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Tag: team: org clean

  • I Finally Found a Fridge Cleaning Hack That Works, and Now I’ll Use It Forever

    I Finally Found a Fridge Cleaning Hack That Works, and Now I’ll Use It Forever

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    The sensible part of me knows that cleaning is morally neutral. But somehow nothing can trigger a flood of self-judgment quite as quickly as my fridge slipping into a state of chaos. It’s ridiculous but human, and I have always yearned to master fridge organization and achieve perpetually perfect shelves.

    In my small kitchen, I have petite countertops and a roomy refrigerator. Unpacking groceries and washing shelves and drawers means that my counter space becomes completely monopolized for a few hours, and combined with a busy schedule, this creates a bad procrastination dynamic. 

    The shelves would get messier, more disorganized, and stickier as I yanked leftovers, sauces, and fresh produce in and out. Breaking point would arrive, at which juncture I would take a morning to empty everything from the fridge; declutter expired items; haul things to the compost heap; clean and dry the interior and all shelves, drawers, and containers; and then put it all back. 

    I felt stuck in this toxic cycle until I stumbled onto a simple hack. I had been dabbling in “cleaning as you go” as a regular practice, jumping on tasks that would take me less effort to do right away than compiling a to-do list for later. One day, I opened the fridge door and decided to clean and organize a single shelf. Exultant, I realized I could easily repeat this over the following few days, without sabotaging my schedule, until the fridge was spotless.

    I realized that if this fridge-centric version of “cleaning as you go” worked, I would never have to wait for a miraculously free weekend to clean my entire fridge — and let the shelves and food fall into an ever more questionable state of decay.

    It’s been a year since I’ve implemented this hack and I can confidently say it works. I now almost exclusively follow what I think of as the one-shelf-per-day approach. Here’s how it goes down.

    My “One Shelf per Day” Fridge Cleaning Hack

    As soon as the fridge starts looking a little rowdy, I shift everything from the top shelf onto the others, disposing of any spoiled items as I run into them. If you have more food than space, you may need to place some items on your countertop, but this could also be a sign that you need a ritual to reduce fridge clutter.

    With the shelf clear, I slip it out and wash the glass with hot water and soap, together with my dishes, and let it dry. After wiping the interior around the shelf, I slide it back and re-pack. The next day, I tackle the shelf below it in the same way, then the next, and so on, until I’m down to the produce drawers. If I’m feeling particularly pumped, I might do two shelves in a day, but as a recovering overachiever, I’m pretty careful not to bite off more than can easily be added to my daily kitchen cleaning tasks.

    There are two other rules. Always work downwards, so you’re not showering crumbs and fridge crud over freshly cleaned shelves, and use a non-toxic, food-safe cleaning solution, such as a DIY-infused vinegar spray or some dish soap diluted in water.

    As you can tell, dreams do come true. I have the refrigerator of my dreams (minus French doors) and never have to block out the bulk of a beautiful Sunday morning to grapple with fridge grime ever again.

    This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Finally Found a Fridge Cleaning Hack That Works, and Now I’ll Use It Forever

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    Daniela Klein

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  • My Grandma’s Fruit Fly Trap Works Every Time and Costs Basically Nothing

    My Grandma’s Fruit Fly Trap Works Every Time and Costs Basically Nothing

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    How to Make a DIY Fruit Fly Trap with Apple Cider Vinegar

    To create a easy, low-cost fruit fly trap, you’ll need a jar or bottle, some dish soap, apple cider vinegar, and plastic wrap. To make the trap, you’ll add apple cider vinegar and dish soap to a jar, wrap plastic wrap tightly around the top, and poke a few holes. The fruit flies will be attracted to the apple cider vinegar and get trapped inside the jar.

