An organised home is a happy home, but are your organising solutions (or lack of) making your home look more cluttered? From trying to do it all at once to bigger problems such as kitchen shelf carnage, these are the culprits that can make your home look messy and the expert solutions to rectify the misrule. Click or scroll through for more...

No matter how much shoe storage a hallway has shoes always seem to end up on the floor. Here's a top tip from professional organiser Alejandra Costello. "Put a basket by the door to toss shoes inside. If the shoes can make it inside, it can make a huge difference". Then, empty the basket every couple of days and rehome the shoes to the correct shoe box or cupboard. 

Keeping too many coats in the hallway creates a cluttered first impression. Plus, rummaging through mountains of denim jackets, winter coats and rainmacs to find appropriate outerwear is stressful especially when running late. Make outings easier by only hanging one or two season-appropriate coats for each family member in the hallway. Perhaps keep an extra in the wardrobe but then label and store the rest and switch as the season changes. 

It's good to have a family home organisation hub, but a fridge front full of magnets, Post-Its, photos and reminders makes for a big messy focal point in the kitchen. "Instead, keep one clipboard...with all reminders and lists you need. When the clipboard is full, that's your maximum number of papers you can keep", advises professional organiser, Jeni Aron from Clutter Cowgirl.

Too many small appliances and utensils can make even a well-designed brand new kitchen look in disarray, creating visual clutter. Organising guru Marie Kondo advises keeping the kitchen free of items for easy cooking and cleaning. She advises: "Keep work surfaces clear and try to store all ingredients and utensils in cupboards or on shelves".

Multiple bottles, cloths and sprays can create a cramped and muddled mess underneath your sink. Make cleaning easier by safely storing supplies in other rooms too. For instance, keep bleach and bathroom cleaner stored out of reach from children in the bathroom. Laundry supplies can be kept close to the washing machine and a dustpan and brush are handy hidden away in the hallway for excess mud that may have come in with pets and shoes. 

As much as a minimalist home sounds idyllic, accumulating stuff is in our nature. Avoid the crowded feeling by adopting the 'a place for everything and everything in its place' mantra. Giving practical possessions a 'home' stops it from becoming clutter and it makes it easier for the whole family to get involved when clearing things away. 

Glass-fronted kitchen cabinets can be a kitchen asset, but not so if they are crammed full of mismatched crockery. Use the display cupboards to your advantage by sticking to complementary colourways and stacking the same items together.

All those bits and bobs may be out of sight and out of mind when the drawer is closed but it will soon be a problem when you are looking for a tape measure that was stashed in there. Have a clutter cull to get rid of items that haven't been used in a while. Then, divide the drawer diagonally for the best use of space or fit an expandable cutlery organiser for a perfect fit. 

Open kitchen shelving is a hot trend right now as it enhances the sense of space and can look super stylish. However, filling them up with too many items can have an adverse effect and make the kitchen look cramped, cluttered and messy, so use open shelves for often used items only. Plus, without the protection of closed doors, crockery and containers are exposed to dust particles and grease splashes so more cleaning is required.

Hobbycraft Content Editor, Aisha Green believes a kitchen without labelled storage simply isn't productive. After all, if you have decanted out everything and not labelled the jars and canisters it could take twice as long to find what you need. "Labelling has become somewhat of an addiction – I've even labelled the fridge", she says. A Cricut machine will make labelling storage fun and easy. 

When it comes to organising what's left after a declutter don't forget areas other than eye-level as there is plenty of storage space to be had for items less used. "A lot of times we forget to pay attention to access points" says Jill McMeekin founder of J.Ryan Solutions. "This means that the easier a drawer, cabinet or closet is to access, then the stuff that lives there should be used a lot". 

Different height shelves give you lots of storage options. But, books, magazines and general bits and bobs on all the surfaces can soon make a small room look claustrophobic. Instead, take advantage of closed storage. Mix in files and boxes amongst decorative objects to hide away the small and messy items you need but do not want to display.

Gallery walls are super popular and can be visually stunning when hung right. However, getting the balance right can be tricky and there are lots of mistakes that can be made if the wall is not planned and measured properly. While it's great to get that pile of prints and photos out of boxes (or off the floor) inconsistent spacing, fussy frames and overloading the wall can all lead to unbalance and an disorderly exhibit. It's better to stick to one or two colours of frame and to go for larger pieces rather than lots of small frames.

Sideboards, shelves and console tables are ideal surfaces to display your wares. But, without sticking to certain rules your curated shelf can soon look completely covered and chaotic. Instead, stick to the rule of three (or odd numbers) and make sure there is plenty of breathing space around each group. 

