12 Impeccably Organized Spaces that Will Inspire You to Declutter Your Home

By Alexandra Churchill of Martha Stewart Living

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Spring (cleaning) is in the air and that means one thing: getting your home in tip-top shape. To help motivate you, here are several areas organized with beauty and practicality in mind -- plus the tricks and tips we used.

Photography: Dana Gallagher

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Spring (cleaning) is in the air and that means one thing: getting your home in tip-top shape. Of course, it's easier said than done. Everyday clutter gets in the way. To help motivate you, here are several areas organized with beauty and practicality in mind –- plus the tips and tricks we used. They can be summed up in two words, "welcome home."

Coordinate by Color
A golden rule in Martha's kitchen? Group like items, such as these ceramic bowls, together in the same cupboard. Additionally, when grouped by color, they form a rainbow that turns your organizational work into a work of art.

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Kick Up Your Heels

(Almost literally.) Line the walls of your bedroom or walk-in closet with picture-rail molding to make a tidy yet visually arresting display. Buy preprimed pieces, and have them cut to the exact length so it looks extra put-together.

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Photography: Johnny Miller

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Count the Numbers

There will be no more, “Is this mine or yours?” For a family of four, we stenciled numbers on the wall to designate a spot for each family member to hang their towel on a rack or slip their sandals into a fabric bin.

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Separate and Stack Dishes

You’ve heard to separate your darks from your whites, right? It's the golden rule of laundry and works surprisingly well in the kitchen, too! These cupboards come with adjustable shelves that are stacked with both drabware and white dishes. Organizing dinnerware by type is good for efficiency, but stacking them by color gives a look of artistic intention.

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Photography: Annie Schlechter

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When in Doubt, Roll it Out

This pantry comes with rollout shelves to keep your items organized and easily accessible. To the left, spices and decorative baking sprinkles are stored in round tins on a magnetic cupboard.

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Shelf It (And Put a Label On it)

In this home, industrial metal shelves store and organize working materials. To easily keep track, each storage container -– from boxes to bins -– is prominently labeled.

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Curate Your Treasures

Collections don’t have to result in clutter. Rethink how they are arranged. Here, a mass of artifacts, boxes, and ceramic vessels -– all in the same sunny yellow hue –- are neatly displayed in a cube organizer. The grid gives the knickknacks some structure. And when grouped together as a single statement, the entire collection looks good enough for a museum.
Photography: Bryan Gardner

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Divide and Conquer in Your Closet

A closet doesn’t have to be dark and dank, and here’s the proof. Totes and handbags sit upright along the top shelf so they can retain their shape. Shelf dividers prevent sweaters and folded blouses from toppling over. These clear acrylic dividers are nearly invisible and don’t require any hardware. Plus, doesn’t that stylish vanity make you want to lounge in there forever?

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For Kids, Use a Colorful Cubby

Is it possible to have a clutter-free kids room? Of course it is! Here, arts and crafts supplies -- colored pencils, finger paints, and glitter glue -- are kept out of sight but not out of reach. This open storage cubby with cube organizers comes with a set of colorful, collapsible fabric drawers.

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Treat the Laundry Room Like a Work Table

Mountain-high piles of clothes? Not here. The key to this laudry room is treating it as a clean-and-care center for clothing: that includes storing kits for minor sewing repairs, stain removal, and shoe care. Everything is kept within easy reach on the lowest shelf. A catchall holds popped buttons, loose change, and other forgotten pocket items. Overhead shelving separates clean loads from the dirty.

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Magnetize

The medicine cabinet, that is. In this bathroom, the medicine cabinet was affixed with a sheet of precut galvanized steel to its interior with construction adhesive. With that in place, magnetic hooks could then hold scissors, a compact mirror, and small plastic cups with magnetic bottoms to corral even smaller necessities like rubber bands and hair clips.

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Hang Them High with Rods

Lots of gardening tools and no shed? No problem. If you want to designate a place to put them, do what we did on this wall: Create a set of rows with inexpensive brass brackets and bamboo rods.

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