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We all have an inner Marie Kondo hiding somewhere deep under the piles of laundry and overstacked dishes. As the plates from my takeaway dinner still patiently wait in the sink, I realize we all need some inspiration.

And where’s a better place to look for it than to see some real-life examples from people who have their organizational skills up and running like a nuclear power plant?

Get ready to browse through the soothing images of perfectly ordered pantries and shelves, through meticulous layouts and wonderfully neat rooms, and wardrobes, and storage boxes... and indulge in the calming effect of absolute order. These people do indeed make it look like transforming cluttered homes into spaces of serenity and inspiration is like a walk in the park, and I am up for it.

#1

I Standardized All My Storage Bins But Got Tired Of Unstacking/Restacking Every Time I Needed Something From The Bottom Bin. I Built This Rack So Each Bin Can Slide Out, And It Wastes Very Little Storage Space. What Do You Think?

I Standardized All My Storage Bins But Got Tired Of Unstacking/Restacking Every Time I Needed Something From The Bottom Bin. I Built This Rack So Each Bin Can Slide Out, And It Wastes Very Little Storage Space. What Do You Think?

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#2

My Wife Wanted A Custom Pantry So I Built Her One

My Wife Wanted A Custom Pantry So I Built Her One

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#3

I Have Major Depression. I've Heard Cleaning Up My Environment Helps. This Is My First Post, I'm Hoping To Become A Regular Poster Here

I Have Major Depression. I've Heard Cleaning Up My Environment Helps. This Is My First Post, I'm Hoping To Become A Regular Poster Here

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There are two types of people—the ones that do everything they can to delay cleaning up their home up to the very end until they see a tumbleweed of dust heading from one corner to the opposite corner of the room, and another type of people who were born (or passionately learnt) loving organizing their space, and there’s just so much we can all learn from the latter.

So in order to find out how to take your first steps into the organized world and lifestyle that sparks joy, and leave all the chaos behind, Bored Panda reached out to Alice Bauer, a Konmari™ premium consultant who works in Switzerland and Austria.

“The best motivation to start is to envision yourself with your ideal lifestyle,” Alice stated. You may want to ask yourself: “How do you want to live? Picture this as precisely as possible with every detail. What kind of atmosphere should your home have? What do you want to see first when you wake up in the morning? What is your morning routine? What do you do for fun? Do you love to cook and like to cook for your friends in the future? How must your home be to support you best on a daily basis?”

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#4

I Made A Wall Rack To Store/Display My Kid's Monster Trucks. For Less Than 20 Bucks, I Used Curtain Rods And Checkered Flag Duct Tape

I Made A Wall Rack To Store/Display My Kid's Monster Trucks. For Less Than 20 Bucks, I Used Curtain Rods And Checkered Flag Duct Tape

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#5

My Family Thinks I’m Crazy. Hopefully Some Of You Guys Will Appreciate My Setup

My Family Thinks I’m Crazy. Hopefully Some Of You Guys Will Appreciate My Setup

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elStiJneriNO
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

awesome setup, but i trust a parents judgement so i'll assume you are crazy none the less.

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#6

The Yarn Corner In My Craft Room Is My Happy Place

The Yarn Corner In My Craft Room Is My Happy Place

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Rabbit Carrot
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Looks amazing but it’s going to be a pain getting anything out of there. You risk collapse .

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This self-reflection is the beginning of radical tidying up, which is a lifestyle change, according to Alice. “Create a vision board and add adjectives to amplify how your ideal lifestyle should feel. Warm, light, open, or welcoming, cozy. I love to work with vision boards together with my clients so that they can come back to their vision whenever they feel like it.”

#7

Father-In-Law's Power Tool Section In His Shop

Father-In-Law's Power Tool Section In His Shop

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#8

I Finally Organised My Messy First Aid Cupboard!

I Finally Organised My Messy First Aid Cupboard!

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Vicky Zar
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Haha I organised it the same way. But I named them Pflaster and Medizin

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But Alice warns that tidying is a demanding process where you constantly make decisions about what to keep. “There are good days and you feel absolutely great, your self-esteem is high and you go smoothly with the flow; on the other hand, there are difficult days when you cannot motivate yourself properly and your goal is far away,” she explained.

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“Then the magic of the vision board comes to play and reminds you exactly why you’re tidying. You want to change your life—somehow,” she added.

#10

Are Garages Allowed? (Bay Area, Ca)

Are Garages Allowed? (Bay Area, Ca)

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Hilary Mol
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Okay, everybody, I'd like to draw your attention to the cleanest garage on the planet.

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#11

My Wife Lindsay Playing Some Switch After Setting Up The Game Room In Our New House

My Wife Lindsay Playing Some Switch After Setting Up The Game Room In Our New House

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Alice’s trick is to try and tidy up by category instead of location. “The majority of my clients all used to tidy by location, which in my opinion is nonsense. Instead, tidy by category so that you can get an overview of how many pairs of scissors you actually own. You cannot get how many you have if they are scattered all over the house.”

