5 Clever Home Décor Ideas to Keep Your Family Organized

It's easy to find great ideas out there for home organization and ergonomic design, but how do you incorporate these lofty design ideas into your own chaotic home? Here are just five simple home décor ideas, plus links to affordable products (available from regular stores) that will help you achieve the look and functionality at home. 

1. A place to plan

There are many different ways you can go about a family command center, but this one from Somewhat Simple has many of the essentials — and putting your own together will be easy with these items: a calendar whiteboard to keep track of activities, this wall organizer to store mail in and hang keys from, and this magnetic board that also doubles as a chalkboard.

2. A cute kid bedroom with lots of storage

This room from Houzz is a great example of using a few key strategies for keeping kids’ rooms organized: making use of vertical space with a loft bed, choosing furniture that has built-in storage and embracing the bookshelf. Here are a few items that can create a similar look: This twin loft bed, a dark-colored storage bench that hides dirt and toys, and these stackable shelves that allow you can arrange however you need to so that little arms can reach items.

3. A clever work station 

This dual desk set-up from Better Homes & Gardens is smart for a few different reasons: It seats two, there is space behind computers for easy-to-grab essentials such as pens and pencils, and there are two forms of storage — shelves (for tidier items) and baskets (for items that need to be contained a bit more).

Try creating a similar set-up with these products: This two-person desk is a less complicated side-by-side version that will allow kids to work together; these wall shelves can be arranged above or beside the desk; and these baskets can be mounted on the wall and allow you to see what’s inside without worrying those items will fall through the weave. Maybe even add some floor baskets under the desk or next to it.

4. Get organized the minute you walk in the door

Not sure you have enough space for a mudroom? This simple approach from Nalle’s House takes care of the basics in a stylish way: Baskets on the high shelf are used to keep things out of the way, while wire hanging baskets make things easy to grab.

Also, one or more baskets could be added under the bench to store more shoes. Hooks are placed high enough on the wall to accommodate bags and coats of any length. Want to recreate this in your own home? Here’s what you’ll need: a wood bench, any number of these hanging baskets, felt baskets and coat hooks.

5. Make laundry easy

This laundry room from Twelve on Main is definitely something to aspire to, but there are simple elements you can incorporate into your space: large, sturdy laundry baskets that won’t spill over with clothes and a wall-mounted clothes drying rack that can be lowered down when you need it (and lifted out of the way when you don’t). A simple butcher block set across the tops of your machines makes for a great laundry-folding area.

This article was originally published in July 2018, and updated in August 2020.