7 items professional organisers notice within 30 seconds of walking into a home, and how to declutter them

For many of us, having a professional organiser come round, tackle our clutter and bring order to our homes sounds like a dream. But after speaking to several of them, I've realised their expertise isn't just in knowing where everything should go – it's also in spotting the small signs of disorder most of us have become blind to. So, what do they notice first when they walk into a client's home? I asked my experts to share the areas that immediately catch their trained eye, from cluttered entrances to surfaces quietly collecting 'invisible' mess. The good news is that you don't need to book a professional to benefit from their insight. These are the things organisers notice within the first 30 seconds of entering a home, and the areas you can tackle yourself to make your space feel calmer and more organised. Friction points Professional organisers aren't walking into a home looking for signs that someone is messy just so they can judge you. Instead, they're looking for the places where clutter is actively impacting your life. Emma Kenwrick-Meehan from Home Nip & Tuck explains: 'I rarely walk into a home and think, 'This person is messy.' Instead, I'm looking for friction points – the places where the home is making everyday life harder than it needs to be. Those first few seconds usually tell me exactly where the systems are breaking down.' These friction points could be anything from a hallway where nobody has room to put their shoes, to a kitchen worktop that is permanently covered in who-knows-what. They're the areas that repeatedly cause frustration, slow you down or make simple tasks feel harder than they should. I'm sure you can think of a few of your own right now. What to read next Piles of unopened post Getty Images Piles of unopened post are another detail Jo Jacob, professional organiser behind Benella Home Organisation , notices quickly. 'If there are piles of unopened mail, you know there may not be a system for opening and dealing with daily post.' Jo's advice is to make a decision about every piece as it comes in, rather than allowing it to become part of the background clutter. 'Whatever comes into your home needs to be actioned, have a place to go – or it needs to leave.' That could mean opening a letter immediately, putting an important document in a designated folder or recycling something you know you don't need. Just make sure you do it straightaway. The hallway For Emma, the hallway is one of the most revealing areas in a home, because it has to cope with so much daily traffic and chaos. 'The hallway tells me the most because it's the hardest-working space in the house. If it struggles to cope with everyday life, there's a good chance the rest of the home is experiencing similar pressure.' If the hallway is constantly covered in post, bags, shoes and items that belong in other rooms, it may suggest that the home doesn't have easy systems for putting things away. Emma suggests, if you only have 30 seconds, focus on the hallway. It's the first space you and your guests see. Put away anything that has drifted there from another room, clear the floor and hang up any coats that are no longer being worn. You can also put in place super simple storage tricks like hooks or catchall trays, to help items have more of a deliberate home. Transitional clutter Getty Images Not all clutter is made up of things we no longer want. 'One thing I notice a lot is 'transitional clutter' – ie items that are on their way somewhere else but never quite get there. Shopping bags to return, paperwork to file, parcels to post and things waiting to go upstairs don't just create physical clutter; they also act as visual reminders of unfinished tasks,' says Emma. This type of clutter can be particularly frustrating because every item usually has a purpose. The problem is that it has been left in limbo, creating a visible list of jobs that still need completing. Look around your home for anything waiting to be returned, repaired, posted, filed or taken upstairs. Completing one of these small tasks may make a bigger difference than simply moving it to another surface. Items 'shoved' into cupboards Hate to break it to you, but according to Jo, the pros even notice what happens behind closed doors. A cupboard can look tidy from the outside, but opening it may reveal a jenga tower of clutter waiting to topple. Jo says she immediately notices, 'when items are 'shoved' in a cupboard as opposed to being put away in an organised way.' Most of us know exactly what this means. It's the cupboard where everything gets quickly hidden before guests arrive, in a frenzied faux tidying-up panic. The solution isn't necessarily to decant everything into matching containers or create a picture-perfect storage system. Instead, remove anything that doesn't belong, group similar items together and make sure the things you use most are easy to reach. Sometimes it really is that simple, you just have to take the time to address it. The utility room Getty Images The utility room may be tucked away from the main living spaces, but it can still reveal whether a household has a clear and manageable laundry routine, according to the experts. Jo says she hates seeing a 'Utility room showing a mix of clean and dirty clothes with no clear surfaces to sort'. It might sound picky to judge or even to notice someone's laundry habits, but making sure you have functional simple systems in place can make everyday life considerably easier. If clothes are constantly moving between the floor, the washing machine and a chair, it becomes difficult to know what has been washed, what needs washing and what is waiting to be folded. Creating separate baskets for clean and dirty clothes, as well as leaving one clear surface for sorting, can make the room feel and look far more functional. Kitchen counter clutter The kitchen is another area that can quickly reveal whether a home has enough storage or whether its systems are too complicated to maintain. Jo says one of the first things she picks up on in client's homes is, 'Kitchen surfaces and tops of units covered in things shows a home has too much stuff or incorrect storage.' It's a particular bugbear of hers and one that's easy to understand when you consider how much time most of us spend trying to work around cluttered surfaces. Put away anything that belongs elsewhere, remove appliances you rarely use and group together the items you reach for every day. If it doesn't actually need to be in the kitchen, it probably shouldn't be in the kitchen. Jo believes the kitchen should be a priority when tackling clutter. 'It's where most people congregate and somewhere everyone goes to daily so it can get messy quickly.' Clearing the surfaces makes the whole room feel calmer and gives you more space to prepare food, cook, clean and overall just enjoy your home. The most useful lesson from these professional organisers is that your home doesn't need to look perfect. Instead, pay attention to the areas that repeatedly frustrate you. If shoes always pile up by the door, post gathers unopened or laundry never seems to have a clear home, that's where your decluttering efforts are going to have the biggest impact.