The Home Edit: Stay Organized: The Ultimate Guide to Making Systems Stick

by Clea Shearer, Joanna Teplin

NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • From the authors of The Home Edit and The Home Edit Life and hosts of the Netflix series Get Organized with The Home Edit , comes a guide to the most important phase of getting staying that way.

It's one thing to get organized, but how do you make those systems stick? The Home Edit Stay Organized takes the intimidation and hesitation out of the maintenance involved to prevent you from abandoning your once-tidied systems or maybe help you to get organized in the first place!

When you have a system that works, maintenance is a breeze. Think of a silverware It's obvious where each utensil goes, and so everyone in your house should know how to move the forks from the dishwasher to their spot. Often, when you’re struggling to keep your home tidy, it’s because your system is too complex and needs some tweaking—and this book will dig deeper to show you how. Throughout the book, Clea and Joanna reveal the important habits, debunk the myths, address the setbacks of being organized, and new and exclusive images show you how to tackle the hardest and trickiest spaces in each room in order to create a home that's organized for the long term. 

With inventory checklists, tips for getting the whole family on board to help, fans' frequently asked questions, and more, The Home Edit Stay Organized will help you move forward feeling calm, collected, and confidently organized—with humor, relatability, and beautiful imagery to enjoy along the way.

Genres: Nonfiction, Self Help, Audiobook

256 pages, Hardcover

Published September 19, 2023

About the author

Clea Shearer was born and raised in Los Angeles and just recently located to Nashville (what a move!) for her husband's job as an Entertainment and Music Photographer with Getty Images.

Moving her family across the country (TO the country, she claims) has been a huge adjustment, but an incredible experience for her. In Nashville, the stars aligned and she met her business partner, Joanna! Together, they launched a home organization business called The Home Edit.

If you aren't familiar with The Home Edit it's time to get yourself caught up because it will rock your drawers! Since launching their organization business The Home Edit, it has spread through Hollywood from Gwyneth Platrow's playroom to Katy Perry's closet. They teamed up with Reese Witherspoon x Hello Sunshine to produce Master the Mess that gives you a peek into their Hollywood projects, It was so popular Netflix took notice and will be launching a spinoff.

If you need a little (or alot!) of The Home Edit in your life, you can pickup their book: The Home Edit: A Guide To Organizing and Realizing Your House Goals that will inspire you in ways that you just might do it! It's super easy to incorporate their tips with their product line exclusively available from The Container Store.

Although she once called LA home, she loves the food, energy and scenery of the city. Plus, the shopping at White's Mercantile is pretty great.

Prior to starting The Home Edit, Clea attended the Parsons School of Design—okay, we totally know why she’s so talented! Her guilty pleasures include Harry Potter, The Real Housewives of “Anything” and trips to Target. Maybe next time she heads to Target we can tag along and she can spill all of her design secrets – fingers crossed!

Reviews

[Denise · Rating 2 out of 5]

I’m already very organized but always looking for new ideas. None here. The pictures are gorgeous but the idea of ROYGBIV-ing is not practical for much of anything beyond Legos. Clothing, household products, foods and beverages— all appeared to be purchased to fit a prescribed color palette rather than for their purpose. It’s just not real life.

[Melissa · Rating 2 out of 5]

This isn’t a book, it’s a marketing scheme.

[Christine Kayser · Rating 1 out of 5]

I wanted to like it, I really did.

But...like most home organization books, and despite repeatedly claiming to try to meet people where they are, a lot of this is unrealistic. For example, they repeatedly recommend the Elfa storage system, saying it's "really affordable" - you don't know your readers' budgets. C'mon. One glance at the website shows me a single sliding basket drawer can cost as much as $30.

They recommend organizing everything - everything! - by ROYGBIV colors. They admit that doesn't work for everyone, but then reinforce it in every chapter and most photos. They even organize SNACKS by color. Unhinged. They note that one of their kids will tell her they're "out of yellow snacks." What. How is that at all helpful???

They SAY you don't have to buy anything to implement new systems, but then they show each project and what they bought to implement it. They SAY it's about functionality, and then organize books by color (one of my biggest pet peeves about the aesthetic organizers - tell me you don't actually read those books without telling me).

