The entryway is the first thing you see when you walk in, it sets the tone for the whole house. Create a “Drop Zone”Like I mentioned, the first thing I do when I walk in is drop everything, and that is a habit not likely to change. Sections of the drop zone can include things like keys, mail, masks, and maybe seasonal items like sunglasses or hats and gloves. AdConsider who can reach whatIf you have kids living at your house, they are going to be able to reach different things than you are. Put things you need and grab often at around shoulder height, easy to grasp.

For some helpful advice, I turned to Lauren Combs, a professional organizer and the owner of Neat Method Detroit. You should place everything that goes in and out of your dishwasher frequently (think plates, glasses, silverware), within arm’s reach of the dishwasher. Consider putting all your cooking utensils in a drawer or in a jar right next to the stove. Put zones you use most frequently at eye level, and zones you use less often further out of reach. You can organize within the zones as well putting your most frequently used items in front, and least-used items in the back.

When the pandemic hit many of us had to pivot immediately and create offices in whatever corner of our house we could find. Now, many months in, you may be like me, looking around and realizing... this place is a mess. For help, we turn to Lauren Combs, a professional organizer and the owner of Neat Method Detroit to get her advice on how to make our at-home offices and classrooms work for us.