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    Meg Asby

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  • I Used a Shoe Rack to Organize My Kitchen Bakeware and I Feel Like a Total Genius

    I Used a Shoe Rack to Organize My Kitchen Bakeware and I Feel Like a Total Genius

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    We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

    I’ve been in an organizational groove for a while now. Tackling closet clutter, turning an awkward pantry into functional space, and making surfaces sparkle (instead of overwhelmed with stuff) has been my jam lately. But there’s been one category in my home that’s consistently eluded me: kitchen bakeware. 

    What’s a lady to do with all those baking dishes, pie pans, muffin tins, and roasting pans? I scoured the internet and scrolled relentlessly on Amazon trying to find bakeware organizers that fit my needs. None fit the bill. I even purchased a couple racks and storage solutions and ended up huffing and sending them right back to the supplier. They felt flimsy, didn’t fit the space, and honestly just didn’t look that great. 

    I gave the conundrum some space for a bit, and then it hit me one day while organizing another area of my home: the shoe rack! A light bulb went off in my head as I realized that this might just be the perfect solution. It was the right size, had multiple shelves, was super sturdy, and looked clean. 

    I did a few quick measurements and then snagged this Bamboo Three-Tier Shoe Rack Bench. The day the product arrived I eagerly put it together, which wasn’t difficult at all. It came with the necessary Allen wrench, parts, and simple instructions. The whole process took about 15 to 20 minutes. 

    Once built, I pulled everything out of my lower cabinet — where bakeware dishes teetered dangerously on top of each other — and got rid of duplicates or unusable items. Then I popped the bamboo rack into the space and began giving every item its own place. I actually ended up only needing the lower two shelves (I repurposed the top shelf in another cabinet).

    Larger pans and dishes fit beautifully on the two shelves and underneath. The shoe rack was so effective at organizing my bakeware that there ended up being some additional space in my cabinet to the right side of the rack, which allowed me to set up an additional small shelf that I had lying around. 

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    Wendy Rose Gould

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  • I Tried the “90/90 Rule” and Fully Decluttered My Closet in an Hour

    I Tried the “90/90 Rule” and Fully Decluttered My Closet in an Hour

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    Every morning, I spend way too much time standing in front of the bedroom closet, flipping through my clothes and trying to decide what to wear. I have a selection of shirts I love but never wear, several pairs of pants that might not fit anymore, and a dress that I don’t like but keep because I spent money to have it tailored — among all the other stuff in the closet, of course.

    This weekend, I decided it was time to clear out my closet clutter so I could spend less time pondering my outfit every day. It was the perfect time to try the 90/90 rule.

    The 90/90 rule was created by Joshua Fields Millburn and Ryan Nicodemus, who run The Minimalists together. It asks two simple questions: Have you used this in the past 90 days? Will you use it in the next 90 days? If your answer to both is no (with the exception of things like seasonal clothes, holiday decorations, or anything used only for a specific part of the year), it’s time to get rid of that thing. The 90/90 rule does not care about your feelings or the grand thoughts you have to enjoy more fondue parties or eventually wear that old T-shirt you love. It’s black-and-white. Did you use it? Will you use it? If not, say goodbye.

    I needed that kind of uncaring clarity in my closet. My husband and I set to work, going through each item of clothing and deciding what to donate. We tried on everything that maybe fit; we went through all the drawers of socks and underwear; and we nitpicked everything sitting on the shelves and hanging on the doors. Any belt that was tearing or too big got tossed. Dress shoes my husband hadn’t worn in two years went in the pile. Shirts missing buttons, shirts that got pushed aside, pants that didn’t fit — all of it went.

    The whole process only took about an hour, and we ended up with two huge trash bags full of clothes to donate. Now, our closet is much more organized. We can both find things a lot quicker, and we both let go of delusions that one day we’d wear certain clothes again. And on the plus side, I found a stack of skirts I’d stuffed in the back of the closet that I forgot about, and I’m excited to wear them again.

    On another day, while in a waiting room for a doctor’s appointment, I tried the 90/90 rule again, but on my phone. I cleared out any apps and games I haven’t used. And I have to say, I feel much lighter after the fact! It’s nice not to scroll through 10 pages of apps just to find the one I want.

