4 easy ways to organize your home
Ok, you may be the type that likes to organize for fun (ehem, like me) or you may roll your eyes when I say things like “have a designated space for your water-bottles”, but whichever side you are on, I’m here to tell you that organizing will simplify your life and bring joy into your every day!
It will make things like finding charging cords a breeze, and when everyone is waiting on you to press play at the family movie night, you can replace those batteries in the remote so quick they won’t even realize they are waiting on you! This may sound a bit sarcastic, but the truth behind it is real. Having an organized space will create a home where you aren’t feeling constantly overwhelmed with managing stuff, but a space you can actually enjoy the things you do have and find those things you need.
Now that we have established the WHY we organize, let’s get into the HOW of this process called organizing. Sure, there are several ways you can go about this, like loading up everything between the front door and the back room, in the trunk of your car and dropping it off at the nearest thrift-store but thats not quite helpful. Or it could look like hiring a crew of professionals to wiz about your house and do an amazing job, but honestly, that’s not happening for most of us. So, one of the options left is roll up our sleeves and get it done ourselves. This will take a bit of time, but trust me on this one. It will be worth it!
First things first, start small. Don’t walk into your laundry-room expecting to finish it all in a few hours. sometimes decluttering and organizing can take a toll on the brain, so have patience with yourself and set realistic goals. walk into the laundry-room and perhaps decide to organize the shelf above the washer and dryer and go from there. When we set an attainable goal, we set ourselves up for a win!
Once you have decided on what space to start with [drawer, closet, cabinet, small room, shelf, etc] gather a few tools you will need, like a trash bag, a bag or box for items to take to the thrift store and some cleaning supplies [a wet rag will do].
No. 1 Start taking out your items a few at a time and make piles [the toss pile, thrift pile, and keep pile]
1- the toss pile: toss what needs to be tossed, i.e. expired things, things you haven't used in a very long time, things that you may need a few years from now but you don’t have a use for currently… seriously, don’t hang on to everything! it’s ok to toss it!
2- thrift pile: pretty easy to figure out but this is for anything that needs to be taken to the thrift store. This is where you need to really asses the items you are keeping, for some, like me, it is easy to let things go. But I know for some that can be difficult and painful in a way. But ask yourself, will you use the crystal platter that has been sitting in the shelf above your fridge? I know you got it for just a couple of bucks at the garage sale 4 years ago but it is taking up space you could be using for other useful things. Ask yourself the hard questions and answer them as best you can: Do I have another item that can be used like this one? maybe you have two pans of the exact size, keep your favorite. And yes, you may be cooking dinner and the size you need is sitting in the sink, well, wash it! you don’t need two dirty pans in the sink. Am I holding onto this out of external pressure or do I actually want to keep it? This one can be a bit hard because we think that we have to keep everything everyone gives us, but I am giving you permission right now to let go of the things that need to be let go of. Am I hoarding? Ok, most of us are not hoarding to the point of not being able to use our spaces, but ask yourself why you are keeping the item. If it’s a tattered rag that you are keeping because “it can still be used to clean the car” then put it with the car cleaning supplies or toss the half piece of rag and get a new pack next time you are in town.
3- keep pile: these items are only for those you have chosen to stay inside your home. For the ones you are willing to spend your energy on keeping, the useful items, sentimental ones, necessary ones, and so on.
No. 2 Take inventory: and think through how your family operates and how you need the space to function. For example, our family is a big outdoors/adventure type and our laundry room has to double as a washroom and a spot for not only bulk items but an adventure station. This means I have our backpacks hanging by the door in the laundry room for easy access. I also make sure to hang a bag with natural mosquito repellent, & sunscreen, some reusable bags for picnics or the grocery store, and a ready to go bag with coloring books and crayons for long car rides. When we get back from exploring, we will unpack everything and put it back in its spot. nothing should be left floating around. But having bags or bins by our backpacks and creating that station, helps with the unpacking process.
The other side of the room has to double as a washroom, and we all know this space gets used daily! So here is the rundown of the washed/dryer area. On the shelf above the machines, I have a bin with extra Young Living soap, cleaning rags, bars of dish soap waiting to be used and the occasional lost sock in hopes of finding its partner. I have another bin that houses dryer balls, laundry detergent and a metal can that holds loose change I may uncover in the wash. I also have extra boxes of borax & baking soda, and a picnic basket that not only makes me smile when I see it but is easy access for those days we are heading to the lake. Everyone keeps a laundry basket in their room and we run one load a day. This keeps things from piling up in a space we need to hold a lot of traffic.
So, again, take inventory of how the space needs to work for your family- does the drawer need to be a random-kitchen-gadget-space, or does the closet need to be a cleaning supply closet… whatever the space needs to be for you, make it work.
No. 3 organize: once you have narrowed down the items that you are keeping, now you can start organizing! I have found it quite helpful to keep things in containers as much as I can. Instead of having chip clips floating around in a drawer, I picked up a bowl at a thrift store and put it in the random-gadget-drawer and it houses all of our chip clips. Containers are your friend when it comes to organizing! and feel free to get creative! baskets, clay bowls, small platters, wood boxes, bins, or whatever other item you can come up with that would work at keeping similar things together. [Most of the time I thrift these containers but here are some of my favorites from amazon: baskets, containers with lids, bins, clear boxes
If an item you are keeping does not belong in that space, put it in the pile to keep but find where it would go in your house. find permanent places to house your things. I have a spot for our reusable water-bottles and they go put away every time they are not in use or else I would have at least 6 water-bottles lying around my kitchen counter. Just about every item you have should have a permanent home. If it doesn’t, find one for it.
And No. 4 have grace with yourself and remember that you are in a process too. I have organized a bookshelf that I thought I knew exactly how it would best serve my family, only to realize 3 weeks later that we need that space to work differently for us and our current needs. Our homes are supposed to shift with us and with the seasons, we just need to know how to make our spaces serve our family best.
be sure to pin this for later!