Clutter happens. Want strategies to eliminate it from your apartment? Here are five common clutter hotspots around your home and how to tidy them up for good. 

Depending on your lifestyle and type of person you are, you may have a certain kind of mess that accumulates in your apartment.

You’ll probably notice that you struggle with keeping the same places free from clutter. Everyone has these clutter “hot spots,” and there is a pattern in which areas tend to get more cluttered.

If you aim to keep a cleaner, more organized apartment, focus some decluttering energy on these typical hotspots.

Not only will it make an immediate improvement, but having these spots well organized will help you keep your entire home clean.

Ready to tackle the clutter? 

Let’s identify the problem areas to focus on. Once you successfully declutter these areas, you can use the tips provided to keep them organized.

How To Declutter Kitchen Counters

The first step to eliminating mess is always to identify the habits that cause some of the clutter and break those habits.

Instead of putting dirty dishes on the counter, get into the habit of rinsing and placing them in the dishwasher right away. It’s incredible how quickly a couple of cups and plates can turn into a mountain and clutter up your whole counter.

Another habit to break is when you come home and dump everything on the counter. This habit will quickly turn your kitchen counters into an eclectic mix of bags, bits, and bobbles that don’t belong.

Last but not least, you need to address the mail situation. To keep a mound of papers off your countertops, sort your mail right away. Trash the junk and file the rest where they belong.

Fix: Catch-All Bowl

To help combat the constant pile of odds and ends that end up on your surfaces, you can place a big, beautiful bowl on the counter. The dish will serve as a catch-all for items that you don’t necessarily have a set storage place for.

This will replace your junk drawer. Since it’s visible, you’ll take care of it more regularly than the mess in the drawer that’s out of sight, out of mind.

Fix: File Organizer for Paperwork

If you don’t have a plan for paperwork yet, you can use a simple file organizer in the corner near the wall on your counter. Use it to keep bills that need paying or important papers that you need to keep track of.

This will keep them from getting lost or spilled on and help make space on your counters since the organizer holds the papers vertically. 

Fix: Cabinet Organizers

Sometimes, the culprit to counter clutter is simply the kitchen mess that is too difficult to put away.

Do you own a lot of the smaller appliances like waffle makers, electric skillets, and blenders?

If so, your kitchen counter can quickly become filled with machines, leaving no room to work on.

Cabinet organizers allow you to take out and put in small appliances. They usually include some rolling or swinging pull-outs or shelves. Investing in a system like this can help lessen the number of tools on your countertop.

How To Organize the Entryway

What habits can contribute to entryway clutter?

The first is the constant dumping of shoes that you rarely use. Most people have one or two pairs of shoes that they wear regularly, but somehow, five to ten pairs can end up in the entryway.

If you make sure to put your occasional shoes back in the closet, you won’t find yourself tripping over shoes when you come through your front door.

Instead of laying jackets, bags, and hats at the closest possible spot, hang them up right away to keep your floor and furniture free from clutter.

Fix: Extra Hooks on the Wall

If your coat rack or closet is full, having extra hooks on the wall in a conveniently located area will help make hanging things up easier to do.

Fix: Shoe Storage 

If shoe clutter is a persistent problem at your apartment, try finding a shoe storage solution. A piece of furniture that will house all your everyday shoes will help keep this area organized.

Fix: Closet Organization

All too many times, the closet becomes an area to avoid because of the chaos that it contains. It certainly isn’t considered an option to help battle clutter because it is already full.

If you take an afternoon to clear out and organize your entryway closet, you will have a new place to keep much of the clutter that accumulates in the entry.

How To Tidy Bathroom Counters

When it comes to the bathroom, habits that add to the clutter include your morning dash to get ready.

Even when you are late, try to remember to put the toothpaste and toothbrush away immediately. Replace your face wash, lotion, and deodorant to their original position. 

Hang washcloths and towels up after you use them to keep them off the floor or counters and prevent them from getting that musty smell.

Fix: Floating Shelves

Floating shelves are fantastic decluttering solutions. They are a great way to store your bathroom products up off the counter but still at easy access.

Consider installing floating shelves in your bathroom if your counters are always cluttered.

Fix: Organize Under the Sink

If under your bathroom sink looks like a jungle of bottles and jugs, you could benefit from a little organization to tame the mess.

Using bins, baskets, or shelves to organize will help keep this area free from clutter.

How To Straighten Up the Coffee Table

Because the coffee table is right there while we are comfy on the couch, it becomes all too easy to use it as a second kitchen counter. Dirty dishes, garbage, and magazines can pile up here — fast.

One thing you can do to combat this is to use commercials as a cleanup time. It would be silly to expect you to get up every time you need to put something away while you are watching your favorite sitcom.

When the commercials start, get up, stretch your legs, and do a quick clean to keep the clutter down on the coffee table.

Fix: Tray for Remotes

TV remotes, do they give you the slip too?

To keep all your remotes in one place, designate a tray or basket on the coffee table as their home.

Fix: Baskets for Magazines

Magazines are becoming less of a problem since everything is going digital, but we still find a pile begins to accumulate on our coffee table.

Find a cute basket or rack to keep beside your couch to house your magazines and keep the coffee table clutter-free.

How To Clean Dresser Tops

Getting dressed in the morning and making ourselves presentable can get messy. Between the outfits that you try on and the jewelry that you take off the night before, your dresser tops can get cluttered.

If you can simply focus on one good habit to keep this area cleaner, it would be to fold and put away clothes that you don’t end up using.

Fix: Jewelry Organizer

Having a jewelry organizer can keep your dresser from looking like a pirate’s treasure chest.

Fix: Tray for Toiletries

Often, we like to have our toiletries in our bedrooms to use when we are dressing. A few last spritzes or lotion slathers can make you feel ready to go.

To keep these bottles from becoming part of the problem, use a pretty tray to keep them in one spot.

Fix: String Hung for Sunglasses and Hats

If you are a collector of sunglasses, hats, or scarves as accessories, you can use a string on the wall to clip your sunglasses and other accessories.

This will clear up space on your dressers and display your accessories in a way to help you find the ones you’re looking for quicker.

Here’s a decorative DIY if you only have a few pairs of sunglasses that need wrangling.

It’s a good idea to start with one area first and declutter entirely before moving onto the next area. This will make it so that you don’t get overwhelmed and will also prevent any half cleaning from happening. 

It can be all too easy to organize one spot halfway and then see another area that needs work and jump to that one before you’ve finished the first. Before you know it, you’re back to where you started. 

If you adopt these habits, you shouldn’t have to do this again anytime soon. Of course, the best way to ensure that your apartment doesn’t get too cluttered is to keep your belongings to a minimum. 

It may take some time, but if you persist, you’ll have a much more comfortable and clean home by tackling these clutter hotspots one by one. 

Prime Place KSU develops student housing within walking distance to campus. We offer apartments ranging in size from studios to 4-bedroom units. All our apartments have solid surface floors, granite countertops, and in-unit washer/dryers.