Moreover, when tidying up, you have to stay patient. First, you decide what to discard, and only after, you work with the items you’re left with. “After completing the sorting of all categories, you think about storing what you are left with. Not earlier. That will teach you how to be patient and patience is exactly what you need to finish the process.”

#13

My Wife Is Gone On A Work Trip. I Decided To Surprise Her By Cleaning The Garage. It’s Not A Top Notch Job, But I’m Happy With It. I Can’t Wait For My Wife To Get Home!

My Wife Is Gone On A Work Trip. I Decided To Surprise Her By Cleaning The Garage. It’s Not A Top Notch Job, But I’m Happy With It. I Can’t Wait For My Wife To Get Home!

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Meghan Hirt-Gehr
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is going to get you major brownie points. It is so thoughtful and for me would be better then a diamond necklace.

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#14

I Finally Have My Craft Room Organized The Way I Want After Countless Failed Attempts Over The Last 2 Decades!

I Finally Have My Craft Room Organized The Way I Want After Countless Failed Attempts Over The Last 2 Decades!

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#15

Recently Discovered My Favorite Way To Organize My Apps. Each Row Is A Category, With The Three Most Commonly Used Apps On The Right And Others In A Folder On The Left

Recently Discovered My Favorite Way To Organize My Apps. Each Row Is A Category, With The Three Most Commonly Used Apps On The Right And Others In A Folder On The Left

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James016
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I organise my apps in folders but have not gone this far. The folders are in alphabetical order. One small change in order and I am lost.

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If you’re on a lower budget, Alice recommends selling things you don’t want anymore on eBay, Etsy, or whatever is available in your location. “But pay attention. You will never sell everything you have planned to sell. I would suggest that you pick out a number of items to seriously sell. Reselling is time-consuming and needs effort. Good pictures need to be taken, a text has to be written, posting, answering inquiries. Think about this aspect carefully.”

“Until an item is sold, it is still lying in your house probably for weeks or months until you cannot see it anymore and just donate it,” Alice said and added that essentially, “someday never comes. Trust me, I know.”

#16

I Don’t Have Much Closet Space For Linens In My Tiny Apartment So I Turned An Over The Door Shoe Holder In The Bathroom Into This!

I Don’t Have Much Closet Space For Linens In My Tiny Apartment So I Turned An Over The Door Shoe Holder In The Bathroom Into This!

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#17

Rearranged My Mother’s Entire Summer Saree Collection. Not Perfect But I Love The Colors!

Rearranged My Mother’s Entire Summer Saree Collection. Not Perfect But I Love The Colors!

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#18

This Man Is My Hero. He Sorted Out A Sale Bin Of Candy. Found It Satisfying

This Man Is My Hero. He Sorted Out A Sale Bin Of Candy. Found It Satisfying

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Steve Barnett
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

All it takes is one child and five minutes then all that effort goes to waste.

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Bored Panda also talked to Amanda Scanlan, a certified platinum KonMari® consultant based in Brisbane, Australia. If you’re wanting to tidy up and organize things but are lacking motivation, Amanda said that a great place to start is to figure out your why. Ask yourself: “Why do you want to tidy up? Will it make your life easier and happier? This invites you to imagine how you truly wish to live your life. You may like to consider what an ideal day or week looks like for you—What are you doing? How do you feel? Who is with you? What is the quality of that relationship and connection?”

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“Connecting with this vision and really feeling into what it is like to live in your tidy home is not only important to find the motivation to start, but will also be a motivator to help you complete your tidying up thoroughly so you can put your reclaimed money, time and energy into living that life,” she explained.

#20

Just Moved Into A New House And Wanted To Show Off My Pantry Progress!

Just Moved Into A New House And Wanted To Show Off My Pantry Progress!

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#21

My Husband Works In It And This Was His Project Today

My Husband Works In It And This Was His Project Today

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Aside from this, Amanda suggests thinking of joining a Facebook group, tidy challenge, or engaging a Consultant or buddying up with a friend to share your goals. Sometimes a little push from the others is all we need.

Amanda also said that tidying your home does not need to be an expensive undertaking, “it’s not about Instagram-worthy storage solutions.” Instead, “Tidying up can simply be a process to understand better what energizes and sparks joy in you, and then finding a home for all the items you have chosen to keep in your life.”

“This can be achieved through using items you already have—shoe boxes can be repurposed and used as drawer dividers for storing clothes or keeping like items together; phone or tablet boxes are great for keeping smaller items together like batteries or pens; large glass jars are great for storing food or dishwashing tablets.”

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#22

Extra Cord Organization!

Extra Cord Organization!

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#23

Finally Organized My Kitchen After Weeks Of Being Too Depressed To Clean It

Finally Organized My Kitchen After Weeks Of Being Too Depressed To Clean It

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See Also on Bored Panda

According to the KonMari consultant, you may even find that you have storage items already that are no longer needed, “such as repurposing a letter organizer as a device charging station or magazine holder to store your papers that need actioning.”