    I do have one small piece of advice for anyone trying the 90/90 rule, though. If you’re cleaning out a closet with your partner and they try to toss a shirt you like, don’t take it from them. My husband had three or four shirts to get rid of (including this fabulous warm and thick flannel button-down), and instead of putting them in the donation bag, I put them right into my side of the closet. The point of this exercise is to lose clothing, not gain clothing.

    In the end, though, we do have a sizable new gap in our closet from unworn clothes going to the thrift shop. We also have fewer caps littering the closet doors, emptier drawers inside the closet, and a smaller pile of unpaired socks. In the next few weeks, I’m going to use this method to declutter the rest of the house.

    This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Tried the 90/90 Rule and Fully Decluttered My Closet in an Hour

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    Jennifer Billock

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  • My Dad’s “Circle Rule” Is the Only Way I Clean My House (I’ve Been Doing It for Years!)

    My Dad’s “Circle Rule” Is the Only Way I Clean My House (I’ve Been Doing It for Years!)

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    We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

    My dad, like many dads, has a lot of “sayings,” cute little quips, or metaphors that he throws out whenever applicable. Some of his most oft-repeated advice has helped me live a better life. One such saying is, “Move in ever-widening circles.”

    It was his method for finding parking or a location, and whenever he got lost or our family got frustrated in a busy parking lot, he’d calmly say, “I’m just going to move in ever-widening circles and I’ll find it.” When you zoom out on this advice, it might mean that you should broaden your scope when trying to solve a problem. Don’t focus so much on the small stuff, but methodically and in an orderly fashion, work through your problem from the smallest detail to the most general. 

    I apply this idea whenever I tidy my home. I start in the living room, and as I find things that belong in the bedrooms or office, I don’t ping-pong between the locations. I make piles while still in the living room and then put things away starting with the closest location. As I widen, I may notice other areas that need tidying, but I keep my epicenter static until the entire living room is dealt with. 

    Then I move to another room. For instance, I could move into my son’s room and start at the bed. Moving in ever-widening circles, I’ll toss Legos into bins and gather lone dirty socks for the hamper. Then I’ll go to the next space. This method helps me not get overwhelmed by the enormity of the task and focus on one area of the house at a time. 

    I can also apply “move in ever-widening circles” to finding lost objects. As an individual, I’m great at remembering where I put my things like keys or phone. But living in a home with two busy kids means objects move. If I can’t find something, I don’t look around chaotically, running from room to room. I start where the object is meant to be and look there (it’s amazing how often the obvious is overlooked).

    From there, I move in ever-widening circles, looking around furniture, the floors, shelves, etc. If it’s not in that room, I move on to the next space and widen my search. This way, there’s no stone unturned and I start with the most logical place first, maintaining efficiency. 

    If I or someone else has lost an object and they have no idea where it should be, I start in the place we noticed it was missing and move in ever-widening circles from there. Sometimes, on a busy day, moving out in this spiral motion helps me remember that, yes, I did go from the laundry room to the living room. By reversing the spiral, I hit the location where the object resides. 

    I have noticed that by repeating this phrase to myself as I go, I find things much faster and stay focused on tidying. If I get to the edge of where the object might be, I spiral back to the center and then start over, making sure I make a thorough sweep. While it may seem more efficient to go directly to the various locations where an object might be or, when tidying, where it might go, this method means I thoroughly hit all the possibilities and don’t end up looking in the same place twice.

    This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Follow My Dad’s “Circle” Method to Keep My Home Clean (It Always Works!)

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    Laura Wheatman Hill

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  • I Tried the “Wheel of Chores” to Declutter, and Now I’ll Never Clean Another Way

    I Tried the “Wheel of Chores” to Declutter, and Now I’ll Never Clean Another Way

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    We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

    I can maintain a clean home. I have no problem cleaning the kitchen, dusting, and doing laundry. In fact, I enjoy it. But it’s those extra tasks — like cleaning out my overstuffed T-shirt drawers, tackling a months-old mail pile, or decluttering my extra closet — that I can’t get around to that weigh me down.

