together some of the best advice on how you can transform your home to look like it had gone through the Home Edit treatment.

25. Use Clear Storage Whenever Possible

Clear food containers make it easy to see when something is running low. Credit: Shutterstock

The ladies from The Home Edit love to use clear plastic storage bins. This makes it possible for you to see what’s inside of the boxes with a quick glance, instead of spending forever trying to find something. It also makes it a lot easier if you’re using clear plastic in the refrigerator or pantry. Instead of opening and looking inside as a lot of different food boxes, you can clearly see when something is running low.

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24. It’s Okay to Pick Baskets Instead, Just Make Sure They Match

Storage baskets are great to use when you’re organizing. Credit: Shutterstock

In the last entry, we talked about how most of the Home Edit makeovers include clear plastic boxes. But what if you’re the type of person who wants to hide away your product? Using woven baskets or colored bins are also perfectly fine. However, just make sure that all of your bin match. When you go to a discount store like HomeGoods, it might be difficult for you to find multiple baskets that all look the same. For example, I ran into the problem of trying to store my things and vintage Longaberger baskets. At first, I was really happy to have some beautiful Farmhouse style storage baskets. However, replacements are very expensive, and nothing ever looked like it was cohesive. This is why I switched over to plastic containers from Target that were readily available. I have absolutely no regrets.

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23. Use the Rainbow to Organize As Often as Humanly Possible

Color coordinating your objects helps keep everything organized. Credit: Shutterstock

In every project on the home edit, the ladies use the rainbow. No matter what the object is, they loved to organize it by ROYGBIV, whether it’s a bookshelf full of books, toys, food, or clothing. Some people might think that it’s not their favorite way to organize objects. However, there is a method to the madness. By color coordinating objects, your brain actually remembers where those objects are better than it would otherwise. This is also incredibly helpful if you have kids. Instead of trying to explain a complicated organizational system to a child, they can clearly see that the yellow toys go in the yellow section, the red toys getting on the red section Etc. At a very early age, this can help them learn their colors, but it can also help encourage them to clean up more often.

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22. Encourage Your Kids to Participate in the Process of Maintaining Tidiness

Kids can start helping you clean from an early age. Credit: Shutterstock

No matter what area of your home that you choose to organize, try to get your kids involved. This is a great project for you to do during lockdown, and your kids need something to do. By having them understand that objects need to go back to a certain place, they will form some great habits early on in life. We already mentioned how color coordinating toys will make it easier for your kids to put things away. When something is easy enough, they are far more likely to help you with the cleanup process. This is going to make parenting much easier, instead of constantly picking up after toys every few hours.

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21. Store Your Items So It’s Easy to See Everything

Make sure everything you own is out in the open. Credit: Shutterstock

Most of the time, people forget about how much stuff they have, because they can’t see it. This is why a lot of people experience the phenomenon of accidentally buying something twice. Instead of hiding things under a bed or allowing them to get shoved to the back of the pantry, bring everything within view. Once you see all of your options at your disposal, it becomes much easier to reach for them. For example, I grew up drawing and painting almost every day, but as an adult, I kept my supplies under the bed. After watching The Home Edit, I bought a 3-tier rolling cart. Now that my supplies are neatly organized and out of the open, it inspires me to reach for them and create art again.

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20. Only Keep the Items You Actually Use In Your Closet. Put the Rest in Storage, or Donate

If you have too much in your closet, you may not see everything you can use. Credit: Shutterstock

One of the biggest mistakes that people make is keeping around objects in their closet that they don’t use on a daily basis. In the home edit episode with Rachel Zoe, getting her to donate her unused clothing was like pulling teeth. They eventually convinced her to put the clothing she never wears into storage for the sake of cleaning out her closet space. For the average person, you’re probably not going to have a huge closet full of luxury goods. However, there are still plenty of things that you could put in a storage bin and hide in the attic or underneath the bed instead of keeping it in your closet. Remember that your closet should be filled with items you go to on a day-to-day basis. And if you can’t find something, it’s a sign there’s too much.

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19. Make Sure You Can Reach Everything That You Need Frequently Easily

Always put your objects within arm’s reach. Credit: Shutterstock

If you’re a short person, you can probably relate to not being able to reach things on the top shelf. There are some people who keep a stepping stool in their closet to help with this, but others resort to some strange means of reaching their items. For example, in one episode of The Home Edit, a woman was climbing the shelves of her pantry in order to get ingredients that she needed to cook a meal. Obviously, this is pretty dangerous. Always keep items that you use on a daily basis low enough to where you don’t have to take out a chair or stool to stand on very often. Keep the items that are not used as often in the higher places, or strictly keep back stock up there so that you’re only reaching when it’s time to refill things in the lower levels.