However, if you do need to buy storage items, Amanda recommends holding off until you have finished discarding, since this way you are only finding solutions for the things you truly wish to keep in your life. “Another benefit of holding off is that working through your tidying journey starts to free up mental space; this can result in becoming more creative and resourceful with using what you already have to meet your needs,” she explained.

#25

Crosspost From R/Konmari

Crosspost From R/Konmari

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ravina nimje
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Extreme good work, consider the organization as a career option.

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#26

Penguin Classics Collection, Found On Twitter

Penguin Classics Collection, Found On Twitter

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Pervinca
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Wonderful! It's an expensive dream of mine to have all of this collection. And also to be able to read them easily in English

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#27

My Dad, Using Every Square Inch Of Our Small Garage For His Workshop, Has A Bunch Of Old Jam Jars With Their Lids Screwed Onto The Ceiling For Storage

My Dad, Using Every Square Inch Of Our Small Garage For His Workshop, Has A Bunch Of Old Jam Jars With Their Lids Screwed Onto The Ceiling For Storage

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#29

Created This "Work Command Center" For My Son Who Constantly Juggles Multiple Different Freelance Projects With Multiple Different Deadlines. Whiteboard Calendar Is Used To Keep Track Of Deadline Dates And Clip Boards Keep Track Of Notes And Updates On The Projects

Created This "Work Command Center" For My Son Who Constantly Juggles Multiple Different Freelance Projects With Multiple Different Deadlines. Whiteboard Calendar Is Used To Keep Track Of Deadline Dates And Clip Boards Keep Track Of Notes And Updates On The Projects

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#30

My Dad Just Finished Cleaning Our Kitchen So I Could Take A Photo And Share It Because He Was Jealous That I Showed My Mom's Cottage Here. He Also Designed The Kitchen And Picked Everything Out

My Dad Just Finished Cleaning Our Kitchen So I Could Take A Photo And Share It Because He Was Jealous That I Showed My Mom's Cottage Here. He Also Designed The Kitchen And Picked Everything Out

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Michelle M
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Me: *looking at my dad* Dad: *tosses a used bottle at the trash but landed near it*. Me: *looking at dad to see if he would pick it up* Dad: *leaves the kitchen*

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#31

First Post (Be Kind!): Pantry Organization In My New Home

First Post (Be Kind!): Pantry Organization In My New Home

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TK 421
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Please tilt the pot lids the other way so dust won’t collect on their inside surface

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#32

I Was Told That This Subreddit May Enjoy My Most Recent Project

I Was Told That This Subreddit May Enjoy My Most Recent Project

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#33

Mom Did This For Me

Mom Did This For Me

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𝖊𝖆
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

LOVE a good stationary drawer. My older sister sees how much stationary I have and does the old “but does it being you *joy*?” And i’m just like “YESSSS”.

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#34

The Pantry Of Dreams

The Pantry Of Dreams

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Andy Acceber
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I just love the idea of a walk-in pantry. I'm a millennial in a city. I don't think I'll ever be that rich.

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#36

Organizing The Spices With 3D Printing, A Pvc Board, And A Ton Of Labels

Organizing The Spices With 3D Printing, A Pvc Board, And A Ton Of Labels

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#37

Organized My Baking And Pantry Items!

Organized My Baking And Pantry Items!

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Andy Acceber
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

I've decided it's not pickles in the jar on the top shelf, second from the left. It's not potato skins. Any other guesses?

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#39

Baby Clothing Storage Idea

Baby Clothing Storage Idea

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Rabbit Carrot
Community Member
2 years ago (edited) DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually really impractical. To put away clean clothes you need to empty each pocket every time so the item goes at the bottom of the pile. If you don’t do that then the clothes aren’t rotated and things are worn over and over again.

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LH25
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Great idea! I have a hanging shoe tree like this hanging on the inside of my very small linen closet door, for things like Band-Aids and tube of stuff and all those other little things I seem to collect.

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John Gault
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is perfect. Babies grow so fast here is no time to match outfits or rotate wardrobes. The only thing I don't see here is a pocket to put items baby has grown out of.

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Ally R
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

Not impractical at all! Such a great idea if you're limited on space. Would easily get through a pouch of clothes for a baby in a day! Also, a baby wearing the same thing over and over again doesn't matter.

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BluEyedSeoulite
Community Member
2 years ago DotsCreated by potrace 1.15, written by Peter Selinger 2001-2017

This is actually a great idea for socks and undies as they get older. I used baskets but then the kids found the baskets...

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#40

These Shelves Are From IKEA For Those Who Are Asking

These Shelves Are From IKEA For Those Who Are Asking

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Note: this post originally had 125 images. It’s been shortened to the top 40 images based on user votes.