What we thought of THE HOME EDIT series on Netflix

In September 2020, the first season of Get Organised With The Home Edit launched on Netflix. The timing was absolutely impeccable and now just in time for Spring cleaning season. At THE FIFTH COLLECTION, we see home organising as an inherent part of the second hand business. When people start purging their belongings, they will end up visiting sites like ours to intelligently re-home the items that they no longer want.

And because we do have what we sell, we are always on the lookout on how to improve the ways we organise probably what is the biggest walk-in closet in Singapore. Finally, I am personally a little obsessed with having a place for everything and everything in its place. So, after binge-watching season 2, here are few of my takes on THE HOME EDIT METHOD.

PURGE YOUR BELONGINGS

jewellery box organised — Image via THE HOME EDIT instagram

As much as the final look of many of THE HOME EDIT projects are aesthetically pleasing, I still somehow find myself wondering how sustainable those will be in the long run. The Home edit method seems very light on the purging/editing part as many of their clients don’t seem to edit at all.

This makes me want to see the same room a few months down the road - especially the ones that started out extremely cluttered. If you don’t do a proper purge/editing session of your belongings, you will simply be re-organising mess over and over again and will never get the chance to actually enjoy the space the way you wish to. For the editing part, I am definitely team Mari Kondo and do it in the order she recommends it.

PICK A SYSTEM !

walk-in closet — Image via THE HOME EDIT instagram

The team at THE HOME EDIT not only mentioned a system but their forte is definitely in mixing form and function.

You want to take the time to analyse not just how you, but also your household, naturally function. A pantry with decanter canister surely look nice but if you already don’t have much time I would not recommend it. And tagging everything once you found your system is a must, so everyone can understand the system and make sure they put back things where they belong.

I personally thrive on finding the simplest system by grouping items from the same family and tagging and finally I never overstock things. The system needs to be utilisable by all, manageable at all times and more importantly needs to evolve with time to be optimised and not having to do it all over again months after months.

LET’S TALK BACKSTOCK!

rainbow organised bathroom cabinet — Image via THE HOME EDIT instagram

When I heard it the first time, I thought “Genius”! This was followed by why would I clutter precious space with things that are widely available. While organising my kitchen cabinet I noticed that the back stock I had was mostly me not optimising my shopping list as a result I was buying over and over the same thing thinking I didn’t have any.

Instead of making space for back stock, I optimised how we keep our shopping list together. The only thing that did end up as being back stock are the rare ingredients that I can only find when I am back home and stock up on. By having my cabinet perfectly organised, I managed to know how long this stock will last before my next trip or in the case of the last years when it should be available in the care packages that our family have been sending over.

TO SHOP OR NOT TO SHOP?

rainbow organised pantry closet — Image via THE HOME EDIT instagram

One of the risk of watching THE HOME EDIT is that you will have an instant urge to want to shop for what they call “products” - In other words, bins and other organising paraphernalia I will recommend to hold it. This part should only come once you have decluttered and tried to use what you already have. For instance, empty shoe boxes are a great way of creating separation in drawers while still keeping the form.

Finally what makes THE HOME EDIT stands out is the quantity. All of their pantry, closet, arts and crafts project seem to be visual merchandised just like a retail store and that is what gives the wow effect of all their pictures. When you are organising, please don’t add to the clutter by buying more things to fit this mold. You will end up being pleased with your work for only a little time before having to do it all over again with this time quantity in mind.

HOW ABOUT THE RAINBOW?

rainbow of books — Image via THE HOME EDIT instagram

I personally found it a little too much and more likely impossible to maintain and certainly not something that will fit my decor. When it comes to books, I organise mine by genre. However, I totally understand how practical it is to have the rainbow system for a kids room as it will make it easier for them to put back the books right where it belongs - even if they are barely learning how to read.

And in no way will I go food shopping to accommodate the needs of the rainbow organization. Having said that, we did use the rainbow method in THE FIFTH COLLECTION warehouse especially when it comes to dresses. We not only divide them by type, brand etc, but also by colour following the colour of the rainbow. It definitely made picking stock much easier.

There you have it. My take on organisation, and the methods reccomended by Netflix’s The Home Edit.
How about you? Are you currently spring cleaning? What did you think of the GET ORGANISED WITH THE HOME EDIT series? Comment down below!