Mistakes

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There are many interesting variations of leaf shape, texture and color. Some lovely choices include bear’s breeches, heartleaf brunnera and coral bells. “For the northern half of the U.S., hostas are always beautiful with striking bluish-green foliage,” Whitinger says.

6. Not using trees and shrubs

In winter, plants go to sleep. They lose their blooms and leaves, and turn brown. If you haven’t included trees and shrubs, your garden could wind up looking meager and forlorn. Even small ones create architectural beauty. “I will never

Organize

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She also advocates for changing the name of the junk drawer to the “utility drawer” or something similar, to make it clearer to your household how the space should be used.

Spices

Spices can be controversial among organization pros, with some advocating for stashing the bottles in a drawer, and others opting for a turntable.

Stewart is a fan of both options.

“It’s always nice to put your spices in a drawer next to the stove,” she says, “so when you’re cooking on the stovetop, you can pull out the drawer, and you can see all your spices laying down.” If you don’t have space for that, she suggests keeping the bottles upright on a turntable in a cabinet near the stove.

Marisa Smith of MACmomorganizing in Madison, N.J., is firmly in the turntable camp: “For spices, it’s better to have them on a turntable than just shoving them in a cabinet because when you do that, you can’t see what you have.” tire of witch hazel,” Lau says. “They bloom in the depth of winter — yellow, orange, or red — and they have the most be- guiling spicy aroma.” What’s more, small trees and shrubs provide seeds, and hiding and nesting places for birds.

Pantry items

Thanks to influences like Netflix’s “Get Organized with The Home Edit,” aesthetically pleasing pantries have become a favorite goal for homeowners.

According to Smith, you don’t have to decant every baking ingredient and box of cereal to achieve a happier pantry, but you do have to get rid of bulk packaging for things like fruit snacks and breakfast bars to save space. Store those items loose in bins instead. She also recommends using smaller dividers within larger bins to separate different types of snacks (chip bags from granola bars, for example).

Other pros insist the time and financial investment of decanting is worthwhile for long-term success. “I find that when we go back into a client’s house years later and we decanted their items for them, the pantry still looks stellar compared to just organizing with baskets,” says Stewart. “It can be expensive at first, but it’s a one-time investment that keeps your food fresh while preventing waste and overbuying.”

Under the sink

Professional organizers offer a litany of ideas for handling items like sponges and cleaning products under the kitchen sink.

“Get a large turntable and put that on one side, which allows you to just spin it and get what you need, instead of

Dogwoods, paperbark maples and Japanese maples can form not only a design’s backbone but offer interest with fall leaf color, summer flowers and peeling bark.

7. Planting beneath large trees

Large trees are strong and mighty because they’re good at hogging water, nutrients and space. They have extensive root systems that drain nutrients from the surrounding soil, and their crowns suck up the sun while creating shade for others.

This presents a problem: Even a shade-loving perennial won’t thrive if it doesn’t receive its own light, water and nutrients. Mulch with bark directly beneath large trees, leaving the area free of plants.

having to dig or pull a caddy in and out for cleaning products,” says Teeple. “Then, you want to store your back-stock in the back. If you have two glass cleaners, put the one that you’re not using and haven’t opened up in the very back so that it’s not taking up that precious real estate.”

On the other side, she suggests adding stackable drawers to contain items such as extra sponges. Another trick: Install a tension rod across the back of the cabinet for hanging lesser used spray cleaners.

You can also hang items on the backs of the cabinet doors. “We like using clear, adhesive acrylic containers on the inside of your cabinet door or a cabinet door orga-

Install your new plants about a foot beyond the tree’s canopy, amending the soil with compost to further strengthen the plants against the reach of the tree’s root system.

8. Not watering after the first two weeks nizer,” says Susie Salinas of Systems by Susie in Annapolis, Md. “Those are good for storing things like sponges or brushes.”

After I’ve installed designs for clients, they often water every few days, then drop off after a couple weeks. Or they wrongly assume one day of light rain is enough to refresh a plant. New plants are babies — they need extra love, particularly if they’re in full sun. When the weather is warm, you’ll probably need to water more regularly than you think necessary. Otherwise, that lovely redbud you planted will slowly turn to a scaffold of dry sticks, and you’ll be out a hundred bucks.

Grocery bags

Grocery bags can come in handy — but they can also become a cumbersome mess.

If you can’t stand the thought of throwing the plastic and paper ones out, experts suggest stashing them in a large bin.

Or, Salinas recommends using a product specifically for disposable grocery bags that can be attached to the inside of a cabinet door.

For reusable shopping totes, she opts for a Command strip hook on the back of a cabinet door to hang them.

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