Pets can make a house a home, but that can soon turn into a mess if it's not pet-proofed properly. Allocate space for their things too. Keep chew toys in a basket next to their bed and then keep shampoo, leads and an outwear (yes pets have clothes too these days) in a closed basket in the hall. 

Do piles of paperwork on the dining room table or kitchen breakfast bar sound familiar? Just because they are neatly stacked doesn't make them welcome in a tidy and organised home, as clutter simply attracts more clutter. Cassandra Aarssen owner of Clutterbug advises dealing with short-term paperwork and filing long-term documents straight away.

Thanks to the pandemic, working from home is becoming the norm. Enjoying worklife in the comfort of your own home has many perks but also a few cons; one of which is the mess it can bring with it. It's vital to create a work area that can be put away at the end of the day or you could end up with a permanent pile of paperwork and Post-It notes in the study, or worse still, the dining room table. 

An organised home takes time to achieve but once committed you will soon reap the rewards. We live in a consumer society and are bombarded with marketing that is designed to make us buy more stuff. If you can sidestep this and learn to live with less your home and mind will become less messy and easier to organise and tidy. Ruth Friend, Resident Services Manager at Graingers Plc says: "The home simply cannot be clean if you're stocking up on unwanted items that take up space, collect dust and make a room look untidy".

A bedroom accent chair may look desirable when perfectly positioned in a bedroom magazine shoot or staged estate agent listing shot. But, unless you are super disciplined chances are it will soon be used as a fancy laundry pile stand or worse still dirty laundry bin. Also, unless you are blessed with a large bedroom it can make the space look cluttered too. Avoid creating a chair-drobe by omitting a chair in your bedroom altogether, or be ruthless and either pop worn clothing in the laundry or hang it back up.

A wardrobe with just a rail for clothes is a complete waste of space: clothes and belongings will soon turn into a mountain of mess. Organisation and additional storage aids are the keys to making the most of every inch of space. Professional organiser, and owner of Space Camp Organising, Julianna Strickland says: "Donate, trash and recycle things you don't need. Devise and store similar items in zones. Arrange zones by real estate value".

Do you say 'yes' every time a cashier asks if you'd like the hanger on shopping trips? From now on just say no! Plastic hangers in different shapes and sizes will make the rail look higgledy-piggledy. Elika Gibbs of Practical Princess explains why. "I like matching hangers because then you are not distracted by a messy wardrobe", she says. Good quality hangers with rounded edges will give your wardrobe a boutique feel rather than look like a boot sale. And lastly, create a system that works for you. Make sure garments you use regular are in easy reach, even if the look is not Instagram-ready.

Homeowners with children will know how easy it is for kids belongs to stack up. Sooner or later toys seem to have taken over your home. Avoid this by having a toy cull before Christmas and birthdays, then invest in some storage solutuions. Or, put some toys away and start a carousel system – children love the surprise of toys they've forgotten about so they seem new again. 

Just one laundry basket can mean time is often wasted picking up dirty clothes from bedroom floors. Allocate a laundry basket for each family member that they are responsible for. Other rooms that can benefit from a laundry basket are utility rooms, boot rooms and bathrooms. 

Professional organiser Vanessa Hayes finds that buying organisers before you've decluttered only adds to the huddled home headache scenario. "Instead, you need to edit your stuff first, then decide on products to help you organise what's left", she says. Then measure up the storage spaces you have to work with. If you buy too many boxes you might be tempted to fill them all and keep more of what you don't need. 

Just because you have decluttered once doesn't mean items won't soon pile up again. Try to allocate time each season to keep on top of what's come in during that time. It will keep decluttering and donation drops manageable and is good for your well-being too. "The fantastic thing about having a thorough clearout and clean is that after you've finished you have a visual reminder of how you have spent your time, and this automatically feeds back how efficient you have been", psychologist Emma Kenny told Kitchenware company Brabantia.

Wheelie bins and recycling boxes are a home necessity for keeping waste out of your home but having them on show in front of the house can be an eyesore. Create more kerb appeal with a practical and attractive bin shed that will disguise the ugly trash cans as well as protect them from blowing over and spilling rubbish out onto the path. 

Try not to bite off more than you can chew. "A common challenge when organising at home is being overly ambitious. Instead of creating mini-projects and taking small steps, people try to do too much at once", says Linda Samuels, professional organiser at Oh, So Organized. Timed smaller projects, such as regular 15-minute bursts, will keep the motivation going.

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