It feels less like a book on organizing and more like a guide for getting the Instagram aesthetic.

[Tegan V · Rating 3 out of 5]

Several key take aways here - the one touch rule, your systems have to work for you, flat surfaces=dumping ground without an assigned job, and doors/drawers don’t keep you accountable without a system. I do think their photos are lovely to look at but who actually has spaces like that and money to spend to keep said spaces that lovely?

[Stephanie ((Strazzybooks)) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

I got a few good ideas and liked the pictures for inspiration (and they are pleasing to look at),
but a lot seemed impractical to me; a lot of the photos are color-organized, but the things they're organizing just aren't realistic and seem bought just to make a nice picture (yes, if I had 300 sharpies color-coded in jars, it would look nice. but why so many?!)

Enjoyed bits of it, rolled my eyes even more.

[Chantel · Rating 2 out of 5]

Okay - do you know why they needed three books on basically the same topic? Because their system doesn’t work. They have inflated self worth and this book was a marketing scheme. More references to products than actual help given. The pictures are beautiful but as with my review on the other two books, these women are impractical and very clueless to real world issues. They do most of their cleaning and organizing for celebrities it seems (can’t forget another book of name dropping) who ALSO wont have real world lives. Pretty pictures but honestly their “anyone could do this” attitude is quite degrading to someone who can’t spend thousands on dollars on their amazing baby bins or have all the free time to categorize our lives by color. We need function. Check out Dana K White or Kristi Clover if you need systems for REAL life. And for God’s sake. Edit your spaces. They call themselves the home edit but they sure don’t teach you methods of getting rid of much… I’m done. Don’t let me read another one. I’m becoming a cynic. 😂😅🫣

[Antoinette Hinrichsen · Rating 3 out of 5]

Maybe I feel this way because I was hoping to learn something new and felt like the content didn’t seem new enough to warrant the same style of book. I still got into it and loved the visuals but if they do another book am hoping they switch up the format from the guided room style and maybe try something new? Like a before/after photo book series of the most challenging orgs with like views into the priorities of their clients they are organizing for would be interesting.

[Angie · Rating 2 out of 5]

All style and very little substance. I had never heard of the authors or their show, but picked it up at the library because it was colorful and I’m always open for new organizing tips.

What I found helpful:
-a reminder that as much as I love my food processor, I’m happier with my kitchen if it’s not on the counter (even though it’s a pain to store because I don’t have cabinet space for tall items)
-and a reminder to check the shelf life of my make up and toss a few items

What I did not find helpful:
-the attitude that all storage problems can be solved by buying more plastic containers—and by more they mean not additional but all new because a system with mismatched containers bought in different decades is not attractive
-the firm suggestion that you toss the potato masher because it’s hard to store and who mashes potatoes by hand. . .umm, I do, and I also use it for jams and other things
-the complaints about sharing a large walk in closet with one’s husband
-the focus on houses built in this century—some of us still have 1970s bifold doors on our closets and late 1990s honey oak kitchen cabinets
-the text mentions that some people only have a cupboard for a pantry, but with perhaps one exception all the photos are walk in pantries
-the excess consumerism on display—so. much. stuff. no wonder organizing is their only hobby, but I just could not relate

I was amused by the rainbow organization. It looks nice, but I don’t own enough items in most categories to create a recognizable rainbow—except books, and I refuse to organize those by color because I want to quickly locate the one I want!

[Kandice · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars

[Jackie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Once the authors said to throw out your children’s belongings if they don’t pick them up I was before. Would you do that to your spouse? Your friends? No. So why would you do that to your children? They also shame people in every section by listing “excuses” rather than seeing that there can be legitimate reasons for disorder. Yes there are lots of pretty pictures and a few helpful tips but nothing groundbreaking. There are so many other organizing books and they’re way better. Skip this one and read those instead.

