\u201cYou should only buy organizational tools after you declutter,\u201d says Effy Nicopoulos, the founder of Organize That<\/a> and one of 20 certified KonMari consultants in Canada. \u201cDon\u2019t even attempt to figure out how to store your stuff until you declutter and know what you\u2019ll be left with. You might find you don\u2019t want half of your clothes anymore and so you don\u2019t need a new box full of hangers.\u201d<\/p>\n Organizational tools can easily add to the clutter in your home. That\u2019s why Nicopoulos is incredibly selective about the products she uses to organize her clothes, pantry goods, kitchen utensils and more. Here, the professional organizer shares the eight organization tools that spark joy in her home.<\/p>\n Nicopoulos has conducted over 300 tidying sessions and always brings green painters tape and Sharpie markers for quick and easy labelling. As you start decluttering, you might find batteries in the garage, the upstairs closet and the junk drawer. Instead of putting them back where you found them, you should store them with other like items in a box labelled \u201chome maintenance,\u201d until you can find a designated home for everything.<\/p>\n\n Sterilite storage bins are stackable and come in various sizes from shoe boxes to 30 liter bins <\/a>and larger. \u201cI like these a lot because they\u2019re see-through, so you know what you\u2019ve put away,\u201d says Nicopoulos. \u201cOne of my clients was a mom with a lot of baby clothes and she was planning to have another child,\u201d she says, \u201cWe stored the clothes in Sterilite bins and then labelled them 3-6 months, 6-12 months, and more.\u201d<\/p>\n You should avoid using baskets to organize your items. \u201cBasket are lovely as a decorative item, with a blanket in them,\u201d she says. \u201cTo use a basket as a catchall for paper and other bits and bobs is a disaster. It looks messy.\u201d<\/p>\n Nicopoulos has an extremely curated wardrobe and she likes to keep her clothes on wood hangers <\/a>to make her closet feel like a beautiful, merchandised store. \u201cSome people prefer velvet hangers, especially if you have a lot of clothes \u2014 for some, clothing sparks joy,\u201d she says. Velvet hangers<\/a> have a slim profile so they won\u2019t take up a lot of space in your wardrobe and the clothes won\u2019t slip around.<\/p>\n After coming home from the grocery store, Nicopoulos takes dry goods out of their boxes (she calls this \u2018decanting\u2019) and puts them in OXO Good Grips<\/a> food storage containers before stowing them away in the kitchen pantry. \u201cI try to decant everything in these containers \u2014 oatmeal, pasta, even my tea,\u201d she says. Since they\u2019re see-through, you\u2019ll always know how much you have left. Plus, they\u2019re stackable, which keeps your cupboards uncluttered.<\/p>\n Instead of keeping her cooking utensils in a jar on the counter (which adds to the visual clutter in your kitchen), Nicopoulos lays cooking utensils flat in her kitchen drawers. She keeps everything separate and organized with customizable drawer dividers from Lipper. <\/a>You can also use them in your drawers to separate clothing, undergarments and office supplies.<\/p>\n What\u2019s Nicopoulos\u2019 secret to a tidy home? In every drawer, you\u2019ll find bins keeping like items with like. The pro loves black fabric boxes for her shirts<\/a>, shallow, transparent drawer organizers to cube off spices, stationary, medication or any other small item, and old shoe boxes to corral things like craft supplies, makeup and electrical cords. Nicopoulos also keeps the boxes that all of her eyewear glasses come in since they\u2019re the perfect size for her kitchen drawers.<\/p>\n Store your purses within other purses, and corral luggage bags within larger luggage bags. Nicopoulos also keeps one luggage bag in her house filled with birth certificates, wills, passports, a first-aid kit, and other in-case-of-emergency items. If her family ever has to leave the house in a hurry, this bag is the only thing she\u2019ll need to grab on her way out.<\/p>\n You\u2019d be amazed at the organizational tools that are already in your house. Before running out to The Container Store, keep your eyes peeled for shoe boxes, large jars and bins you already own.<\/p>\n A KonMari consultant shares the eight organization products that spark joy in her home.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":38,"featured_media":196383,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_is_hidden":false,"apple_news_is_paid":false,"apple_news_is_preview":false,"apple_news_is_sponsored":false,"apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"middle","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":["https:\/\/u48r14.digitalhub.com\/sections\/09b86915-7d2b-3acd-915b-b215002d01b7"],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[11115],"tags":[11227,11129,11180],"coauthors":[10245],"apple_news_notices":[],"yoast_head":"\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Organize-That-Marie-Kondo.jpg\")
<\/a>Effy Nicopoulos from Organize That. Photo: James Bombales\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n1. Painters tape<\/h2>\n
2. Sterilite storage bins<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/8-organization-products-this-Marie-Kondo-consultant-can\u2019t-live-without-sterilite.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: upandorganized\/Instagram<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n3. Good quality clothing hangers<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/8-organization-products-this-Marie-Kondo-consultant-can\u2019t-live-without-clothing.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: goodriddanceyyz\/Instagram\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n4. OXO Good Grips food storage containers<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/8-organization-products-this-Marie-Kondo-consultant-can\u2019t-live-without-OXO-containers.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: oxo\/Instagram\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n5. Lipper Bamboo Dresser Drawer Dividers<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/Lipper-drawer-dividers.png\")
<\/a>Photo: Lipper International Inc.\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n6. Bins and shallow boxes to compartmentalize items within drawers<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/from-great-beginnings-marie-kondo.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: fromgreatbeginnings\/Instagram<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n7. Nest items within your bags<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/8-organization-products-this-Marie-Kondo-consultant-can\u2019t-live-without-Luggage.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: organize.that\/Instagram\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n8. Look for items you already have in your house<\/h2>\n
![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.livabl.com\/articles\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/10\/marie-kondo-organizing-products.jpg\")
<\/a>Photo: organize.that\/Instagram\u00a0<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n