What Happens When You Stop Organizing for Storage—and Start Organizing for Habits Instead

Social media is a treasure trove of all-things-organization. From those clear, labeled bins in the pantry to shelves full of chic rope baskets, it’s easy to start pining after organization hacks that look aesthetically pleasing or work for someone else’s family.

But by copying these organization solutions, are you overlooking the way that you need to feel organized in your own life? Perhaps you need to get more specific with your organization habits, or maybe your old ways of organizing aren’t holding up anymore.

Organizing for Daily Habits

Straightforward storage is just putting things in bins and baskets—that doesn't mean it’s all organized, says certified professional organizer Robyn Reynolds.

“For instance, if you happen to take your shoes off when you enter the house, that means you have a collection of them at the entryway,” she says “Even if you keep them in a basket or bin, they might still be unsightly.” Alternatively, organization systems are habits that you follow each day the same way, she explains.

Organizing for your unique daily habits is where organizing becomes sustainable and not just beautiful, says Barb Mickits, founder of Edit & Organize. “By working with your natural tendencies, managing clutter takes less effort, and it’s much more likely that you’ll be successful because you've designed a system that works for how you live,” she notes.

What Are “Behavior Zones”?

Behavior zones are spaces that support your desired behaviors instead of ones that merely store belongings, explains Mickits. They are a key element of what makes organizing around habits successful.

“Behavior zones are areas of your home where the design encourages a specific activity or habit,” she says. “By putting all the things you need to do this activity together where you naturally use them, it’s easier to maintain your home and keep good habits.”

How to Organize Around Habits

✔️ Pinpoint the problem areas. Start by “observing the paint points in your daily routines,” says Mickits. “For a week, use a note in your phone to track when things don’t work well in your daily routine, whether it’s getting ready in the morning, getting kids out the door to school, making dinner, or bedtime. It’s nearly impossible to improve a system in the middle of a chaotic morning rush, but by naming these pain points, you can later reflect on them to identify patterns and create organizational systems to make daily life smoother.”

✔️ Note the spots where clutter gathers. “Every home has areas where items naturally pile up, whether it’s by the front door, a mudroom, or on the kitchen table,” Mickits says. “Rather than fight the clutter in these spaces, lean into them and think about how to redesign these spaces to better support how you live. For example, if backpacks are always on the entryway floor, consider adding hooks. If mail and school papers are cluttering up the kitchen counter, you might add a basket to contain them.”

✔️ Create you’re family’s “behavior zones.” To set up behavior zones in your own home, consider specific possibilities. For instance, set up a “reading zone” with a designated comfortable chair, a basket for current books, and a small table with a lamp and space for your reading glasses and cup of coffee, says Mickits. Or make “craft zones.”

Have a basket set aside for each of your creative hobbies where you’ll have all the supplies you need, she recommends. Brainstorm other ways you can add these behavior zones to your home that will help you and your family.

Shelby Deering

Contributing Writer

Shelby Deering is a freelance lifestyle writer who frequently covers home design and decor for national publications. She has worked as a full-time freelance writer for over a decade, and has worked in the industry for nearly 20 years, writing home tours, interviewing top designers, and beautifying her own home. She holds a master's degree in Journalism and Mass Communication from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, and when she's not writing, you can find her at thrift stores and flea markets, running, or exploring local trails in Madison, Wisconsin, with her husband and corgi, Dolly.