Organizing our home so we can get to the fun part of decorating is like trying to lose 20 lbs so we can wear those skinny jeans we’ve been eyeballing. Painful, depressing and frustrating.
But if you want those skinny jeans to have their rightful place in your closet (or maybe just a pair that actually won’t fit over a small car), it’s a process that must be endured.
You know what I’m talking about. You’ve got to wade through the boring, difficult stuff to get to the fun part, and we all know that’s the part where you’re in HomeGoods picking out beautiful pillows, cool furniture accents and some interesting, fun artwork, right?
So while this meme isn’t exactly a ‘step’ or even a ‘tip’, it represents my philosophy. Follow it and you’ll be amazed at how nicely your home will come together, not to mention your wallet will be a lot fatter.
The less stuff you have, the less you need to organize, maintain, clean, etc. But you have to start somewhere, so let’s get started.
If you’d rather get a colonoscopy than organize, you arenโt alone, but don’t let your aversion stand in the way of getting it done. I won’t pretend it will ever be ‘fun’, but if you ‘organize before you organize’, I promise it will be somewhat painless and yes, even fulfilling.
Here are some ideas to help you organize any room in your home as easily and painlessly as possible:
Rather than trying to organize your entire home in one day or even a weekend, pick one room. This will keep you focused and avoid feelings of being overwhelmed. If a room has more than one function, like a guest room/office, figure out what you need to make the space work properly. It could be a day bed, a trundle or maybe just a good quality air mattress kept out of sight and pulled out when needed.
Now that you have a clear idea of what the room’s function is, the next step is to clear out clutter and get everything into piles.
There are generally 5 categories for sorting to keep things simple:
Keep/Stay: These are the things that youโll be keeping and that will stay in the room.
Keep/Move: These are the things that youโre keeping, but aren’t needed in the room you’re currently working in.
Donate: Items in good condition that can be donated or given away.
Recycle: No explanation needed.
Trash: Trust me. It will feel good!
No doubt there will be things you’re not quite sure about, so go ahead and create a 6th pile and revisit these items when you’re done.
For any item you’re keeping in the room, make sure you find an appropriate home for it.
Keep like items together.
Put the things you use most often in convenient, accessible places.
If an item is used infrequently, like holiday decorations or seasonal bedding, put them in out of the way places like under the bed, top of closets, etc.
During this process, be honest! If you ‘want’ to sew but rarely do, don’t be fooled into thinking that’s going to change drastically and give your sewing supplies prime real estate. If you know how often you will actually use something it will make this process a LOT easier, faster and more rewarding.
Now things get interesting. Make a list of the size and types of items you need and go shopping!
Tight budget There are tons of items you may already have that can serve as efficient storage.
Plastic shoe boxes with lids make great storage for cosmetics, computer accessories, camera chargers, snacks. You name it.
Boxes of all shapes and sizes make great storage containers, but if you’re looking for something pretty, go ahead and cover them with contact paper or fabric.
Don’t stop there. All kinds of storage can be found with just a little imagination and ingenuity.
Last but not least, KEEP IT ORGANIZED! You’ve worked hard and maybe even spent some cash during this process. Don’t let it all go to waste! For some easy tips on how to keep a room organized, check out 7 Organizing Routines to do Daily.
In other news…
It’s Friday the 13th, the day that scary movies find their way into theaters, but it’s also my birthday! Wish me a Happy Birthday so I can feel validated and warm and fuzzy :).
Thank yew…
Nana Diana says
That is exactly what I have been doing, Doreen! Organizing, sorting, putzing and clearing out. I even moved stuff around today to make my rooms more efficient.
These are all great tips here.
Happy Happy Birthday. I hope it was a wonderful one so far. xo Diana
Marilyn @ Pink Paper Cottage says
I have two problems: first….. I do what you say, and make piles to donate or sell, and then those piles become tubs that I “put” /store in the garage for the future sale or donation (that never happens)!!! So now I have tons of tubs piled up in my garage, taking up precious space. Second….. I buy the things I need to organize, and then those things/boxes/tubs, etc. end up sitting empty on my floor, taking up previous space. Once in awhile I may get an urge to organize.. and I do a few things, but it never seems to help. I have to confess… I have WAY TOO MUCH STUFF and you can organize it until the cows come home, and it still takes up way too much space in the house! I accept that I’m this way.. always have been… so every couple of weeks, go through the house and pick up things and try to put them back where they belong (if I can remember where they belong!). So I’m messily organized. One of these days I’ll have the yard sale that I’ve been planning for 2 years and get rid of those tubs that are stacked up in my garage!