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18. Use Drawer Dividers So You Will Always Find What You Need With Ease

Drawer dividers are a great way to keep things organized. Credit: Shutterstock

Almost everyone has had a junk drawer at some time in their life. And if you have a desk drawer that you use frequently, there’s a good chance that it has become messy at some point. An easy solution to this problem is to have a drawer insert. This can keep your items categorized as separated from one another. It makes it very easy to find what you need quickly. In turn, this will also make you a more productive person if you can streamline the process of finding your supplies for work.

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17. Remove Your Back Stock From The Original Boxes and Containers

When organizing your pantry, remove the food from the boxes. Credit: Shutterstock

Some people would never dream of removing their food from their packaging before putting it in the pantry. But on The Home Edit part of the reason why their pantry makeovers look so aesthetically pleasing is that they remove all of the food from the boxes before putting them in clear plastic containers. Aside from looking good, this method can help free up space. It also hides whatever brand you choose to buy, so no one can judge you. For food that comes in packaging like granola bars or fruit snacks, you would obviously keep those in the individual wrapping. However, having a clear plastic box to hold all of those snacks in a row looks a lot neater than having them in the cardboard box that you purchased at the store.

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16. Use Matching Hangers in Your Closet

Matching hangers just make everything look more uniform and clean. Credit: Shutterstock

One of the easiest ways to make your closet look a bit more organized is to have matching hangers. Most professional organizers will choose either velvet hangers or ones made out of wood. However, if you’re on a very tight budget, you can always go with plastic hangers from somewhere like Dollar Tree or Walmart. As long as all of the hangers match one another, that’s really all that matters.

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15. Organize Your Bathroom Drawers to Streamline Your Routine

Put out your most-used items so that you can easily reach for them. Credit: Shutterstock

Most people keep all of their toiletries in the bathroom vanity, closet, or drawers. This makes sense, but not everyone has it set up to streamline their routine. Ask yourself what products you use on a daily basis. Try to organize those products in a way that makes sense for what you do today. Drawer inserts are great for helping organize items that you want to be put away, but you can also use glass jars on top of the vanity.

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14. Keep Small Sentimental Items and Photos in Boxes With Lids

It’s okay to put away sentimental items into a more discreet spot. Credit: Shutterstock

So far on this list, we have given a lot of options that tell you to show your items out in the open. However, there are small knick knacks like family photographs and mementos that you may not want to see every single day. These things are totally fine to put away in cardboard boxes. On The Home Edit, the ladies always give their clients a few boxes labeled “Sentimental” for them to hide away things that are important to keep, but you don’t necessarily want them to be front and center when walking into your closet.

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13. Shelf Dividers Keep Folded Piles in Place

Shelf dividers help keep items separate from one another on a shelf. Credit: Home For Each

Some people’s closets are simply a series of shelves. This can be fine and workable for most people. The only problem is that if you’re stacking piles of clothing, it won’t look perfect for very long. As soon as you pull something out of the pile, it might disturb the whole process. That’s why a genius out there invented clear shelf dividers. This way, you can remove pieces from one section of the shelf without disturbing the other. It also helps make your closet look like a store display.

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12. Your Jewelry Collection Should Be Displayed So You Can See Every Piece

If you can see all of your jewelry and accessories, it’s easier choose what to wear. Credit: Shutterstock

If you own jewelry, you probably have a jewelry box. Some of these can be very pretty, but the issue is that you don’t actually see your jewelry until you take the initiative to open your box. This can also cause an issue of necklaces getting tangled. Several pieces of jewelry stacked on top of each other also means that you can’t actually see what’s there. In The Home Edit, they recommend keeping your jewelry and accessories in your closet out on display. This way, it becomes part of the process of picking out your outfit for the day. If you really need a box, make sure you find one that has individual compartments for every single piece.

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11. Stuff Your Purses So They Keep Their Shape

Help keep your purses in good shape by stuffing them with tissue paper. Credit: Shutterstock

If you have a large purse collection, you may already know how difficult it can be to put them on display and maintain their quality. Leather can bend and become dry and brittle as time goes on. So if you have a bag that is not in its proper shape, it can become misshapen overtime. If you have the space in your closet to create a purse display, make sure you stuff them with tissue paper. Not only does it help maintain the shape of the bag, but it also looks a lot more aesthetically pleasing.

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10. Use Stackable Storage Whenever Possible

Stackable storage means being able to keep more products. Credit: The Container Store

Stacking storage is a great way to utilize your space. In the Home Edit, seems to be utilized the most in situations where people are keeping back stock of something. For example, in the photo you see above, this person has stacks of products that they would typically use in the bathroom.. In the past, this amount of stockpiling would seem a bit ridiculous. But in 2020, a lot of people are stocking up on their most frequently used items in order to cut back on the amount of times they need to make a trip to the grocery store.