[Mircah Foxwood · Rating 1 out of 5]

I’m always up for some good tips for making my house more liveable, but this book was disappointing. First of all, sorting everything you own by colour? Not realistic. They even show a tool drawer sorted by colour. Wha?
I certainly would never sort my books by colour! How would you find anything? I have hundreds of books, and they are sorted by category and then alphabetical. I don’t care what colour the spine is.
Their examples feature products purchased deliberately to meet their rainbow colour schemes, and don’t reflect what people would actually own.

[ReGina · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the Home Edit team and this is the third book of theirs I own. However, they all feel like they should be the same book. While there are a few maintenance recs in here, it’s a lot of their initial organizing style with pictures you will never be able to achieve (do people actually have that much white space in their houses?!). It’s a fun and beautiful read, but if organizing is a struggle for you, don’t see this holding the keys to the universe here.

[January · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Home Edit Stay Organized: the Ultimate Guide to Making Systems Stick by Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplins (2023)
256-page Kindle Ebook

Genre: Nonfiction, Home Organizing, Storage, Housekeeping

Featuring: Lots of Full-Color Photos, Introduction, System Vs. Maintenance, Gold Stars, Checklists, Scripts, Room By Room, Systems, Color Coded, Steps, Labels, Above Average Spaces, Low-Bar Lifestyle Long-Term Goals, Need to Have vs Nice to Have, Some Before & After Photos, Toy Tolerance List Test, Common Paper Categories, Emails, Shirt Fold Tutorial, Color vs. Category, Index

Rating as a movie: PG

Memorable Quotes: Maintenance is not one and done. We have found over the years that people are…not totally in love with that reality. Sure, it’s tempting to set up a system and forget it, but hello? Do you live in a museum? Maintenance is the answer to organizing, and the thought of staying organized is what impedes many people from getting organized in the first place. And we promise you it’s not as hard or scary as you think it is!

A Completely Unscientific, In-No-Particular-Order List of Why Maintenance Can Feel Impossible Wrong-for-you system Lack of time Family members not getting on board Old habits dying hard Household having too many things Unrealistic expectations

If it’s hard to figure out what to do with kids’ school stuff—and it just keeps coming! Every day!: Have a box labeled by grade where you put things you may want to keep. At the end of the school year, revisit what you have and decide if everything is actually worth keeping.

THE FUNDAMENTALS CHECKLIST FOR A CLOSET Need to have: Hanging system for clothes that need to be hung Bins or drawers for clothes that need to be folded Storage for shoes Storage for other accessories (belts, jewelry, purses) Nice to have: Shelf dividers Shallow drawers with dividers for jewelry Rotation space for seasonal storage Open shelving to display your favorite items Life coach, therapist, or best friend to call as you try on those jeans that haven’t fit since 2014

Like a Rubik’s cube, an undercounter cabinet can be approached in any number of ways. When it comes to storing pots and pans, though, just as with a Rubik’s cube, there’s really only one final answer: a wire cookware organizer.

My rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️🎒📚📦🗃🗄🚪🧺

My thoughts: This wasn't fun. I liked the ideas, but I had no desire or motivation rise up as I looked at color-coded spaces that obviously belonged in manors and mansions. Some of the advice was good but most of it was very specific to a certain personality type and dull for me. This book cured me of the desire to read the workbook. Just like in the last book, I shuddered every time I saw tons of open paper towels on a pantry shelf. I think The Home Edit team is who The Clutter Connection author had in mind when she spoke of organizers that organize by their personality and not their clients I could be wrong but thinking is free so I can think it.

Recommend to others: Maybe, but only if they want to organize books by color.

[DDog · Rating 3 out of 5]

It’s certainly very pretty, and it’s scratching my itch to Buy All The Things after my move without having to actually spend any money. I’m not sure how much substance is actually there and the examples are rich people instagram porn, not at all realistic or relevant to how most of their readers will be living. Some of the before photos look perfectly usable to me.

A few good tips but they mention editing a lot without actually going into it so I guess this is a book for people already familiar with their brand, which I am not. All the products they say are so affordable are hilariously not. I particularly don’t appreciate the comments about threatening to throw away your children’s things if they can’t keep them organized and how generous it is to allow your husband any space in a closet the size of a bedroom.

