A minimalist space may appear calm and fluid, but it won’t happen without the homeowner’s tireless efforts to create smart organizational habits that support it.
From redesigning storage areas to downsizing, our home organization expert reveals seven organizational habits minimalists adopt to make cleaning and maintaining a tidy home easier.
Consider using multifunctional storage furniture in high-traffic areas. Here are some examples of entryways designed by Alice Lane, where simple hooks, drawers, and clever storage help keep things organized.
Drop zones are a great organizational system to help you stay sane, but they can quickly be overused, warns Katie Wells, founder of Clutter Cure Club and host of The Maximized Minimalist podcast.
She begins: “Clutter always accumulates by the door. Backpacks, shoes, keys, returned packages—it all adds up quickly. One of the most helpful habits I teach is creating a purposeful storage area using my SPOT method: designate a space, provide containers, organize as needed, and then make it a habit.”
By using these clear steps, you can better delineate living areas without cluttering them. With a little time and discipline, you’ll have a simpler-looking, more functional home.
Baskets are the perfect choice for creating minimalist storage space. Whether they’re placed in an entryway, living room, or hallway, they’ll help keep clutter at bay quickly, allowing you to easily tidy up on the weekend.
The Ohio Rule, also known as the one-click cleaning rule, is a common minimalist habit that prevents clutter.
Katie continued, “Follow the ‘Ohio Rule’ – handle things once – so that when things come in, they don’t get dumped on the kitchen counter and forgotten. If everyone knows where they originally went, your home will be tidier and you won’t have to clean as often.”
Organize your belongings with ease using simple storage solutions. For example, this handy mail organizer not only has a place for unread letters, but also five hooks for keys, making it ideal for keeping your entryway tidy.
Large storage baskets are ideal for quickly storing upholstered furniture such as blankets and pillows when not in use in the living room, bedroom or guest room.
This slim storage cabinet with two drop-down drawers and a top shelf won’t take up much space in small entryways and will help keep things tidy off the floor without restricting walkways.
Katie says: “Flat surfaces get cluttered easily, so for a minimalist like me, rather than waiting for them to become overwhelming, it’s better to give them a quick ‘cleanse’ every day.”
Here’s how the five-minute cleaning challenge works: Pick a countertop or table and clean it, putting back only the things that were actually there. I find it helpful to put on a favorite song or set a timer to make the process quick and, dare I say it, fun. It’s a quick visual reset that will instantly brighten your space while removing clutter that will never be there in a minimalist home.
Combine clutter removal with a quick clean to tackle clutter and dust in under five minutes.
The wet cleaning brush is great for allergy sufferers because it removes all dust, pollen, pet hair and more. It’s affordable, reusable, the perfect size and easy to clean – just rinse the sponge under water to remove dust and dirt, then reuse it.
Microfiber cloths quickly remove dust, dirt and stains from surfaces, making home cleaning quick and easy. After use, simply wash it in the washing machine and it is ready to use again.
A simple, minimalist basket with handles at the entrance makes it easy to pick up donations and carry them to your car.
Minimalists throw things away every day, so they need a special place to collect them so they don’t end up as a pile of junk.
Katie suggests: “Dedicate a space in your home—a basket, a bin, or even a cardboard box—for things you no longer need or love. I call this a ‘donation station,’ and it’s one of the easiest ways to prevent clutter from accumulating again.”
This set of collapsible fabric storage boxes from Walmart features handles, making it easy to carry to your car. Since they are collapsible, they are easy to put away when not in use, eliminating visual clutter.
Katie continued, “Then set a simple goal of cleaning out one thing a day or five things a week. The donation station is nearby, so you can easily drop things off at any time. There’s no pressure or need for a big cleanout. Just take it one step at a time and it will all add up quickly.”
Of course, reviewing the things minimalists never buy to make their lives easier can also help you control how often you declutter. Building a minimalist habit can be challenging, but it can save you time and money.
Under-bed storage is a great way to hide essentials, reduce clutter, and provide a more minimalist organization scheme.
Even if your home looks minimalist, it doesn’t mean you have to live with a minimum of things. This is the most important lesson I learned from the TV show “The Minimalists.”
Minimalists, on the other hand, are used to actively seeking out hidden storage ideas to make the most of their home space and reduce the amount of “stuff” in plain sight.
This doesn’t mean stuffing everything into a closet, but rather strategically finding better ways to organize everyday items, such as using storage furniture to hide important blankets and cables, or using under-bed storage ideas to stash spare sheets.
Under-bed storage is a great way to expand your existing storage space. These rolling storage bags slide out quickly for easy access.
Labeled containers prevent clutter from piling up in the background because each item has a clear organizational purpose, allowing other households to use those items in the same way and keep things organized without confusion.
Downsizing may mean moving to a smaller home or cutting down on storage space—something almost every minimalist does. For minimalists, the key to good organization is not hiding clutter, but working to eliminate it and prevent it from accumulating. The right organization system can help with this.
Francesca Verri is a certified holistic and minimalist coach, professional home organizer, and founder of Verri Organized. “There’s a common misconception that large containers save space and even money. Most people choose what they need based on their circumstances,” she says. “You tend to store more than you need or use, and it becomes harder to easily sort like items into like containers, which is an important principle for staying organized.”
Instead of buying large containers just to store bulky items, I recommend starting by clearing out the categories of things you want to organize. Make sure the items you want to store make sense and are necessary. Then, if possible, separate the items into smaller categories and purchase smaller containers to accommodate those categories. Even if the categories can’t be narrowed down, I still recommend purchasing several smaller containers with dedicated labels instead of one large container, as this will provide needed boundaries and reduce clutter.
This labeling machine is small and lightweight, easy to carry, allowing you to easily label any item anytime, anywhere. Develop good organizational habits that will help you get things done easily.
These storage baskets are perfect for creating mini organizational areas inside drawers to conveniently store items.
To make better use of shelves and deep storage space, use small baskets with lids to store and organize items.
Katie is the curator of several best-selling tidying books and is internationally recognized as the curator of the top 50 tidying podcasts.
With over 20 years of experience, Francesca uses minimalist organizational habits and theories to help clients make lifestyle changes that produce real, long-lasting results.
Overall, whether minimalists are happier than other people remains unclear, but a study published in the Journal of Positive Psychology found a trend between minimalist philosophy and voluntary simplicity, as well as more positive thinking and improved well-being.
The idea behind this connection is that people who consider themselves minimalists feel more satisfied and in control of their lives, and they focus more on their psychological needs than on material desires.
One of the best ways to start your journey to organized minimalism is to declutter your home. This could be a room or small space that you often feel uncomfortable in, either because it’s hard to move around or because it makes you feel anxious or guilty. Try to keep only the things you enjoy and use often. This is what the reverse sorting method is all about.
If the habits of a highly organized homeowner and minimalist are a little overwhelming, start by decluttering. Minimalists’ preferred decluttering strategies will help you organize your belongings, make them more manageable, and make your habits easier to maintain.
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Chiana has been with Homes & Gardens for two years and is our Toxic-Free Living Queen. She spends most of her time writing content for the site’s Solved section, helping readers make the most of their homes with tips on smart organizing, cleaning, and decluttering. She was named one of Fixr’s Best Home Improvement Journalists of 2024.
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