    Cleaning (and doing it well) can take all day. For instance, a trip to the laundromat and back is a few hours down the drain. That’s not to mention working a 9-5, daily walks with my dog, weekly grocery store runs, and writing for my fiction workshop. So, after a few hours of cleaning, getting to the bigger tasks always seems to get pushed back to a mythical “next weekend,” where instead of doing any chores at all, my husband and I take full advantage of our freedom and kick those chores down the road again and again. 

    I realized that my inability to do these tasks is about inertia. How could I trick myself into getting started so I could feel the rewards of finally tackling something I’ve been putting off for months? That’s when I saw an Instagram story from my hairdresser, Markee Speyer at Queen of Swords in Brooklyn, using a “wheel of chores” hack she learned from TikTok user Melitsmoi, who has an entire series dedicated to this trick she created.

    In Speyer’s stories, she was using one of those digital “Wheels of Names” tools, where you input names (or in her case, chores), “spin the wheel,” and you have a winner. Instead of a sweepstakes prize, she was putting in the tasks she needed to get done. Could this be the tool I needed to get those chores done? I had to try it.

    How I Tried the Wheel of Chores

    I decided to set up my “wheel of chores” to eight nagging tasks that had eluded me for, embarrassingly enough, months to years:

    The wheel of chores made the first choice for me: declutter my T-shirt drawers. I bravely marched my way into my room, took all my T-shirts out, and began organizing. I used the opportunity to get rid of old, ill-fitting, bleach-stained, or otherwise ruined T-shirts. I also love crop tops for the weekends and working out, so any shirts that I didn’t wear because I didn’t like how they fit, I cut into a crop. 

    Then I organized by size of shirt — big shirts in one area, long-sleeve turtlenecks in another, and cute tops separately. It took me about an hour to get through each drawer and roughly (and I mean that) KonMari folded the clothes. The work was totally worth it — I can now see all of my T-shirts at once, and every time I open my drawers I sigh in relief.

    The next day, I went back to my wheel and hit spin again. I once again bravely marched to my second task of decluttering my extra closet, which serves as overflow space that I share with my husband for longer dresses, fancy clothes, some shoes, and other miscellaneous items. Compared with reorganizing my drawers, this was an even easier task, though no less embarrassing to me to reveal the state of my closet to the internet. First, I had to get the clothes that had fallen off their hangers and onto the floor, and I cleaned out the items that I knew I’d never wear. 

    I had a shocking amount of gift wrap and gift bags on the floor — no doubt from a Christmas of the very far past — that I reorganized into a nice store bag and popped up at the top of the closet. I also took the extra hangers off the closet rack and put them in a bag at the top of the closet, too.

    I moved a few fancy, occasion pieces that are being held in garment bags into a separate closet in my husband’s music studio and reorganized the shoes on the floor. All in all, though, it’s clear I’m no professional organizer. My closet is so much more manageable now, and the process only took about 45 minutes. It’s almost frustrating how easy both tasks were to do and how rewarding they felt when I was done because I had put them off for so long. 

    Of course, the wheel of chores requires some level of discipline and buy-in. No one is forcing me to do the tasks on it except me, and yet, it helped me get over that first round of inertia where I kept putting off these tasks for way too long. Plus, the randomness of it makes me shed the habit I have of thinking chronologically about chores.

    Feeling a sense of accomplishment after getting these extra things done was a real treat. I’m going to keep adding chores to the wheel of chores (organizing our office space is next!) and can’t wait to see what other spaces I transform.

