Nate Berkus's Room Organizing Tips
Are you a revealer, who puts things on display? Or a concealer, who hides it all away? No matter your organizing method, TV's Nate Berkus can fix those clutter-prone zones
In the Office
"Everyone wants more storage," says home guru Berkus, whose Nate Berkus Show is in its second season. But how you achieve it is up to you - and your organizing preferences. The priorities in your home's workspace: keeping files, etc., from piling up and making sure supplies are ready to grab. Here, two ways to deal:
Revealer
1 | A memo board (a fabric-wrapped foam core in a thrift-store frame) tames to-do's, invites, and more. "If it doesn't fit here, out it goes," explains Berkus.
2 | Mounting a DIY shelf - this beauty's made of reclaimed wood and vintage brackets - frees up the desktop and corrals essentials.
Related: 6 Great Nightstands
3 | A clear acrylic sorter (Russell+Hazel) paired with can't-miss-me folders (Paper Source) keeps key files in view.
4 | Woven bins (The Container Store) won't let you hoard too many magazines; less-used files tuck into a felt box (CB2).
Cabriole Leg desk in cinder, $349, West Elm; westelm.com. Zig Zag Jaipuri rug, 4' by 6', $300, Calypso St. Barth Home; calypsostbarth.com. Small water hyacinth bin in natural, $8, The Container Store; containerstore.com. Felt file box, $60, CB2; cb2.com. Turquoise ruler, $5, and yellow tape dispenser, $8, Poppin; poppin.com. Acrylic collator, $40, Russell+Hazel; russellandhazel.com. Sunshine Dots file folders, $7, Paper Source; paper-source.com.
Related: Easy Bathroom Upgrades
Concealer
1 | Binders in coordinating colors (The Container Store) make sense of papers. To use: Divide by topic (e.g., decorating ideas, school-directory materials) and slip sheets into clear plastic sleeves.
2 | Supplies are out of sight but close at hand in a drawer fitted with modular dividers.
Related: Free Up Closet Space
3 | Create a magazine library with labeled holders, like this sleek sorter from The Container Store.
4 | Files find a home in a CB2 cabinet. Folders' colors ("never monochromatic," Berkus says) should correspond to their purpose. Invest in a label maker to keep tabs uniform and easy to read.
"People think getting organized is daunting, but it saves you so much time and energy in the long run," says Nate.
TPS chartreuse file cabinet, $159, CB2; cb2.com. One-inch Stockholm binders in navy, white, and turquoise, $10 each, and Bigso Stockholm magazine file in turquoise, $10, The Container Store; containerstore.com. Natural-fiber tapered drum lampshade, small, $39, Pottery Barn; potterybarn.com.
Learn Nate's tips for the family room, and more!
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