Get Your Mess Together

how to organize your home tips and guide

Organize Your Home With This Simple Guide

To-do lists are piling up, the apartment or house might be starting to look more and more cluttered, and the time is slipping away…sound familiar?

Organize your head and home to feel more relaxed. This month’s newsletter is all about the organizational steps you can take today to do just that.

"The triumph of anything is a matter of organization.” –Kurt Vonnegut

Organize your House

The first step to de-clutter and organize your living space is to determine what actually is clutter. This can be harder than it sounds since it’s easy to overlook piles and groupings of stuff, as it becomes so commonplace.

The best thing to do is start with one area at a time and go into the process realizing that you need to let go. Take a good look around you. If you are starting in the kitchen, focus on one drawer or cabinet at a time.
Look into the cabinet and take note of everything in there and ask yourself how does it make you feel? what should be in there? what is out of place? and what can you let go of?
Give yourself plenty of time to clean and go through your things. Start small; try organizing the linen closet before moving on to your entire bedroom.
While going through your things, have a few piles: Donate, Sell, Rubbish.
Once you’ve initially removed things from the space, take a second look around and make sure there is nothing lingering that does not belong.
Look for wasted space! Under the bed storage and hanging organizers from doors are often overlooked areas.
An organization needs to be visible, accessible and flexible: choose storage systems that can easily be labeled or containers that are clear, store them in easy to reach places, and have a plan that can change with your needs!

Organize your Clothes

If your drawers are overflowing and you’re struggling to shove more hangers of clothes in your closet, it’s time for a change.

First things first, GO THROUGH YOUR CLOTHES! Use the two-year rule, if you haven’t worn it in two years, it is safe to get rid of, or donate if you can.
Use drawer space accordingly and use dividers if possible to help keep items like undergarments and sock tidy.
Store away seasonal clothing. Those shorts and swimsuits are doing nothing but taking up space! Invest in containers that you can use to store away clothes that are not in season, freeing up space for your current wardrobe.
If you have closet shelves, store less worn clothing on the top shelves and save space by folding bulky sweaters
Don’t hoard hangers that are not being used in your closet! Have a bin for unused hangers, and recycle ones if you have too many.

Organize your Paperwork

Being an adult means you have a paper trail everywhere you go! Bills, taxes, insurance papers, even sentimental papers like cards and children’s drawings. Without proper storage, when it comes time to find something you’re looking for, the stress can become immense.

The first step is to FILE DON’T PILE! You will thank yourself in the long run for having a storage system in place rather than piles of papers hanging around everywhere.
There is no one-way to file! Investing in a filing cabinet might be right for you, or maybe having a binder system could be just the thing. Either way, the key is to have everything visibly labeled and maybe even color-coded.
Have a separate file or even memory box for sentimental papers. Don’t feel obligated to keep every little thing, but have an organized space to allow you to keep special memories.
Have a small paper holder in a convenient spot for temporary papers and things you look at all the time. Having a space for these files will help you to remember them and save you stress and time from looking all over.

There is little argument about the power of foot massages to relieve anxiety and promote relaxation. Take a time-out from your organizing to get some mental clarity with a little Acupressure.

You can locate this point by flexing your food downward and finding the indentation in the upper middle area of your foot and apply firm pressure for a few minutes. This area is also used for insomnia and depression. (*A useful technique for this area is to use a tennis ball. Simply place the ball on the ground roll the bottom of your feet over the ball- it is very relaxing!)

Organize your Time Having your belongings and paperwork organized will already help you save valuable time by enabling you to be more efficient, but there is always more that you can do to help manage your time!

Keep a calendar. Whether this is on your phone, computer, or desk, having a calendar will keep your days and schedule in order. It’s harder to overbook yourself when you have a clear map of what’s on your schedule.
If you are a keeper of to-do lists or want to be, investing in a planner is a great idea. This will help you keep track of your daily tasks and allow you to be more detailed in your planning for the day, as well as for the week ahead.
Set a timeline for each task. By limiting your time on an activity, you will be able to fit more of what you need to accomplish in a day. Be clear that you need to finish Task X by 10am and Task Y by 12pm. This will give you a deadline and stop you from dragging out tasks!
An important part of managing your time is knowing when to say ‘no’. Regardless of how well you manage your time, you cannot do everything in one day! Prioritize your schedule and let the rest go!

If you need even more motivation on your quest toward complete organization, consider planning an event such as a get-together at your house. Having a date in the future that you want to de-clutter your house will be a great force to get you moving!

Good To Read: Cluttered? Try Tidying Up The Marie Kondo Way

Once you have started your organization goals keep yourself on the right track by putting things in their proper place, right away to avoid re-cluttering your space and set aside time every few months to purge and re-organize.