Organizing 101: Organizing Basics for Decluttering Your Home

​Why do so many people feel paralyzed when they try to get organized? I believe that one reason is that they are overwhelmed by all the decisions involved. Where do I start? What space is my biggest priority when the whole house makes me feel anxious? Where do I take my donations? What should I keep?

The list is infinitely long. In so many cases, people feel overwhelmed, they shut down, and the clutter continues to bother them. That’s when it is ideal to wave the white flag and call in a professional organizer.

​An expert in the field can help identify goals and priorities and guide you in the decision-making process. Curious to know how a professional organizer tackles a project? Although every project is different, our methods are consistent. Here are the basic steps we take with our clients.

​4 Simple Steps to Organizing Any Space

1. Pick a Starting Place

Now, there are a few factors to consider here. Are you about to host out-of-town guests and you can’t see the floor of the guest room? That might be a good place to start. Is winter coming and you really want to park your car in the garage? Let’s get the garage cleared out. Is your pantry overflowing with expired foods and you can’t close the doors of your kitchen cabinets and you really want to spend more time cooking healthy meals? BINGO! I’d say we give your kitchen an overhaul.

2. Stay Focused!

Once you decide where to start, stay focused on that space until it’s done! This is so hard to do and it's the reason why so many organizing projects fail. Why? Because we get so distracted.

As we sort through the contents of a room, we inevitably come across something that belongs in another room. So what happens? We head down the hall to take it to its proper home and along the way we notice so many other piles that need our attention.

We put the item down and start looking through said piles, start reminiscing, and forget about the original task at hand! I promise, if you stay focused on one room/space at a time, you will see progress and you will be motivated to keep moving forward.

3. Use a Timer

If you have a hard time staying focused, use a timer. Set a timer for 20-30 minutes, turn off your phone notifications, put your head down and get to work. It’s amazing how much can be accomplished with short, focused spurts of time. When the timer goes off, take a five-minute break and then do it again. You will be amazed at the progress!

4. Categoritze Each Item: Keep, Donate, Trash

At this point, you may ask, “But what should I do during that focused time?” This is where decision-making really starts to play a role. First, gather three boxes, baskets, or trash bags and label them as "keep", "donate", and "trash." It might be a good idea to keep an additional container for recycling. I recommend starting with the piles on the floor. Pick up each item one-by-one and decide on the appropriate category and put them in the baskets. Some decisions will be really easy and others, not so much. Depending on the volume of items, you may need to switch out baskets when they get full.

• Once the floor is clear, move to items on the furniture, counter space, or other surfaces.
• Repeat the process on every item.
• Yes, it feels redundant. But trust me. Once you haul off loads of trash and boxes of donations, you will feel relief. Just paring down all the excess is such a huge feat!

If you set aside some dedicated time and work through these steps, you WILL make progress. Still, feeling stuck? We can definitely help! Contact me to set up a free consultation today!