Vickie says
I’m basically an organized person, but being a collector, even my organized collections were taking over. After reading Marie Kondo’s book, I realized that all that clutter was bogging me down, and I’ve been letting go of things ever since. It’s so wonderful to see empty spots in our storage room! I totally agree that we all need less “stuff”. Thanks for sharing, Doreen, and Happy Birthday to you!!!
Kim says
Happy Birthday!! I hope it’s been a great day…and yes, less stuff is the key!!
SharonFromMichigan says
Happy Birthday Doreen! Great article. It seems that January is always a good month to purge/organize. I totally agree that less is more (at least I find myself wanting less than more as time go by). I wonder how those people who own tiny homes do it? I’ve often watched the tiny homes on HGTV and thought about the sense of freedom those folks must feel without the weight of “needing” so much stuff. I don’t think I’d be a candidate for living in a home with only 100 square feet, but I do envy them in a way!
BEV Martin says
Happy birthday!
I am in FL too, East Coast so I know you had a beautiful weather day yesterday.
I am working down the combining of two houses and this Fl house is starting to look good. As a treat I actually was able to find a small, quilt project that was altogether and ready to sew. Last week’s cold snap was a perfect day and I now have a wall hanging completed AND a quilt stash in near perfect order. Yahoo. Enjoy your Winter. I will now spend my Summer at our 200 year old 1 room brick schoolhouse near Saratoga, NY.
Deb @ Frugal Little Bungalow says
happy happy birthday to you! ๐
tammy j says
happy birthday darling bean!!!
hope you have some outrageously wonderful food fun planned today or this evening… to celebrate! jeans be hanged.
and
speaking of hanging jeans in a closet … and other stuff…
I get claustrophobia and can’t breathe just thinking of too much stuff.
I know lots of people prefer it. but ohmygosh. how do they breathe?
I think the secret… if people truly WANT to get rid of it… DON’T STORE IT!
just get rid of it! LOLOL! you have GREAT tips here though.
paper is what creeps up on me. not stuff. but it’s as irritating as too much stuff. a constant battle. and I even recycle it… but still. aaagggh!
Susan lawton says
Happy Birthday Doreen! Wishing you a very sweet day!
Susan Lawton
Emily McGriff says
HAPPY BIRTHDAY DOREEN! I can’t thing of a more wonderful place to be spending a birthday that being in Florida!
I started my new year off going through everything in my Christmas closet, organizing when I put my decorations away. I’ve always been organized, I just don’t see how you can stay sane otherwise. I admit, I need to start thinking less is better. Less means more time to play! Hope your trip is going as planned and the weather is nice.
Mary - the boondocks blog says
Doreen Happy Birthday! The number 13 is my good luck charm. I got married on a 13 and have been for 28 years!
I was looking at your list and chuckling. I’m in the process of helping my dad declutter… what a loosing battle it is. He and his wife have more clothes than they would ever need. And they will not get rid of them. Because, you know, there might be a war or something. Us Greeks are stuck in a time warp and still remember what it was like to live thru WW2. Nothing should be thrown away!! Help Doreen!!
kim says
Happy Birthday Doreen!
I am decluttering (again), so this post is timely. I like the idea of making the 6 piles. this might make it easier for me!
Donna says
Happy Birthday Doreen! Hope it was a good one!
AnnMarie says
Happy Birthday! I love the 13th and so happy to share a birthday month with you. These are great tips! Someday I will use them ๐
Pat M. says
I consider myself a pretty organized person but somehow, at this time of the year, I start seeing things that I swear someone else must have come into my house and left while I was away running errands or something. Soooo, I start sorting once again – especially those craft projects that I thought I would do but realistically never will and the old photo albums that are falling apart and the loose photos that need to be sorted and saved (if I can recall who is in the photo and when it was taken) haha I have good intentions but a low threshold for boring, so it takes me a while but once I accomplish a good purging, it feels so good. Happy Birthday and many more.
Kris @ Junk Chic Cottage says
Happy Birthday. Enjoy. I have been organizing and getting rid of things I do not need. I am not a collector of stuff since we moved this year but I do want to organize what I do have. Have a great weekend.
Kris
Brenda Kula-Pruitt says
That’s exactly what I’ve been doing. Got both walk-in closets organized and purged. Still purging so I don’t have too much stuff. I’m staying out of the stores too. If I’m not in there, I can’t find something to buy!