    This post originally ran on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Tried the “Wheel of Chores” to Declutter, and Now I’ll Use it Every Weekend

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    Lizzy Francis

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  • I Tried the “333 Method” to Pack My Carry-On Bag, and I Can’t Believe How Much Space I Saved

    I Tried the “333 Method” to Pack My Carry-On Bag, and I Can’t Believe How Much Space I Saved

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    We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

    While my packing technique has improved thanks to packing cubes, I still default to using a larger suitcase every time. But after seeing TikTok creator Rachel Spencer’s 333 method of packing a capsule wardrobe, I’m ready to start traveling with much smaller luggage again.

    The 333 method is simple: Pack three tops, three bottoms, and three pairs of shoes, then mix and match for at least nine different outfits or 27 different looks if you’re counting the various shoe options, too.

    Now, I can get on board easily with the three shoes and three bottoms, but sticking to just three tops is a bit tricky. I’m no fashionista, but I like to change things up when I’m on vacation, which usually means a different top (maybe even two!) each day. But after seeing Spencer curate a whopping 19 outfits out of her nine pieces, I realized that it was possible to change up my look without overpacking. I watched her video about half a dozen times and took notes.

    Spencer selected tops that could be layered or stand-alone for different looks. For example, she wore her cardigan buttoned up, open, and even flipped around so it looked like a pullover. She also selected a basic white tank as one of her tops, which made a great base layer, and her trio of shoes could be worn with every outfit to dress them up/down accordingly.

    How I Used the “333 Method” to Pack My Carry-on Overnight Bag

    I was inspired by Spencer’s careful curation of her tops, especially her strategy of using button-downs to create multiple different looks. So here’s what I dug out of my closet for an upcoming trip.

    I mixed and matched a few and found that, yes, there were at least nine viable outfits there, and zipped it all up in one packing cube. I packed everything in my new overnight bag. Well, now it’s officially a nine-day bag because it fit the shoes in the bottom compartment and had plenty of room up top for my single packing cube and the rest of my items, including underwear, pajamas, toiletries, and a smaller makeup bag — no way I’m traveling with a half-dozen different lipsticks now that I can change up my look so easily!

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    Barbara Bellesi Zito

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  • The First Thing to Do When You Open a New Roll of Paper Towels

    The First Thing to Do When You Open a New Roll of Paper Towels

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    Shifrah Combiths

    With five children, Shifrah is learning a thing or two about how to keep a fairly organized and pretty clean house with a grateful heart in a way that leaves plenty of time for the people who matter most. Shifrah grew up in San Francisco, but has come to appreciate smaller town life in Tallahassee, Florida, which she now calls home. She’s been writing professionally for twenty years and she loves lifestyle photography, memory keeping, gardening, reading, and going to the beach with her husband and children.

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    Shifrah Combiths

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  • I Sent a Pro Organizer a Photo of My Messy Pantry Drawer — Here’s How She Fixed It

    I Sent a Pro Organizer a Photo of My Messy Pantry Drawer — Here’s How She Fixed It

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    We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

    My pantry drawer dedicated to back-stock items is out of control. It holds all the grocery duplicates I inevitably add to my cart, plus the Subscribe & Save products I can’t remember to cancel. I organize it periodically and swear I’ll keep it contained, but then King Arthur Flour goes on sale and I buy two five-pound bags because I have no choice.

    I needed help, so I called one of my all-time favorite organizers, Stephanie Treantos, founder of Lemonaid Solutions (@lemonaidsolutions), a premier luxury home organization, staging, and styling firm in Maine. Treantos never minces words, and she quickly and efficiently diagnoses my problems, offering smart solutions every time. I couldn’t wait to learn the secret to a successful back-stock drawer. I was not prepared, however, for her shocking advice: Ditch the back stock entirely. 

    “The problem is … your zones,” says Treantos. I was storing flour in four different locations in my kitchen (seriously). Extracts were three steps away from the brown sugar. My back-stock drawer was taking up valuable pantry real estate — basically screaming to be turned into a baking drawer — but I couldn’t see it. 

    My Objections to Eliminating Pantry Back-Stock Items

    I trust Treantos entirely, but I had questions and concerns. Here’s what she had to say.