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9. Fold Your Scarves So That You Can See The Patterns Easily

Keep scarves out on display, so it’s easier to put outfits together. Credit: Shutterstock

On The Home Edit, the ladies have a signature technique of folding scarves into little donut-shaped balls. Personally, I wouldn’t know where to begin with trying to replicate that. However, the point is that they recommend keeping your scarves out on display so that you can see your options. When scarves are tucked away in a drawer, you might never see them, and forget they exist.

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8. Use Carts For Frequently Used Items, Like Your Kid’s Art Supplies

Carts can help keep frequently used items out on display. Credit: The Home Edit

Sometimes, there are frequently used items in your home that are constantly being cleaned up and put away. For example, if you have young kids who enjoy drawing and painting, you might already be putting away the supplies every time they want to create their art. Consider buying a cart so that everything is out in the open, but all kept in the same space. This can be a godsend for busy parents, because your kids no longer have to ask you to pull out the supplies for them. They can simply grab what they need and start working. After watching The Home Edit, I did this in my own home, and it actually works incredibly well.

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7. Keep The Healthy Snacks Within Arm’s Reach of Your Kids

Healthy snacks could be the only option. Credit: Shutterstock

Kids love to sneak snacks behind their parent’s back, especially if you have a pantry that they can gain access to. One great way to make sure that they don’t eat the bad stuff is to keep the healthy snacks within arm’s reach. On The Home Edit, they helped a mother by putting health snacks like granola bars and crackers near the bottom shelf of the pantry, and put sugary desserts near the top where only adults could reach.

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6. Sweater Boxes Can Be a Great Solution to Bulk Storage

Sweater boxes can be really useful for stacking. Credit: The Container Store

If you really love the idea of using clear storage, sweater boxes might be your best bet. Pretty much every major store like Walmart and Target will sell a version of these, but they also have stackable sweater boxes at The Container Store. Garages are one of the most common places where these are used. If you watch the first episode of The Home Edit, you can see how they transformed a garage full of stuff into an incredibly well-organized space.

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5. Use a Label Maker So You Never Have to Wonder What’s In There

Labels make life easier. Credit: Shutterstock

On The Home Edit, they label almost everything. Most homeowners already have some form of containers or boxes, and they aren’t necessarily made of clear plastic. Instead of going out and spending a fortune buying a bunch of new products from The Container Store, you could simply buy a label maker and what you already have. I’m currently living at my parent’s house, but I used labels for all of my storage bins in their attic. Now, whenever I need something, I can simply look at the label before opening the box.

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4. Utilized 3-Tier Shelves in the Pantry to Create More Space

Tiered shelving helps you see everything at once. Credit: The Container Store

If you have deep shelves, you’ve probably experienced the frustrating process of your items getting pushed to the back. This makes it very difficult to find things when you need it. A brilliant solution to the problem is to buy a 3-tiered shelf that will sit in your pantry. It works very well for canned goods, spices, and so much more.

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3. Use A Lazy Susan To Rotate Hard-To-Reach Items

Rotating storage helps you reach items in the back quickly and easily. Credit: The Container Store

Have you ever experienced seeing something in the fridge, but you can’t reach it because it’s stuck behind 10 other things? This is where something like a lazy Susan could completely change your life. Lazy Susans are a rotating little cart with sections. So just by turning the wheel of the contraption, you can get to the products that were originally placed in the back. In The Home Edit, the ladies use these lazy Susans to help children working in an art class. It was perfect for the kids, because they could spin to get the Crayola markers they wanted from the other side of the table without having to ask their friends to pass it over.

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2. Out of Storage? Utilize Floor Space Whenever Possible

Floor space can help save the day. Credit: The Container Store

Sometimes, you might go through an organizational project and realize that there is simply nowhere else to put your things. This is very common in children’s toy rooms, office space, and so much more. One great solution to the problem is to just utilize the floor space in the best way you can. Three-tiered carts can move around on wheels, so they can sit just about anywhere in your house. I’ve seen a lot of people incorporate these cards into their life when they begin to work from home. It’s the perfect place to keep all of the work related objects, paperwork, and supplies in one place without actually buying a new piece of furniture to accommodate it. And if your circumstances change in the future, that cart can easily be reused for something else.

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1. Minimize Whenever Possible

The more you donate, the easier it is to organize. Credit: Shutterstock

Last and certainly not least is to donate your unwanted items as often as you can. It’s impossible to keep things organized when you have too much stuff. Remember that clutter happens when objects don’t have a place to go. If you’re going through this organizational journey, and you start to realize that some of the things in your home don’t actually have a place to be, it might be a sign that it’s time to say goodbye. Getting rid of stuff doesn’t necessarily have to be the end though. You can always reach out to friends and family to see if they need these things that you’re willing to get rid of. That way, you can still see those things if you want to, but they’re not in your own personal space.

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