Brenda
Jane says
Happy Belated Birthday, Doreen! I hope you enjoyed doing something fun and memorable!
Great tips!! Never thought to organize room by room…I’m sort of a closet here, a few drawers there…but I want this year to be simplified in all ways. Thanks for the advice.
Jane x
Amy | Stow and TellU says
I like the rational: Tuck away the seasonal stuff, keep the most used stuff right where you can get to it; and “keep like things together”. Never considered that one but it makes great sense.
Thanks for the tips and Happy Birthday weekend, Doreen!! xoxo
Cindi says
First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY!!!!
sorry than I’m late with the birthday wishes.
I’m still working on getting organized
and I too, have way too many tubs.
One helpful tip that I found was (I realize this isn’t always possible but it worked for my art room)
is to move everything OUT of the room!
Everything!
and then just put back in what you really want.
Sadly, I need a spare room on the main floor and I don’t have that so I’m stalled, or maybe just procrastinating!
LOL!
xoxoxoxo
Cecilia says
Sorry for the belated birthday wishes but we’re at the farm and I couldn’t connect. Anyway I sure hope you had a fabulous birthday! I didn’t realize it was Friday the 13th until that evening. Lol.
I’ve been purging junk in my art room. Feels good to reduce the clutter! ๐
Vicky Hunt says
Sorry I missed this on your actual birthday but Happy belated Birthday!!! I hope it was a good one! I alwyas love a good organizing post or article. I love to organize…it makes me happy! I am alwyas looking for new ideas though so I love to read about it too. I’ve been purging a few items every time I clean something and it feels so good to downzize. I envy people who are into the tiny house movement. That must be a very freeing feeling not to be tied down with so much stuff. Have a great week.
Hugs, Vicky
Vicky Hunt says
And prime example of not proof reading before I send…I spelled always wrong not once but twice. LOL!
kelly says
I love having my home organized. It’s not really a chore for me but I do tend to collect things in my basement and then have to go through it and get rid of stuff a few times a year. That takes time and I don’t really enjoy it. But it is organized for the most part. You are right about not having so much stuff. That makes it easier. Happy belated birthday! I guess having your birthday on the 13th, you run the risk of it falling on a Friday every few years. For me, I’m not superstitious so it wouldn’t bother me but I know for some it does!
Melanie says
Great organizing tips! Right now the main living areas of my house are under renovation, so everything is chaos. Cleaning and organizing will be happening soon enough though.
I’m reading and responding past your birthday, but hope you had a great one!
Carrie@northwoods scrapbook says
Happy Belated Pumpkin!!!! Gone for hockey tourney for the whole long weekend.
I pray this year ahead brings you every good and wonderful thing – from gorgeous sunsets, to fairy gardens of delight, to yummy frozen margaritas on a sandy beach – to cabana boys that feed you grapes. OOps – I think I drifted off there for a minute. Anyways, bottom line is happiest of Happy Birthdays Doreen and may you be extra blessed over the year ahead!! ๐
I LOVE your wonderful tips and reminders as always. Would you like to just come a be my daily personal assistant? I’d be down with that.
Hope you’re having a great week! Blessings. xoxo
Benita says
Happy belated birthday! I hope it was a fabulous birthday for you! I love organizing and cleaning things out. I feel so accomplished AND am burning calories while I’m organizing and cleaning…skinny jeans, here I come! ๐ While moving is a pain, it is also refreshing because it gives me an opportunity to keep things uncluttered! Love and hugs…hope your year is off to a great start!
Vashti Q says
Hi doreen! I know this is so late, but, Happy Birthday! Nowadays I’m late to everything. I’m sorry and I hope you had a fantastic birthday and you’ve had a great start to 2017. This post could not have come at a better time. I have so much decluttering and organizing to do and you’ve been a great help throughout the process. <3 xx
Amy says
Happy belated birthday, Doreen! So sorry I missed sending birthday greetings on your official day! You are right on about organizing – less stuff is the key! I was ruthless last year with getting rid of things, and once I did, I was able to organize where everything had its place and its space! Best part is that it has stayed neat for an entire year. Now…..I’ve just got to tackle the rest of my house – oy!
Julie says
Hi Doreen, January seems to be the perfect time to organize your home and everything. Thanks for sharing this wonderful post. I organized all of my makeup recently!
Hope you have a nice weekend.
Julie