Editorial Policy
StaysTidy exists to help people in small, rented and lived-in homes organize in a way that stays tidy. This page explains how our guides are researched, written and updated, so you can judge for yourself how much to trust them.
Our commitments
- Measure first, buy second. Every guide starts with the measurements that decide the solution. We would rather save you a purchase than make one happen.
- Honest about experience. If a product or system has not been tested first-hand, the page says so. We never write "we tested this" unless we did, and we never invent prices, statistics, expert quotes or reader stories.
- What to skip, always. Every buying guide includes the versions to avoid and the situations where the honest answer is "you don't need this."
- Real photos, clearly labelled. First-hand photos are added to guides as spaces are photographed. Any illustrative graphic is labelled as illustrative; we never present a diagram or stock scene as a real before-and-after.
- Affiliate honesty. Some links may earn us a commission at no extra cost to you. Disclosure appears on the page, near the links — see our Affiliate Disclosure. Commissions never buy a positive mention.
How a guide is made
- Research. We study the problem, the measurements that matter, and how existing advice fails in real small homes.
- Draft. The guide is structured around search intent: the direct answer first, then the method, mistakes to avoid, and maintenance.
- Fact check. Numbers, measurements and product claims are checked; anything we cannot verify is qualified or removed.
- Human edit. Every draft passes a human-style editorial review for clarity, repetition and honest language before it is published. AI tools assist with research and drafting; no page is published as raw AI output.
- Quality gate. Guides are scored on usefulness, original value, factual accuracy, readability and fit for the reader. Anything below our threshold is improved before publishing.
- Update. Published guides carry an "Updated" date. When a guide is photographed, tested or corrected, the date changes and the change is reflected in the text.
Who writes StaysTidy
Guides are published by the StaysTidy Editorial Team. We do not publish fabricated author credentials, qualifications or personal testing histories. Where a guide draws on research rather than first-hand work, it says so on the page. Read more about StaysTidy.
Corrections
If you spot an error — a wrong measurement, a confusing step, a claim that needs a source — tell us via the contact page. Accuracy matters more to us than being right the first time, and corrections are made in the open, with the updated date changed.