    “I throw out thousands of dollars’ worth of food [in my clients’ homes] because it’s expired,” says Treantos. Any savings gained at the time of purchase are lost with the wasted food. 

    I actually use my back-stock items! 

    Treantos asks if storing a year’s worth of flour is really the best use of the space. “You still have to go to the store,” she reminds me, and with a teenage boy in the house, our milk runs are pretty frequent. A two-week supply would be more than enough. 

    I will always have an extra bag of flour on hand. 

    The biggest aha moment in the call came when Treantos redefined back stock for me. I explained that I will always have flour waiting in the wings because I don’t decant until my flour canister is truly empty. “One extra isn’t back stock,” says Treantos. “Back stock is three or more.” 

    Where will my extra groceries go if I don’t have a dedicated space?

    Here’s the ingenious thing about eliminating back stock: If I need to know if we’re out of coffee, I only have to look in one space. All of the coffee is stored together — both the beans I’m using and the unopened bag. There’s no need to dig through my back stock. For the flour problem, Treantos told me to make space in my baking zone for the bag I always have on hand.   

    How to Declutter Pantry Back-Stock Items

    Convinced? Here’s how I applied Treantos’ advice — and how you can use it, too. 

    Shop for the space you have.

    I live in a large house, but (I now know) I do not have a pantry conducive to a Costco lifestyle. “Shop for the space you have; I will die on this hill,” says Treantos. If you’ve been thinking about ditching the Costco membership, this is your sign to go for it. 

    Consider how you actually interact with food. Everyday items get priority placement, and each zone should contain only one category of food items. “If you’re making a snack, you should only have to open one [pantry] drawer,” says Treantos. 

    Shelters, food banks, charities, and Buy Nothing groups will all happily accept your unexpired back stock. 

    If you must have back stock, choose mindfully.

    Every summer I stock up on truly life-changing strawberry jam from a local farm. To survive winter without a jam shortage, I need to make space for a dozen jars. “That’s OK,” says Treantos, as long as I’m deciding mindfully what items make sense to store in bulk. 

    Benefits of Eliminating Back-Stock Items

    Now that I only “buy what [my] house can hold,” shopping trips are quicker, and unloading is a breeze. This morning I made scones using my new baking drawer, and I was shocked by how quickly everything came together. My children’s snacks are all in one place, and now I rarely hear, “Mom, I can’t find my Inner Peas!” (which is sort of a shame, but I have plenty of other opportunities for chuckles.)

    If you had asked me before the call if I could function without back stock, I would have laughed. But now I agree with Treantos: “If back stock isn’t working, eliminate it.” 

    This post originally appeared on Apartment Therapy. See it there: I Sent an Organizer a Photo of My Messy Pantry Drawer — Her Advice Shocked Me

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    Meg Asby

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  • 5 Products That Eliminate Odor, Not Just Mask It

    5 Products That Eliminate Odor, Not Just Mask It

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    We independently select these products—if you buy from one of our links, we may earn a commission. All prices were accurate at the time of publishing.

    This year, my family and I moved into our new house in Tennessee. It had been sitting vacant for a while, and therefore, smelled a bit stale. We’re also a household of seven, including two dogs, a cat, and three little kids who play lots of sports. This means there’s a lot of smells going on in our home.

    I really don’t want our home to smell bad. But I know that you can get used to the way your home smells, so much so that it can be difficult to distinguish whether or not it’s an unpleasant scent. That’s why I try my best to identify what it must smell like to our guests by taking it all in when I walk in the door after being outside.

    Additionally, while I like lighting candles for the ambiance they provide and diffusing essential oils for their gentle aroma, I prefer to not mask household odors and instead neutralize them.

    After trying several different things, I think I’ve figured out a way to deal with all the particular odors that can be an issue in our home. Here are three odor eliminating products I’ve found that keep my home smelling presentable.



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    Shifrah Combiths

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