[Analie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun book with pretty, inspiring photos! I liked the tips for motivating kids to keep their spaces clean and have ordered some silicone ties for cord management in my office. Granted, much of the content seemed geared toward wealthy clients. (Who has a giant pantry with neat rows of identically packaged snacks and no canned goods, messy onions, or potatoes?) Still an enjoyable read to snag at the local library, though.

[Brianna Tegeler · Rating 4 out of 5]

I wanted this book for the pretty pictures, a few quick tips, and some friendly banter. No new information really from the previous two books, but it’s still an enjoyable read with some good organizational inspo and kind reminders that it’s okay that systems fail and that you’re human. I just enjoy being part of the THE cult!

[Ashley Seguin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I love a good The Home Edit book.

[Rose · Rating 3 out of 5]

Just meh. Solid inspo pics, but I know I don't have the $$ to drop on 100 brand new acrylic containers that I have measured specifically for every shelf in my house.

[Lisa Klenke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Fun and beautiful way to organize-I’m a sucker for home organization books!

[hare · Rating 5 out of 5]

no slander against clea and joanna will be heard

[Melissa Paisley · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pretty pictures to admire. I got a few little tips. But my house will not look like any of these.

[Valerie Reid · Rating 3 out of 5]

HELP! I got pulled in to another The Home Edit ROYGBIV organizational porn book! This book is focused on staying organized and decluttered after the initial effort. Once again it's page after glossy page of items organized by COLOR! It was interesting that they included "Before" and "After" pictures, but to be honest the "Before" pictures looked better than 99% of the drawers, closets and pantries that I've ever seen!

I found some of their decisions so shocking that they were funny: pickles and wine are considered an "unholy marriage" in the refrigerator, so throw away the pickles; throw away your potato masher ("who mashes their own potatoes?"); kids' snacks lying loose on their sides made them feel "sad." Also, make sure that your kids don't choose activities that require bulky equipment that need to be stored in your garage.

There is definitely not much substance in their books, and they rely on pretty pictures to sell their books. Must resist!

Read more of my reviews at https://thegoodreader13.blogspot.com/.

[Christine]

If you are looking for groundbreaking information that adds quite a few new tips onto the original Home Edit book, then this probably is not what you are looking for. Most of this book seems, at my first listen through, to be a condensed read through of the original Home Edit book. There is more emphasis on organizing in a way that is sustainable, and meets you where you are, but most of the tips and tricks are based on their original book. If you don't want to read the original book then this might be a good jump into the Home Edit 'lifestyle' and if you really like it go back and read the first book. Good if you're getting into this organization method, perhaps if you're looking for some action plans or reasons why you are not staying organized. I'd refer people to Cassandra Aarson's books that go over 'clutterbugs' and why you organize the way you do since those books helped me quite a bit.

[Grace · Rating 2 out of 5]

Having read The Home Edit’s first two books, it’s clear to me that this third one is a book too far, in that the content is principally composed of text surrounding the photographs. The textual content is scant, and far too insubstantial to sustain a book - it is more akin to what you might find in a magazine special edition. Also, of the nine areas of the home that form the main chapters for this book, I do not have five of them (entry, laundry and utility room, home office, pantry and garage). Therefore, more than half of the book is irrelevant to me, and to the majority of UK readers I would have thought. I took this book out of the library, as with the other two Home Edition books, so they won’t add to my clutter. I’ve given the book two stars because it was useful to read just before bed, as part of my insomnia-busting mind-emptying strategy.

[Joanna · Rating 2 out of 5]

I just felt like this didn't really apply to the space I have in my house or the things I use/own. The pictures are very pretty to look at, but it seems like they base the items they use/buy solely on color in order to maintain a rainbow organizational system. That's just not feasible to me. Color-coding is the least of my concerns.

While they do have some tips that apply to those of us with smaller homes, they really only show pictures and examples of larger homes. Every picture shows massive pantries/closets/garages/entryways full of what seems like unlimited space. I want to see examples of successfully organized spaces that are of similar size to mine.

