15 Popular Organizing Hacks that Don’t Work

There is so much organizing advice out there, and to be honest, some of the most popular tips just DON'T work for me!  If they work for you, that's awesome, and you should keep doing what works for YOU!  But if you're curious what just doesn't do it for me, keep reading, or watch the video here!

1.  OXO Containers

Sooo many people love these, and they're expensive!  But I just don't love how they perform!  I'm in the process of switching out all my pantry containers from OXO to another brand.  I did a full video that you can watch here.

I like that opening these can be a one handed operation, and they look great. Here's what I don't love:

• The lids fall off so easily!  I can't tell you how many times I've dumped a container because the lid slipped off.  No one wants to deal with a floor covered in flour!!!
• They're not airtight.  The seals just aren't very secure.  It doesn't compare at all to a Tupperware seal.  This isn't a huge deal for some things like flour or sugar, but if you're trying to keep crackers fresh, it's a no-go!

2.  Spice Jars

Spice jars that are all the same look absolutely beautiful!  We recently re-did my mom's spice drawer, and it certainly looks great.  But in practice, it's just not as magical as we had hoped.  Here's what we aren't loving:

• It makes the drawer really heavy!  My mom is having a hard time opening that drawer with all the extra weight of the glass jars.
• It takes up a lot more room laying down.  You can see them easier, but it takes up an entire drawer now.
• Decanting has been an issue.  They're all in cute matching jars, but when we transferred the spices from their original containers, we had a little bit left over here and there.  What do we do with this?  Throw it out?  Store it somewhere else?  Then there are twice as many containers.  That really isn't ideal!

Overall this is still cute and organized, but it just worked less wonderfully than we expected.

3.  Doing a Little at a Time

Most often people will tell you to organize and declutter in little 15 minute bursts, and it will make the job seem a lot less overwhelming.  But for some of us, it really doesn't work all that well.  I'm one of those people, LOL!

I LOVE to dive in and spend a whole day on something if I have a project to do.  I get super motivated and a little, um, obsessed!  But I know this about myself, so I lean into it and use it as a strength.  I get a lot done while I'm motivated, and it happens fast, so I see results fast.  That helps me!

If it doesn't help you, then you should go the slow route.  The best method to organize is the method that you'll actually do!  If you're not sure which type you are, I created a little personality quiz so you can discover which type of organizer you are!  Take it here.

4.  Cheap Dollar Tree Organizers

Yes, you see a lot of these online, and yes, sometimes they look really cute.  And they're cheap!  But they're also cheaply made.  Sometimes this is okay, but often they're just not all that durable.

There are several projects where I've tried to use the Dollar Tree containers only to realize they weren't working all that well.  Then I had spent $1.25 plus $4 for the organizer I actually ended up with.  I could have just saved the money I spent at Dollar Tree and used the better quality bins that I know I love in the first place.

Often the Dollar Tree bins are oddly shaped, a little flimsy, or they don't hook together quite right.  If you're trying to substitute a Dollar Tree item for something you know you love, think hard about it.  If you can afford the other product from the beginning, it might save you money in the long run.

5.  Being too Minimalistic

Minimalism in theory can be great.  It encourages people to think before they buy, to declutter and live with less…but there's also a dark side.  Sometimes it comes with arbitrary rules, like you can only have as many plates as there are people in your family.  Or each kid can only have five outfits.  It becomes a competition to see how little we can have.

But this can just get a little silly.  For example, I'm going to do the same amount of laundry no matter how many outfits my kids have.  If they have less, it will just mean I have to do it more frequently.  Maybe you need this motivation to do laundry every day, but I personally like having the option to not do laundry if we're sick or on vacation or just crazy busy.  If life happens, we won't go naked, LOL!

Sometimes people will also tell you that minimalism will solve all your problems.  Now that they're a minimalist, their kids behave better, they're not stressed or sick, they get along with their partners, etc.  I guess it depends on the situation.  Minimalism will definitely help with your stress from clutter, and it may help you be more organized.  But if your kids have a behavioral issue, or you have marriage problems, those things will likely still be there even after the giant declutter.

