Home Organizing as Self-Care

Spring is upon us, and so is the urge to clean, de-clutter and contain. Just as winter seems to encourage us to collect and hibernate, spring compels us to clear the air. And the mudroom. And the bedroom closets. And don’t even get us started on those kitchen drawers.

Springtime is a great season to connect with consumers looking to clean and organize their homes. But it’s certainly not the only one. As people become more focused on mental wellness, there’s a prime opportunity to engage with them year-round on storage and home organizing solutions that may help improve their sense of wellbeing.

An uncluttered and organized house—even the act of home organizing—has been proven to improve mental wellness, reducing levels of the stress homone cortisol and invoking feelings of calm. And in a time when so many aspects of our lives—and certainly the world around us—feel out of control, it makes sense that people are looking for ways to take back some control and create order in their living spaces.

Motivated by Wellness

Home organizing is really a form of self-care, says Clea Shearer, co-founder of The Home Edit. “It does so much for your mind and your whole body,” she said in an interview with Shape magazine last year.

Wellness emerged as the top driver or motivating force for consumers in the 2023 IHA Market Watch Survey—81% of respondents said wellness was very or somewhat important to their daily lives at home. What’s more, mental wellness outranked physical wellness on their list of priorities for the second year in a row, and calmness/managing anxiety tied for the top way they can achieve it.

According to the HomePage News 2023 Consumer Outlook Survey, produced in partnership with IHA, consumers say the areas of their home most in need of organizing solutions are: adult bedroom closets (23%), kitchen drawers/cabinets (17%), garages (16%), laundry rooms (10%) and home offices (7%).

Function First

It’s important to remember that home organizing and storage solutions can be offered at a variety of price points and can be as big as this closet organizer from TRINITY or as small as these self-gripping cable ties from Wrap-It Storage.

First and foremost, any home organizing or storage solution should be functional; that is, it should solve a problem or meet a need. But aesthetics are important to today’s consumers too. Consider attractive options that feed a zen vibe like these collapsible storage boxes from Bigso Box of Sweden or these nesting baskets from Honey-Can-Do International.

And don’t forget to communicate the lifestyle benefit: how using an organization product will make people feel. This may be easier to do online or on social media, but in-store merchandising and before/after pictures can help. Partnering with a professional organizer on home organizing tips or promotions is another way to make your store or products stand out.

The complete 2023 IHA Market Watch Report will be published soon.