The trend for home organisation has soared in recent years, thanks to a boom in influencers and celebrities showing off their immaculately organised pantries and wardrobes on social media.

As such, many of us feel the pressure to also adopt this overly organised aesthetic without first asking ourselves if it suits our lifestyle. While it might look pleasing to have everything from your cereal to your cotton buds neatly stored in matching glass jars or have your wardrobe arranged by colour, it’s not a level of organisation most of us can maintain on a daily basis.

As a professional declutterer, over-organisation is something Vicky Silverthorn sees time and time again.

“It’s very easy to get carried away with organisation when we’re constantly being influenced by ‘perfection’ on social media,” says Silverthorn, and she says the aftermath of over-organisation often ends in feelings of disappointment and failure.

“As a professional organiser, I send so many unused, unwanted, bought in haste and wrongly sized storage containers to charity shops from clients’ homes. What starts as ‘I’ve cracked it; I’m now organised’ because their pantry looks like a scene from TV soon turns into negative feelings similar to how they felt when the space was cluttered,” she explains.

If you feel like you struggle to keep on top of the organisation systems you’ve put in place in your home, you could be at risk of over-organisation. “It may be time to simplify these systems and make them more practical and achievable,” says Silverthorn. “A simple rule is: the more steps it takes to get something put away or tidy, the less likely you are to do it. Even one tiny extra step, like having to hole punch something before filing it away, can be enough for you to decide in less than a second that you don’t have time to file it at all. That’s why I use drawers for filing – open, put in and it’s done – naturally in date order.”

Here, Silverthorn shares more simple swaps that will increase the organisation in your home without over-organising.

Instead of lining up snacks like soldiers in the cupboard, simply ensure you have a basket dedicated to them – this is still organised.
Before decanting everything into fridge containers, try one and see if it works for you. They can often hinder space if you don’t have a super-sized fridge.
Don’t fill your kitchen cupboards or pantry with containers top to bottom. Instead, choose a few main items that have a faster rotation and organise any other food items as if your cupboard was a shop – neat and tidy. Place new items at the back so you use up older items first.
Subcategorising every item in your home and expecting it to stay like that leads to disappointment. Instead, join categories together and use simple baskets or cubes to store cables, skincare, toys. etc.
Folding your underwear and socks into squares takes time when you can simply give each type a dedicated area within the drawer. Buy drawer dividers to help section off pants from socks.

Over-organising is as bad as mess, says a professional declutterer