Lighting: The more clearly you can see a space, the more organized it can be. Lighting can make a dramatic difference in how your feel about a space. Use natural light from windows and skylights whenever possible, but keep your catch all spaces well lit, bright, and cheery. Windows are especially important in a laundry room or home office as they create air flow and bring in new life. You can also dress up your catch all spaces with the lighting fixtures you use. Make the space worth spending time in by lighting it well.

Everything has a place: Spaces like your laundry room or a closet are often used for storage as well as their primary function. To get things functioning properly in the space, everything you are storing should have a place. Start following this design idea by clearing your storage space of everything. Take an inventory of what you are storing and throw out anything that you don't need or use. Start replacing your storage in the order of least used to most used items putting your least used items on top shelves or in the back of cupboards and your most used items in accessible places. Make sure everything has a specific place to be stored. There are hundreds of storage solutions from baskets to organization systems, so find the one that will work best for you. The more you can put things away behind closed doors, the more orderly your space will look. Remove unnecessary clutter from counter tops and open shelves. When everything has a place, there is no such thing as clutter.

Create a seating area: If your catch all space is large enough, for example in your laundry room, create a seating area so you can relax while you use the space. If it isn't large enough to create a seating area, arrange a multi-functional spot that can be used to sit down and rest. Creating a sanctuary in your catch all space will help you to maintain an organized look. You won't want to relax in an environment that is a mess so encourage yourself to keep it clean and organized by creating a seating area and give yourself a chance to rest by having somewhere to sit.

Give it personality: Like any other space in your home, you won't want to spend time there if you aren't comfortable in the space. Dress up your catch all spaces. Give them personality and life by painting, decorating, and bringing in plant-life. A dead space becomes disorganized while a living space creates flow and function as well as relaxation and enjoyment. While some of your catch all spaces are work spaces, they shouldn't be a sterile or uninteresting environment if you plan on spending time there. Even a closet can be dressed up with paint and decoration to make it an adventure every time you open the door. The function of the space may create messes, but the life in the space will encourage organization.