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A lot depends on the city you live in. RentCafe recently analyzed which places in the U.S. are best for home organizing potential. It looked at more than 280 cities and ranked them according to several criteria, including home and household size, income, self storage, interest in home improvement, etc.

Scottsdale, AZ, Raleigh, NC, and Spokane, WA, stand on the podium of the best U.S. cities for home organizing potential with the highest scores for all aspects combined, essentially optimum living space, interest in home improvement and storage potential. If your city didn’t make the top of the list, having an organized home is still achievable. More challenging, yes, but doable!

Let’s see what made these three cities stand out in terms of home organization.  

Why can people in Scottsdale, Raleigh and Spokane have more organized homes?

No unique, single factor propelled these cities to the top of the list. Rather, each achieved an ideal mix of criteria that play an equally important role. Scottsdale, Arizona, has the best combination of personal living space, storage options away from home and residents’ interest in home improvement. Scottsdale benefits from one of the lowest household sizes in the country (2.16 people per household) and a median household income that surpasses $90K.

What’s also notable is people’s interest in home organization. Their high number of Google searches for DIY organizing hacks and professional organizers suggests people in Scottsdale really go the extra mile in finding solutions to neaten and tidy their homes. Additionally, people have self storage on their side here, as Scottsdale’s available storage space is significantly more than the national average – almost 13 square feet per capita in Scottsdale versus 7 square feet per capita nationally. Taking into account all these factors, it’s no wonder people in Scottsdale can easily keep their homes organized and clutter free.  

Similarly, if you happen to live in Raleigh, chances are you already have a nicely organized and airy home, as people here show an impressively high interest in home organization and improvement. This was measured by looking at the number of Google searches for home improvement, professional organizers and DIY organizing hacks, all which suggests that people are one step closer to taking initiative when it comes to making their place neat and tidy. Moreover, storage units in Raleigh are remarkably cheap at $95/month on average (lower than the national average of $128), and these can prove useful for freeing up living space in your home. 

Spokane comes in at number three overall, despite having a median household income of only $52K (the national average is $65K). The fact that the city made its way to the podium shows that a lack of vast financial resources doesn’t necessarily limit residents’ ability to keep their homes well organized but rather that they can find creative solutions to do so.

If you don’t live in these cities, but you do want your home to be better organized, here is how to do it. 

How can I make home organization easier?

Naturally, not all things are created equal. Some cities do much better than others in offering the right housing environment for you to achieve your organizational goals with minimum effort. If you don’t live in one of these cities but do want your home to be better organized, here are some key aspects to consider. 

•       Self storage – Have you ever ran into your skis or snowboard in the middle of summer, looking for something around the house? Are your snow tires taking up too much space in your garage? Do you have unused furniture in your attic or basement? One simple solution exists for all these troubles and much more: renting a storage unit. This is not only a common, inexpensive practice but also the perfect way to keep both houses and apartments free from clutter. People manage to free up significant living space in their homes by storing their furniture, bikes, documents, books and valuables in storage units.
•       Professional organizers – Yes, professional organizers might not offer the cheapest services, but they can work miracles. They can help with getting rid of clutter as well as thinking of smart home storage solutions. They can also help you with paper management, home office systems and virtually anything from appliances, electronics and files to linens, clothes and towels.
•       Home improvement interest – Ultimately, nothing beats a genuine passion for home improvement. As shown by Scottsdale, Raleigh and Spokane, people’s preoccupation with and commitment to home improvement is essential, as this is where you’ll find your inspiration. You can be the person who drives the trend where you live by visiting and supporting local home improvement stores, creating an organizing blog or webpage and sharing DIY hacks with like-minded people, for instance. Creativity and community will take you far!

Space is important, but being resourceful is vital for your organizing goals

We have all heard “It’s not how big the house is, it’s how happy the home is.” This recent study conducted by RentCafe ultimately confirmed there is truth to this famous saying. Just like four walls and a roof over your head do not instantaneously make a home, having a very large home does not implicitly and necessarily mean it provides better organization.

Texas clearly wins the home size state-level battle, having the most cities with homes larger than the national average of 1,750 square feet. However, home size is not decisive for people’s organizing success or failure. In fact, only 18 cities in the top 100 have average home sizes larger than the national average.

