I can already hear it; organizing is too overwhelming and you don’t have time. As a wife and mother of 2, I know the challenges of being busy. BUT YOU CAN DO IT! I am about to give you some tips that really will help you GET organized…and STAY that way!
Organizing can take a lot of time, but it doesn’t have to! Think of it this way; if you never start, you will never get done. I’m going to show you how to start small and get BIG results. Ready? Let’s do this!
Don’t Waste Time Organizing Things You Won’t Keep…
First and foremost, you need to declutter before you can organize. Do you really need all of that stuff? Don’t waste time organizing things you won’t keep. Get rid of unwanted or unused items.
Start with a small room (or even just an area of a room). I like to start in my closet. Spring cleaning is a term for a reason. When the weather warms up, I get an urge to open the windows and air out the house. Open up your closet and give your space some room to breathe! Each Spring I go back through my closet and pull out the clothes that I haven’t worn in a while. Pro-Tip: turn all of your hangers facing backward (hook them over the rack from the back so they’re facing you). Each time you wear an item put it back on the hanger facing the correct way. At the end of the season, you can easily see what you’ve worn and what you haven’t. Let go of those pieces you’ve been saving for “one day” and let them be someone else’s “new” piece!
What Can You Donate?
When cleaning out your closet, think about what you can do with your gently used items. Do you have a shelter or donation center near you that helps those in need?
It’s easier to let go of things knowing that someone out there may need it more than you do.
There is a donation center in my town that helps women who are trying to get back into the workforce. Something that I haven’t worn in a while can be a new job interview outfit for one of those women! That is humbling. Think of your donations as a way of paying it forward. Have a decor piece you don’t love anymore? Give it new life in a young family’s home. That rarely played with toy could be something that a child out there has been wanting forever! So you’re getting a clean and organized space, and someone else is benefiting as well.
Start Small if You Need to…
If your closet is not your starting point, pick an area that doesn’t overwhelm you. It could be something as simple as your junk drawer (come on, we all have one, right?!). Go through and throw away old batteries that don’t have a charge, old pens that don’t write, the random pieces of paper, and half-eaten candy that your kids have thrown in there, haha! Once you’ve tackled a small space like that, you will be surprised by how motivated you become. You’ve got your momentum going, so keep it up and move onto the next small space!
Never Leave a Room Empty Handed…
This may seem silly, but if you are walking laundry to your closet, grab the pair of shoes that’s on the floor on your way so you’re not having to make extra trips. My husband is as bad about leaving his shoes all over the house as my kids are, so I feel like I could take a pair of his shoes to our closet every time I head in that direction! Making a habit of never leaving a room empty-handed seems like a small thing, but it has lasting impacts on maintaining a tidy home with minimal effort.
Create a “Drop Zone”…
Create a “drop zone” for all of those “extra” things laying around the house. For me, this is a basket in our mudroom. Every evening I round up all of the random things my kids have strewn all over the living room, and I put them in the basket. The kids know that when I hand them their basket, they have to go put their things away. Not only does this help keep my living space picked up, but it teaches my girls that if they put away what they play with when they’re finished with it, they won’t have a whole basket of things to put away all at once; win-win!!
Make Your Bed EVERY DAY!
This next one might seem like a no-brainer, but make it a habit to make your bed every day! If you already do this one, great; if not, give it a try. It’s been studied (by someone somewhere) that making your bed daily makes you more productive, and I believe it! I feel like I’m starting my day off with a task checked off my list when I make my bed, and that feeling of accomplishment carries into the rest of my day. When I clean a bedroom (mine or my kids) I always start with making the bed. It makes the room look so much cleaner just by completing that one step, which gives me that extra motivation to keep going.
Never Go To Bed with a DIRTY KITCHEN!
And this last tip is one that my sweet grandmother used to tell me daily…never go to bed with a messy kitchen. This is something that has always been a must for me. Anytime I have ever gone to bed with the kitchen a mess, I have regretted it the next morning. There is just something about waking up to a clean kitchen that makes me feel good. I love stepping into the kitchen to make my morning coffee and seeing that it’s clean and ready for the day. Take the time to clean up after dinner and load the dishwasher. Give the counter a quick wipe down and tidy up before heading to bed. Use the time in the morning while your coffee is brewing to unload the dishwasher from the night before, then your dishwasher will be empty and ready to load after the next meal!
Daily Tasks Turn into Lifelong Habits…
These may seem like trivial tasks, but they lead to lifelong habits. The key takeaway here is generating momentum and motivation to create daily habits. Don’t set unrealistic expectations for yourself, and don’t expect things to be perfect every day; these habits take time to create. Don’t give up, and don’t get overwhelmed. If you stick to it, you will start to notice how easy these things are to do, and you may even create other habits that become foundations for your organized lifestyle. These small habits turn into a lifestyle of a clean and organized home!
