I can’t tell you how many times I have talked to friends and heard them say, “If I could just get organized…” With busy schedules, work, and the general chaos that our lives tend to take on, it’s no wonder. No one has time to spend extra minutes/hours looking for things.
In my opinion, being organized really is about having less. Less to store, less to look for, less to clean around. Once you have less, it’s easier to give the stuff you do have, a proper place. In my next life, I would love to go to people’s houses and HELP them get organized. I would do it Peter Walsh style.
If you are trying to get organized {and stay that way}, here’s how I would personally go about it:
The first step to getting organized is to purge. Keep in mind, no matter how difficult, stuff is not a memory. It might “jog” a memory, but the memory is stored in your melon, not whatever is in your hands.
SO, unless it has a purpose or brings you daily/regular joy, let it go. Have a garage sale. Give it away. Sell it on craigslist. Just get it out of the house. If you are overwhelmed by the task of getting organized, commit to one room, closet, or drawer at a time. Make it a priority to spend just 15 minutes on that project a day until it’s done. Then, move on to the next space only after that one is completely done.
Once you have purged, it’s time to organize what you do have. Store like with like–so that finding what you need is easy. Invest in some storage containers, baskets, drawer organizers if you need to. It will keep things tidy–which means less visual stress.
Once you have organized a space, create a system for incoming stuff. As a general rule of thumb, if dealing with an incoming something takes me less than two minutes, I deal with it right when it comes in. So, mail gets opened, shredded, filed, etc. right when I walk in the door.
It takes me under 2 minutes, and then it doesn’t sit on my desk as clutter. It keeps things from piling up. {Also, limit how much stuff you are willing to bring back in once you have purged.} In general, make a priority not to allow clutter to build up again. Visual clutter is stressful. Don’t pile things up “to do later,” just do them right then. It’s a hard habit to get into, but most things take almost zero time when you stay on top of them, when you really get down to it.
Prepare for your day in advance, so that during the most hectic times in your schedule, you don’t have to leave your house in a state of post-tornado. Pick out your clothes the night before. Pack lunches right after dinner. Set the coffee pot timer before bed. Take steps to make life run smoother when stress is low, so that when stress is high {like in the morning when you are trying to get out of the door} you have less on your plate. Make the kids do the same. Have them get into the habit of clearing out their backpacks each night and preparing for the next day before bed.
In order to stay on top of everything in life, keep a master to-do list. I personally can’t remember squat so I put everything on sticky notes. Pen and paper works for me, while my husband uses the reminders section of his phone because it’s always with him, plus, he can set an alarm to remind himself if he really needs to.
Having a master to-do list kind of helps you organize everything into chunks of time too. It helps you see what can be done together in a more effective sequence {for example drop things off at the post office on the way to the grocery store}. I LOVE a good to-do list arranged in chronological order. I absolutely love finding the quickest route to do something.
Set a timer each night before bed for 10 minutes. Tidy up for those 10 minutes. You’ll be amazed at how much you can get done when you set time aside to do it. It sounds like such a simple thing, but once you are organized, it only takes a couple of minutes each day to stay that way.
Ultimately, I think the takeaway to getting and staying organized is to keep things simple. Minimize the amount of stuff you have to organize, minimize how much you pack into each day, and then stay on top of what remains.
How about you? How do you stay organized? Do tell.
~Mavis
Peggy says
Sounds wonderful! I’m working on it, and I’ll check out Peter Walsh. I watch a Netflix show at my daughter’s house (who IS very organized), Marie Kondo, how to tidy up. Hope you have a great day.
Lisa Millar says
Its on my list of unofficial goals this year. I am not getting very far to be honest. (Remember I am self described as aesthetically relaxed) 🙂
I am not good at this naturally – I agree with the working room by room as its too overwhelming otherwise.
Setting aside a period of time each day is a good idea. I get burned out if I spend hours at a time then I don’t want to go back to it for weeks!!
I’ll keep working on it and use your lovely home photos to stay inspired 🙂
Diana says
LOVE seeing the pics of the house. First time I’ve seen the full kitchen (I was a kitchen designer in a previous life, lol) and I like it.