My best advice would be to have realistic expectations about how minimalism or decluttering will change things for you.  And don't think you're failing if you've decluttered everything, and you still have some problems.  That's normal, and it's just life!  I did a whole video on what minimalism can and can't help with– watch it here!

6.  Clear Acrylic Organizers

These are super cute and look GREAT in photos.  In practice….not so much lol.  Because you can see through them completely, the things inside need to look good too, or it just doesn't turn out like the spreads you see online.

7.  Not Having Backups

Minimalists think you don't need to have extras of anything on hand.  You can go to the store to buy more pantry staples, toiletries, office supplies, etc.  You don't need to store them at your house.

But I like having a few extras on hand.  If we run out of rice, I can still make dinner!  I'm not stressed about inventorying everything before I do a grocery order.  Who wants to run out of toothpaste or face wash?!?

There's a balance here, of course.  We don't need to have stockpiles with five years' worth of toothpaste.  But an extra tube or two is certainly reasonable.  Which end of the spectrum causes you less stress?

8.  Following a Cleaning Schedule

I used to try to do this over and over.  I'd get all excited, outline a plan, and then last about two days.  I've discovered that while I LOVE organizing, I just don't care enough about my home being super deep cleaned to actually follow through with a cleaning schedule.  I'm okay with that LOL!

You should understand your own personality and go with what works best for you and what matters to you.  If you're struggling to figure this out, my Organized Home Manual will help get you on track!

9.  Ignoring Digital Clutter

It's easy to think that digital clutter doesn't matter because it's not a physical item in front of you.  But it can seriously affect your mental state.  If you need a photo and are having to look through 30,000 photos to try to find it, there's a problem!

Start using little pockets of time to declutter your pictures on your phone, your email, etc.  Waiting in lines or in doctor's offices are perfect times to do this because we almost always have our phones on us!

10.  Thinking that Decluttering Can Solve All Your Problems

It will solve a lot of problems, but not all of them.  Life will just never be perfect, and that's okay.  Try to have realistic expectations about what decluttering will accomplish so you don't feel like a failure when you're finished, and life still isn't necessarily at your ideal.  It really can make a lot of things better, but we'll all still have problems because we're human.

11.  Rainbow Organizing Everywhere

Yes, it looks cool and beautiful!  But sometimes it's just not practical.  One of these places for me is in the pantry.  Food comes in so many different colors!  Am I going to buy exactly the same brands every time?!?

Rainbow colors look great in photos, but they literally bought the groceries just for the photo shoot, not for a real family to eat, LOL!  There's no way to replicate this without intense effort, and for me it's just not worth it.

12.  Decanting Toiletries

Have you ever actually tried this?!?  It looks beautiful in a shower…but in practice it did not go well for me.  I spilled shampoo everywhere, LOL!  Then I have the same issue I had with the spice jars…leftover product and an extra container to store.  It just isn't worth it!

13.  Wire Shelf Risers

I get that using vertical space can be a good idea.  But these risers that sit on the counter are just not that great in practice.  They're often too flimsy to hold heavy plates as intended.  I find them more annoying than helpful.

14.  Going Completely Paperless

Some people don't want to hang onto any paper at all!  I like to use a hybrid approach.  Usually the middle ground is best for almost anything.  I scan some things, and sometimes I'll hang onto the actual paper.  It just depends what makes the most sense!

I GREATLY reduce my paper clutter by scanning, but it doesn't work for everything.  I go into a TON of detail about my paper-less ( but not totally paperless!) system in the e-course here!

15.  Command Strips

I love them.  I really do!  But you have to know how and where to use these.  They don't work on all wall surfaces (especially anything with texture).  And most people don't use them right!  You're supposed to press them against the wall firmly for a certain amount of time.  Your arm totally gets tired!

You're also not supposed to hang anything on them for 24 hours.  Who actually waits?!?  One time we hung a large canvas on our wall.  It crashed down a few months later…so this is me.  I'm the one who doesn't follow directions!

If some of these organizing hacks just haven't worked for you the way you'd hoped, you're totally NOT alone, LOL!  What organizing hack have you had high hopes for in the past that just hasn't worked out the way “they” told you it would???

Organization that actually sticks for busy, happy lives