Arguably, being organized is a way of life, and the city you live in can be a deciding factor in this sense. What it offers in terms of living space, storage options away from home, incomes, home improvement stores and household sizes, among other things, can have an important say in your home organizing efforts.

Keeping organized can be a nightmare but if you do a little bit every day you will get on top of it from then onwards you just need to set aside a little bit of time every so often to maintain the hard work that you initially put in. Knowing where to start is part of the battle. However, if you break larger jobs, and larger areas down into smaller more manageable tasks then you will make the process a lot easier on yourself, and a lot more enjoyable.

Tips That Will Help You Organize Your Space

Make Things You Use Easily Accessible

Organizing and doing so effectively is all about ensuring that you know what you have and that you have access to what you have when you need it. Accessibility is an issue that you need to deal with head-on straight away. If things are not easily accessible then you will simply not use them, and they would be better off being donated to charity or sold. Things that are not accessible to be used will just end up being moved from place to place, and, as such will end up being classed as clutter. 

Utilize Storage Solutions

There are lots of solutions that you can introduce into any space to ensure you get the most out of any area, no matter how small or awkward it is. There are lots of helpful guides online and lots of top tips as to how to store totes on garage ceiling which are helpful and will ensure you get the right products to maximize the amount you can store even in your garage. When you utilize storage solutions you ensure that you don’t waste any valuable space. It is important to remember that items that have been specifically created to be used as storage will always be more useful than items you have just picked up to use as storage.

Utilize Wall Space

More often than not and storage you have on your walls is not fit for purpose. You need to ensure that you utilize any available wall space you have and this includes having hanging brackets and racks that can be folded to conceal the contents. Shelves are OK but if you are not utilizing all of the shelves then they are a waste of space. So look at your walls and think about what you need to store on them. For example yard brushes, paint rollers, paintbrushes and gardening tools. Slim items are ideal to put on walls as they can be hung and in the process, you will not lose valuable space.

Never Underestimate The Importance Of Decluttering

Part of successful organizing is about keeping only what you need and decluttering regularly. Clutter quickly builds up and if you don’t get hold of the situation then it will take hold of you. So, it is important to remember that decluttering and organizing go hand in hand. Declutter as you go, and try to have a good decluttering session at least once a month. Remember that if you haven’t used it and you don’t know what or when you will use it, then it is probably best to get rid of it – whatever it is!

Remember To Label Everything

The importance of labelling cannot be stressed enough. You may think you will remember what is in the 12 identical boxes just from looking at them but you won’t, and most importantly you will waste time and effort going through everything you have just to find the one thing you are looking for. So, save time, stress and hassle and label everything you are putting away. Keep an itinerary or checklist as you are going along and include this in each box that you fill. It may be trivial to do at first but you will appreciate your lists and labeling when you come to find that one little socket that is hidden within a box that 

Keep Items Off The Floor

This is very important as things that are on the floor are more likely to get damaged quickly. Never store loose items on the floor as this is simply asking for trouble. If you have to use the floor for storage then make sure everything is adequately boxed up and protected and do not stack things on top of other things that are on the floor. Items that are on the floor are trip hazards, and if you have stacked lots of items on top of each other from the floor up, it is more that you have to move when you want to access anything that is kept behind the tower of boxes you have built up.

Keep It Functional

Functional spaces are a must. Filling every space within an area is not going to work in the short term, or long term. Your space needs to be functional and usable. Before you even begin organizing any room you need to think about how you will use the room and what function or purpose it will serve. When you know how space will be used then you can plan your storage and organizational items around the furniture or items included within your space. When spaces are functional and organized they are easier to maintain so ensure that every space within your home has a function or use. If rooms have no clear purpose or use then they will become dumping grounds very quickly which is what you want to avoid as rooms that are used as dumping grounds can get neglected, and eventually lead to bigger problems such as bug infestations or fire hazards.

Essentially to get to grips with organizing you need to take a practical and methodical approach to everything you are doing. It can be overwhelming trying to organize every item you have at once, so think of organizing as an ongoing job and process, this way you will enjoy the process and not end up dreading it.