I love the chicken rug over your couch, but the OCD part of me says it needs to move to the left just a squidge, lol.
Now, off to go and organize. Great post!
bobbi says
haha, me too or move the couch! lol
Mama Cook says
Yes!!! Less is more!!! More time, more peace, more joy! Really keeping down the visual chaos helps us run a household with 7 kiddos currently at home. One habit we have is chore time every single day! Each child has a zone to clean and the exact same thing is done each day! Making it a daily habit brings a rhythm to our day. Eventually it will be just me cleaning all the zones, but then there won’t be as many people making it messy!☺️
Jeanie says
I’m constantly editing. I think as you live life you evolve in your tastes and likes. That’s why I try to hold things very lightly and let them go when I tire of them. If I’m having trouble with that concept, I walk through an antique mall….all those knicknacks!!!! It helps me edit my own tho ha EVERY TIME!
Brianna says
I’ve been an organized person since I was a young child, but I married my opposite and then I have 2 of 3 kids who lack organizational skills. I have had to teach them what I would think are the most ‘basic’ principles, like put things back where you got them and if you put your keys/shoes etc. in their designated place you will not have to waste time searching. Visual clutter is a big thing for me, especially when I go to someone else’s house. I find it overwhelming and difficult to relax. The older I have become, the more I realized that object don’t give me satisfaction and the idea of more is less makes me happy. I have a donation box next to my dryer and I fill it often and schedule a donation drop on Thursdays. My kids can add whatever they want and I won’t ask questions or tell them they should keep it because so and so bought it for them. I encourage decision making about their possessions. I think organizational mindset and skills are a learned behavior and it is one of the essentials I try to teach my kids because my hubby grew up with none and we have been on many trips and had to purchase underwear because he forgot to pack them. Bins, baskets, shelves, and organizational hacks and devices are gimmicks for those who think they are organizing themselves. All they do is give people permission to keep their things if they can shove it into a tote and it is out of sight and out of mind.
Lynda Kling says
My kitchen is about 1/4 the size of yours! As is the rest of my house. It’s not easy!
Victoria says
I try to be the assistant to myself, if that makes any sense? Each night “fashion assistant me” picks out my clothes so “morning me” can just roll out of bed, in and out of the shower, and into a super cute curated outfit. “Grocery shopping me” fills the fridge and pantry for “chef me”. So on and so forth, I take care of things now so that future me doesn’t have to worry about the details.
tia in boise says
i love this idea, victoria! may have to steal it! (getting to relax/enjoy the house me will be very pleased with the work maid me has done!) ha ha…
Mel says
I do this a little bit too with my past/present and future selves. I often joke that Future Mel has it so easy because Present Mel is working her tail off. When something works out because of advanced planning, like a freezer meal on a busy night, I’m always like, “thank goodness Past Mel had her act together!”
Victoria says
Totally with the freezer meals! I’m single and live alone, so when I get sick, it’s the most amazing thing to be able to pull out a container of home-made soup. All I have to do is warm it up. Past me has saved the life of future me so many times!
Katherine says
I try to stay organized. My closet and dresser is always organized because I don’t keep clothes/shoes I don’t wear. I go through my kitchen at least once a year and remove things we have not used in the past year. My biggest problem is my husband is not organized. If there is an empty flat surface in the house it will not stay vacant when he gets home from work.
Lindy says
I set the timer for 15 minutes every day, either morning or night, and do a sweep of my apartment to tidy it up.My place is 650 sq ft so I can get a lot done. I also read about using those minutes you (I) stand waiting for something, like the coffee maker or microwave to finish, to clean something. I usually empty the dishwasher or empty the dryer which is just off my kitchen,during those five minutes.
My shredder sits next to a basket where I put everything for shredding. Once a week or so I shred what evers in the basket during tv commercials.
I brush my teeth for two minutes twice a day with a electric toothbrush. While one hand is holding the tooth brush the other hand is using a microfiber cloth to do a quick wipe around the sink and counter, maybe even the bathroom mirror and the place looks tidier immediately.
