It's easy for our brains to miss piles of 'stuff' and clutter hot spots in our homes as we quickly grow accustomed to seeing them day in, day out.
Invite guests into your home for the holidays, however, and they will lock onto the clutter zones you've stopped noticing immediately.
The 3 Hidden Clutter Zones Guests Notice Immediately
1. Entryway Drop Spots
Conceal entryway essentials to instantly make your home feel calmer.
Drop zones are a great way to make an entryway more functional from day to day. However, relying on them too heavily (especially when welcoming several guests) is an entryway storage mistake that will make your home feel more cluttered – and guests are sure to notice.
To tackle this, you should invest in storage products to conceal the things that always make an entryway look cluttered, while maintaining ease of access. With those, practice the one-touch rule to ensure items go straight to their assigned homes and don't end up in drop zone piles.
Cathy Orr, professional organizer and co-founder at The Uncluttered Life, urges, 'The shoes at the front door need to be contained so that the entry is clear at all times. It’s easy to accomplish this. For example, there are plenty of storage ideas for shoes at the front door. These include shoe racks, both open and closed, a storage bench, and even a basket.'
Measuring 8x10x11 inches, these handwoven water hyacinth baskets are ideal for concealed drop zones, shelves, and cabinets.
Built with a solid wood frame for sturdy and stable support, it features two layers of storage space to neatly organize 8-10 pairs of shoes.
This enclosed shoe cabinet has fluted doors to allow for breathability, preventing moisture and odors from building in your stored shoes while containing clutter.
2. Coffee and Side Tables
Keep your coffee tables clear for guests to place drinks.
Coffee table decor ideas can elevate a space and tell your guests a little about your interests. However, it is easy for them to be overwhelmed by everyday clutter, such as remotes, chargers, papers, and other knick-knacks, points out Olivia Parks, owner and lead organizer of My Professional Organizer, Northshore.
To fix this, Olivia recommends using a 'styled tray or a simple styled basket. It creates a home for these items and instantly makes these tables look more put-together and organized.'
This raised side tray from Amazon comes in five sizes and colors, ideal for any side table to corral essentials, making them look intentional without hiding them away and reducing access. Pair it with the no-pile rule to keep these essential surfaces free for guests to put down drinks and snacks.
With wavy, scalloped edges, this gorgeous, 100% acacia wood tray is a luxe storage solution in any area of your home.
With a 17" diameter, there's a lot of space for drinking glasses or a few accents to leave on a coffee table or ottoman.
These handy boxes have glass tops so you can see the contents at a glance, keeping your living room essentials easily accessible without them looking messy on your side tables.
3. Packaging Piles
Packages build up in the holiday season, don't let them distract from your decor.
Organizing mail can be tiresome on a normal day, but it is especially important during the holidays when we are receiving gifts and have a higher volume than usual of deliveries arriving.
When these boxes (full or not) pile up in corners to be dealt with later, guests will inevitably notice, no matter how well you try to tuck them into corners.
The first step is to declutter, Cathy urges, 'Bring the packages you receive into the home and deal with them as they arrive to keep from overloading the entry area.'
For boxes you are opening, collapse the packaging and take it straight to your outdoor recycling bin. A box cutter from Walmart makes this quick and easy, and can make it simpler to fit more into your trash bin when recycling collections are altered by holidays. Rather than waste time removing shipping labels, you can use an identity theft protection roller from Amazon to quickly block out your address for easy disposal, too.
For those that you are keeping to gift, wrap them as soon as possible and position them beneath a tree to contribute to your Christmas decor. To save time, you can also invest in large luxury gift bags from Amazon to conceal boxes in plain sight.
Clutter can bring pests into your home. When decluttering and prepping your entryway for holiday guests, consider adding in some pest prevention to stop bugs from infiltrating deeper into your home.
Meet the Experts
Cathy is a cofounder of The Uncluttered Life and the Declutter Deck, recently featured in FabFitFun. She is also a certified master in the Kon Mari method.
Olivia Parks is the Owner + Lead Organizer at My Professional Organizer Northshore, a home organizing company in Mandeville, LA. She and her team work with individuals and families, organizing and decluttering all areas of their homes. Her company has worked with over 500+ clients.
When you are struggling for time, we have the perfect guide for getting a home guest-ready in under one hour, so you and your guests can enjoy your home without feeling overwhelmed by mess.
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