Get Organized with The Home Edit is back with more beautifully organized rooms from design experts Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin. It’s definitely satisfying to watch other people transform their spaces from the comfort of your couch, but what if you want to take the next step (read: actually get up from said couch) and edit your own home? We’ve identified the 10 best tips to help you get started on your next organizing project. 

Brainstorming

1. Figure out what your needs are. Before you touch anything in a room, figure out what purpose that room serves. How do you use certain portions of that room, and are those areas currently organized? All of this comes into play as you’re doing your own home edit.

For instance, when Clea and Joanna edit Danielle Brooks’ bedroom in Season 2, Episode 5, they realize she’s used one spot as her vanity, another spot for keepsakes, another for her closet and for preparing for the day, and, of course, another area for her bed. With that in mind, the Home Edit team creates organized, calming zones, including a beautiful vanity area, space on the walls to display memorabilia and a closet for her wigs, clothes and everyday items that are organized to inspire.

2. Lean into your inner designer. When organizing, you’re not just tidying up a space, you’re also involving your innate interior designer. When organizing singer Kelsea Ballerini’s tour bus in Season 2, Episodes 4 and 5, the Home Edit team goes for a laid-back atmosphere. When you edit your home, think about how you want to feel in each room. Do you also want a beachy vibe, or do you want to enjoy a room that promotes a take-charge energy as you work from home? Do you want a homey feeling or urban chic? Organizing is all about incorporating your personality.

3. Create areas within rooms to suit your needs. Every room can have multiple uses. A bedroom is sometimes an office; a kitchen is sometimes a meeting area. When organizing, don’t try to deny your rooms their identities; lean into them and design them to fit your life. If you use your bedroom as an office, make sure you organize your bedside table to have pens, paper pads, phone charger and other stuff you might need to do your work. If your kitchen doubles as a meeting zone, then possibly create an area where you have organized snacks on hand, ready for people when they come over.

Organizing

4. Color-code important items. If you have a lot of similar or colorful items, like a pantry full of snacks, color-coding can help you keep track of what you have, what you need and what you might need to throw away. When Clea and Joanna help the Hamilton family in Atlanta in Season 2, Episode 1, they turn the family’s desire to promote healthy eating into a color-coded system for vegetables, fruit, grains and more. Color-coding makes your room look more appealing and enticing while also keeping you organized and focused on personal goals.

5. Use clear containers to organize and entice. Using clear acrylic containers is another way to highlight color and make things more accessible. Clear containers help you see what you have, of course, but they also encourage you to use what you have. Visually appealing items draw us in. The Home Edit team successfully use their clear container philosophy with the Hamiltons in Season 2, Episode 1, since their colorful display in the family’s pantry immediately compels the couple’s youngest son to grab a tomato, right in line with the family’s hope of encouraging healthier eating habits.

6. Labels, labels, labels. You can’t have enough labels when it comes to organizing. The Home Edit team use labeling for every project, and rightfully so: You aren’t organizing if you can’t remember where you put something, right? When you tackle a messy room, have your labeling system, whether that’s sticky notes or professional-grade labels, ready for action. Label big groups of items by zone, such as “Bathroom” or “Closet,” then get to sub-sorting; for bathroom supplies, place your makeup, dental products, hair products and other tools in their own bins or containers, and label those containers appropriately.

7. Reduce your doubles (or triples). Sometimes when organizing, you realize you already have too much of one thing. When it comes to cleaning Brooks’ closet, she lets Joanna and Clea know she has too many scarves, blankets, bonnets, shoes and more. Having more clutter than she needs would make her stressed, which is the opposite of what a “me room” is supposed to do. Organizing isn’t just about getting things in order — it’s also about clearing out what no longer works (or works for you). If you come across multiples of one thing that you don’t need — especially if that thing no longer works — don’t hoard. Just throw it out.

8. Don’t be afraid to show off. In Brooks’ home, the Home Edit team realizes she’s casually been hiding her Grammy deep in her closet. She doesn’t display it for fear of seeming less than humble about her success, but Teplin and Shearer tell her that she should be proud and show it off, since it represents her unique accomplishment. If you’re someone who takes modesty to a fault, use organizing as a way to celebrate yourself. Bring out your prized possessions, medals and certificates. You worked hard for your rewards, so use the extra space from organizing and cleaning to give them center stage on your walls or desk.

Christopher Patey/Netflix

Aftercare

9. Don’t blame yourself if you get lax with your systems. Even the Home Edit team admit that their houses aren’t always clean, despite being cleaning and organizing gurus. Their advice is to not beat yourself up when your organizing system fails. In fact, the systems they create are for those moments when life gets too hectic.“

It’s constant maintenance, but that doesn’t mean it’s a failure. We maintain our houses all the time,” Teplin tells Drew Barrymore when they’re invited to organize Barrymore’s TV test kitchen in Season 2, Episodes 1 and 2. Barrymore says that she personally feels like a failure whenever her organized rooms would fall into disarray, but Teplin and Shearer remind her that organizing is a lifestyle, not a one-time thing. Teplin says that because she and Shearer each have two children, their houses get messy. But, she says, because “the systems are in place, it’s easy for us to kinda get it together and put it back.” Organizing isn’t meant to be a new impossible standard to live your life by; it’s meant to help make your life — and cleaning — easier. So if something gets out of order, the answer to getting back on track is simple: all you need to do is use your new organizing rules to make things right again.

10. Keep your organizing lifestyle fun and rewarding. The overarching theme of organizing with the Home Edit team is fun. Embracing your individuality, being creative and taking stock of your surroundings are ways to honor yourself and your life. You deserve a space that reflects you, and you deserve to feel joy as you create that space for yourself. So instead of thinking of cleaning as a type of punishment — something a lot of us tend to do — think of it as your time to focus on creating a space that inspires joy. You’ll be happy you got off that couch.