I’m also trying to declutter. When it comes to drawers I find its easier for me to dump everything from one drawer onto a tray and work from that. It seems to help me focus better. I do find this part to be never ending though. By the time I work my way through the apartment back to the first drawer it seems to need decluttering again – though not as badly as during round one.
Mel says
Even the best organizational systems get out of whack, so I always spend the summer putting things back together, but it’s especially dire because it’s been such a bad year for us, so things are especially jumbled AND I never got to do my first wave of spring cleaning. That said, it’s very cathartic getting things back to normal. I organized the baking cabinet last week and the kitchen junk drawer this week, and I have spent more time than I’d care to admit opening them to admire them. I just washed all our winter sweaters and bagged and labeled them so they’re ready the first chilly days. Same with my winter coat–I always wash it and my gloves in the summer so that they’re ready when I need them. I also defrost and clean the freezers before filling them with all manner of freezer meals each summer so I don’t have to cook all fall.
I also have a couple new organizational projects lined up based on events this year. I am, for example, putting together thorough first aid kits for people and all our pets (our dog had emergency surgery, and I suddenly could have really used several things we didn’t have and couldn’t leave her to buy—syringes, a recovery suit, a pill shooter, etc.—so I will never be without those again). Many of our people first aid items are also expired. My closet and drawers are organized, but they currently rely on seasonal switchouts, and that doesn’t fly when my office is 90 degrees in January, so I need to redo it to where I can get to all parts of my wardrobe year round. A royal pain, but that’s just how it is.
Brianna says
I go through the medicines and first aid supplies every time I switch the clocks for daylight savings. I fill a bag of medicine to discard and then I take it to the VA center and drop it off. It helps me inventory supplies, determine what I need more of, and discard old expired or no longer useful first aid supplies and medicines. I live a bit out of town and I don’t like to not have what I need when I need it. I’ve learned the hard way driving 30 miles to Walmart at 3am with 3 kids, 1 of which was sick. Never again. Definitely not an area (household medicine and first aid) to not be organized in. I also realized that any medicines from Costco are a waste of money and space because we never use them up before they go bad or we no longer need them.
Mel says
I do something similar with all our cold medicines, sunscreen, etc., but it’s the true first aid stuff like Neosporin that expired. We have never actually needed them, so they never got culled with the rest. But I obviously don’t want to be in a situation where we do need them and don’t have them. I also stock some freezer items for cold and flu season each year (chicken soup, ginger ale concentrate, etc.).
We also had some animal stuff at the ready, but it never occurred to me that a dog who is generally okay taking pills in food would be too heavily sedated to eat or drink while needing 12 medications a day!
UpstateNYer says
On Facebook I have found Buy Nothing group. Many local areas have them. Just insert your town name after Buy Nothing – in the search area at the top of the page. You are able to post what you want to get rid of for free. Add a picture – it helps sell the item faster! I have blessed 3 families with 15 stuffed animals. Also a wicker basket (like a small oval laundry size) that a gift came in, tree stump cuttings that someone is using for a play ground. I have seen offers for above ground pools, furniture and kids books, for example. All for FREE!
Facebook Marketplace is also another way to sell your items or offer them for free.
Kari says
I never loved my house more than when over half of it was boxed up to stage the house for selling. It was peaceful and so easy to clean. For some reason we unboxed it all at the new house, and it all drives me crazy. I need to start purging again. Your home looks so peaceful. Thanks for the inspiration
Lauren Hurley says
Years ago a young woman shared with me her “touch it once” way of staying organized. Her view on it was that you’re going to have to hang up your coat so don’t put it down, then move it to the closet later. Just like your sort the mail right away idea. She made me realize just how many times I moved things before they made their way home.
Cathy says
We are redoing a spare bedroom for my rug hooking room. Lots of built ins etc I have been purging but need to do more. I cleaned and pick up a few minutes each night before bed. When covid started i cleaned closets etc. I just need to do more of it.