Organization, there’s something so easy and so perfect about it. You find what you’re looking for when you’re looking for it.
If you are like me, you want to organize your home. But the thought of tackling all that clutter can feel overwhelming. Fortunately, there are some simple ways to make this process easier. Here are some tips that work for me:
First, sit down and make a plan.
When you’re ready to start organizing, the first step is to make a plan. Think about the things you have and the things you want. Do you want more space for your clothes? Do you need more room for your kids’ toys? Are there items in your home that are taking up valuable space but aren’t necessary? Then, sit down with a pen and paper, open up a spreadsheet on your computer (or both!), and write down everything that comes to mind.
Your list should include everything from clothing to furniture–anything that takes up space in your home. If something on this list doesn’t fit into one of those categories but still takes up too much room, add it anyway! This can help get the creative juices flowing when it comes time to find new ways of using existing resources instead of buying new ones because they’re cheaper–and if nothing else, maybe someone else can use whatever item is sitting unused around their house right now!
Take your time.
Take your time: Organizing is a process, not an event. Trying to do everything at once can be tempting, but this is often overwhelming and ineffective. You don’t have to have everything organized in one day or even one week—the most important thing is that you keep moving forward with the project.
Don’t rush through the process: If you are trying to organize something and it doesn’t seem like things are happening as fast as you’d like, remember that it’s okay! Just because organizing isn’t instant doesn’t mean anything wrong will happen if things take longer than expected.
Don’t get discouraged if it’s not perfect right away: Having everything perfectly organized right after starting a project may feel great, but chances are good that by the end of next week, some things will have moved around again anyway (because life happens). Therefore, it is essential to immediately spot any problem areas to address them before they become more significant problems later in the process.
Decide what items to keep, donate or throw away.
Once you’ve sorted the items into piles, it’s time to make some decisions. If you’re keeping the item, decide where it belongs and move it. It can go back to its original place or move to a different location in your home. If an item has no specific home (such as a drawer of miscellaneous items), consider creating an “I don’t know where this goes” box for now—it will be easier to organize later on when you have more perspective about what goes where.
Donate or sell items that aren’t useful or meaningful anymore or that were never used at all. You can give them away to family members or friends who might use them, donate them directly to charity organizations (like Goodwill), or sell them online via sites like eBay and Craigslist if they’re still in decent condition (be careful about selling electronics!), recycle broken ones by dropping off at your local recycling center (or taking everything except the batteries and cardboard packaging out) … there are lots of options!
Try a room-by-room approach.
If you have several areas in your home you want to get under control, start with just one. You decide which one, to begin with — is it the area that gives you the biggest headache or the region that guests to your home most easily see? If you try to do everything all at once, you’ll find that some regions never get done, and those are the parts that probably need the most attention anyway! Whatever your priorities, select one place and stick to it. Many attempts at organization fail when the task of cleaning up the entire house seems daunting, and folks give up. When you complete one area, celebrate and move on to the next.
Tips for organizing:
Break the project into smaller steps.
Work on one step at a time.
Don’t rush through the process or try to do everything at once. Instead, focus on doing each step well.
Make use of hidden space.
One of the most overlooked areas for storage is underneath your bed. First, look at the space under there and then at how much clutter you have. Once you’ve determined that there is enough space to store everything, make sure that it’s not so full that things fall out when you’re trying to sleep or get in bed.
You may also want to look around for other spaces where items could go if they were correctly organized: under couches, behind cabinets or drawers, in cabinets and drawers that are rarely used, above headboards on beds and dressers, etc.
Be creative in repurposing items for use in your new space.
One of the most creative ways to reuse items is to repurpose them. You could turn a bookshelf into a wine rack or shoe storage system.
In addition to thinking outside the box when reusing, being creative with your storage solutions helps keep clutter at bay. For instance, think about how often someone stores cleaning supplies under their kitchen sink. Instead of doing that again, try moving them elsewhere in the house where they’ll be easier to access and less likely to take up valuable space under your sink!
Use appropriate storage containers.
The three rules of organization are visibility, accessibility, and flexibility. Choose containers that are either transparent or easily labeled to help immediately identify the contents and save valuable time. Use containers that are the right size. If you have to empty your container because it’s too full, it’s no longer an easy storage solution. Finally, use containers that are easy to move around. If you have to lift your heavy box whenever you want to take something out of the closet, it’s time for a new container!
Use containers that are easy to stack and store. Theoretically speaking, if all of your stuff is neatly organized in different bins, then they should be able to be stacked on top of one another without much effort at all! This makes sense because we already know that our closets need neatness and organization to avoid going crazy trying things out (as evidenced above).
Ensure that the materials used don’t bend or break under pressure—this will make carrying heavier items difficult or impossible altogether because those fragile plastics won’t hold up long enough under duress.
Label everything.
Labels are the key to finding things, so it’s wise to label everything.
Label containers, bins, and drawers so you can quickly identify them. You’ll save time by not having to search through several boxes when looking for one particular item.
Make sure your labels are large enough to read comfortably from across the room (or across the house).
Create a simple way to maintain organization in the future.
To maintain your organization, create a simple way to keep track of the things you want to do. Then, ensure enough room in your schedule for the tasks that need to be completed. If necessary, adjust your priorities to be more realistic and manageable.
Start now if you’re not already using some calendar or planner! It will make your life so much easier by helping ensure that everything gets done on time.
Stay organized by keeping up with it daily, weekly and monthly.
To maintain your organization, it’s essential to understand that you must do maintenance daily, weekly, and monthly. Without these three components in place, your organizational system will fall apart.
Daily Maintenance: Daily maintenance means you’re checking in on the system at least once per day. This can be as simple as ensuring everything is still where it should be. However, if something has moved around or changed position, you need to figure out why and remedy the situation before moving on with the rest of your day (and life).
Weekly Maintenance: Weekly maintenance refers to doing a complete physical inventory of all items within an area (i.e., “inventory” = “what’s here”). This helps take stock of what needs replacing or replenishing so that nothing gets forgotten about until it’s too late!
Monthly Maintenance: Monthly maintenance involves reviewing future projects or tasks that may require some advanced planning before they are completed to ensure nothing falls through the cracks or gets forgotten along the way!
Any home can become organized if you have a plan, take your time, and stay on top of maintenance.
You don’t just go from a room disorganized to organized overnight; if you think that’s going to happen, you’re setting yourself up for failure.
Organization requires change —making serious decisions about what should stay and what should go when it comes time to purge your belongings! You’ll also need to take advantage of the tools available at home improvement stores like The Home Depot or Lowe’s so that they can help keep everything together. At the same time, it’s still new (and working) instead of trying something else later on down the road when things start falling apart again due to neglecting maintenance.
The key to staying organized is to keep up with it.
Even if you’re not the most organized person in the world, remember that anyone can start this process and make progress. So start small, take your time, and focus on one area at a time. Once you know what works for you and your lifestyle, it will be easier to incorporate those practices into all areas of life—organizing your closet or cleaning out a junk drawer!