I was also hoping for more decluttering tips, but decluttering really isn't talked much about in this book.

[Daniel Hardy · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was a fine book. I didn't know the authors, who apparently have a Netflix show. They seem pretty rigid about the definition of organizing, and that means everything is in matching bins or containers, and organized by color (clothes, food products in the pantry, everything).
Very little of what was contained in here was relevant to me. "If you do it this way, you'll never be able to forget..." My brain simply doesn't work the way they're assuming it does.

[Michelle Brosi · Rating 2 out of 5]

Yes it’s a beautiful idea, not practical for the average person who doesn’t have a walk-in closet or 100sq foot pantry. The part about sharing her huge closet with her husband? She speaks as if she’s so gracious to give him any room, when reality is she has more space than my entire living room. Still got some good ideas but geez they’re so vapid and shallow.

[Sarah · Rating 2 out of 5]

So so so sooo pretty but also not really about systems that work and more a subtle ad to buy more plastic containers! Which I'm always good for, but these dudes are so clever and well spoken I was hoping for more tips and insight than I found. The pictures of organized spaces are gorgeous!

[Danica · Rating 3 out of 5]

Pros: the photos are gorgeous. Every picture is sunshine and rainbows. Literally. Every space looks stunning. The authors have a fun and engaging writing style that keeps the 250 pg book a fun and fast read.

Cons: while the photos and spaces look stunning, I doubt that many of the spaces can be consistently kept beautiful, let alone maintained in the rainbow color scheme. It looked like they bought a ton of extra, unnecessary items just to make the space look gorgeous, but not practical. For example, the fridge looks lovely with every item stored in a bin. But I'm going to get really annoyed if I have to pull out an entire bin and fuss with a lid every time I need to grab one single item. It would probably add 10 min to making a meal just to pull out and de-lid and re-lid and put back all those bins. Also, does a person need 32 cans of drinks in their fridge, just to maintain a visual rainbow? Or 160 mechanical pencils, just to take up an entire shelf in their craft closet, again, to maintain a visual rainbow? Many of the rooms look like shelves on a store, where the store might have 160 mechanical pencils in matching color-coordinated bins...but the average person would come along and pick out 1 of those pencils...or maybe, just maybe, one in every color. But certainly not 30 mechanical pencils in every color stored in your home, taking up an entire shelf in your closet. And who has 24 mini jars of bubbles, in rainbow colors, displayed in multiple rows on bamboo risers? Clearly it's just for the pretty picture and as soon as a kid grabs one of those little bottles it's going to have a domino effect, knock the rest of them down, and the maintenance is a nightmare.

I certainly picked up a tip or two about organization and utilizing storage space, but overall this book felt like its PRIMARY goal was to maintain the visual rainbow, at the expense (in my opinion) of making a space functional.

[Michelle · Rating 1 out of 5]

I debated on whether I should give this book one star or two, and eventually decided on the former. Why? Well... a couple reasons, really.

First off, the only way I can describe this book is...unrealistically aspirational. While the authors insist they can make their systems work for any size space (no, really!), they really only put their principles into practice in only the most extravagant of homes. I couldn't find much to make work in my 850 sq. ft. space, so I can't imagine how this book would work for even smaller.

Second, the book is very..."women are responsible to do the cleaning and organizing" coded. Which is upsetting, because organization and taking care of the home is not really a gendered activity (or at least it's not supposed to be). There's much talk about disorganized kids and husbands and "meeting them where they're at" rather than, you know...billing organization as a daily habit for everyone.

And speaking of meeting people where they're at...there's a lot of talk about making things aesthetically pleasing, and arranging items in rainbow-colored order, as well as decanting things into glass containers and labelling them with label makers or in neat cursive. I can't imagine this is a sustainable or actually productive activity for 99% of the population, rather than just being busywork for the sake of the 'gram. I'm not convinced the "before" example photos aren't staged either; because even the before photos are the regular population's after.

This book is geared towards organizational/aspirational influencers, or mothers with a ridiculous amount of disposable income. Definitely not for the practical-minded of readers.

1/5, glad I got it from the library instead of the bookstore.