Happy New Year, friends!!
It's 2020. Time again for New Year's resolutions...
Like many of you, I've got a few. Get in better shape. Do yoga twice a week. Journal and blog more frequently. Organize and pare down my sprawling wardrobe. Minimize. Have more fun.
Wait, go back.
That organization one...
Organization and minimalism are hugely popular right now, thanks in part to Marie Kondo and her "KonMarie" method of tidying and organization, among other things.
I recently moved into a new place and there seems to never quite be enough space. However, I've become a mini-master of organizing, and here are my tips.
1. Get rid of it!
The first step in organization is to decide what you need and what you don't. Many of us keep things well beyond the point of their being useful or wanted in our lives. We may keep things because we used to love them or because they used to fit, we used to use them, we think that maybe they'll be useful again in the future. While this is sometimes true, more often than not, if something is sitting in your house and it has been unused for a long period of time, you're not going to need it or want it again, whereas someone else might. For example, I have a great stroller that JK has used for years. I've held on it to for longer than I've needed to, thinking that maybe we'll need it for the zoo, or maybe I'll take her on really long walks around town, or even maybe I'll have another baby. I've only used it probably twice in the past 6 months. As she is about to turn 4, I have decided to finally get rid of it. I posted it on Marketplace and I hope to sell it, but if it doesn't sell after a couple of price drops, I will give it away to someone who needs it.
Another bonus? You don't have to worry about organizing things that you don't have!
True, getting rid of things can be very hard. Marie Kondo suggests holding on to every object in your house to see if it sparks joy, but I'm a little more practical than that. Something might spark joy for me, but have no place in my life anymore. A dress that is beautiful but a totally wrong size might spark some joy for me, but I know that it will spark more joy for someone who can actually wear it.
Start wherever you want. Is your closet a mess? Start there. Garage sprawling with junk? Start there. Can't start with those because they are overwhelming? Start with you desk or your refrigerator or a drawer or files on your computer. I like to start with the places I use the most - the kitchen, the bathroom, my room and closet, but you can start anywhere you want. Once you organize one thing, you will begin to see how nice it looks and feels. You'll be prompted to move on to organize more and more areas of your life.
If you have a goal or a time frame in mind, then by all means set one for yourself, but all organization is different, we all move at our own pace. Sometimes, you'll find that once you've organized things, you want to start all over because you'll realize you don't need some of those things your kept the first time around. This is a work in progress. Take your time and be gentle with yourself.
2. Everything has a home
If you've gotten rid of enough things, you should be able to find a home for every thing in your home. The home for my coat is not on the back of a kitchen chair, it's not on the recliner, and it isn't on the floor. So, if my coat is any of those places or any other place it doesn't belong, I take a moment to pick it up and hang it in the closet. Same with my purse. Once every single thing has a place, organizing is only a matter of putting it back where it goes, which takes little to almost no effort. If you find that there isn't a place for everything in your home, you need to find a place, create a place, or get rid of it.
3. Put like things together
I am a tape junkie. I have all kinds of tape - scotch, masking, blue painter's, packing, duct, washi... Many colors and types and sizes. I realized a few years ago that I have tape all over the place. I had some in the junk drawer in my kitchen for when I need to seal something. I had some in my desk. I had some with my crafting stuff. Once I found it all and put it all in one place, life became easier. I now know exactly where to look if I need any, and I put it away when I'm done with it. Sure I might have to take a few extra steps, but I don't forget about rolls and then buy new ones. This works for everything. All your clothes should go in one closet. All your socks should go in one drawer. All your pens should go together. This brings us to...
4. Keep Multiples in Check
If you're like me, you will quickly find that you have multiples of certain items. For me, it's journals, office supplies like pens and markers, and beauty products. As a writer, I cannot bring myself to get rid of the first two, but I have found a method for the beauty products. I have the tendency to buy new products that look good at the store even though I have plenty at home or to buy a couple of things that I don't really use that much, just in case. That's the first place to start. Checking yourself when you see something you want while shopping is really important. Keeping one extra of the things you go through quickly, like shampoo and conditioner, is okay, but you shouldn't have tons of extras. If you do, go back to step on and get rid of them. Remind yourself how long it will take you to use all of these up. I once found myself with 5 cans of hairspray. I kept buying new ones because I couldn't find the right type for me. Once I finally did, I realized I had to get rid of the extras because I really don't even use hairspray that much. It would take me years to use up all those hairsprays, and there was no reason to store up ones that didn't work for me. So I gave them away, and cut my losses.
Another step to paring down on multiples is to start with the smallest thing. I always take home those little travel shampoos and conditioners when I travel because the bottles are great to reuse for flying, and hey! Free shampoo. But, I usually end up not using them, so they sit there with my normal sized bottles, cluttering up my shower. Now I use them right away and either save the bottle if it's super durable or cool, or recycle it. Often times now I don't even use the sample they give me, because I have a stash of reusable bottles I take with me when I travel. If you start with the smallest thing, it's quicker to get rid of it, which clears up room faster, and then you can move on from there. Your goal is one bottle of each item in your shower, pantry, etc.
5. Enjoy, and Keep up the Good Work
By now, you've gotten rid of things you don't use, need, or want; you've found a place for all the items you do; you keep all similar items together so you can easily find them; and you're paring down on multiple items (or eliminating them entirely.) From here, you can sit back and enjoy. Enjoy the space you've cleared up and the mental clarity you feel as well. But remember that organization is a process. You can have your entire house perfectly decluttered and organized, but a month later it will be back the way it was if you don't keep it up. So, stay after it! Fight the good fight!
Refrain from buying unnecessary things. Work on yourself instead of shopping. When you do need new things, limit toiletries to one replacement. I also like to set up a "donation station" for used clothes. For every new article of clothing I buy, I get rid of at least one older item I no longer longer use/like/etc. I tend to buy new clothes in sets, so this works out well for me. For example, this year I needed new leggings. My old ones were frayed and covered in little fuzz balls. So I bought 4 new pairs and got rid of the old ones. You can donate any items as they come up, or save them to donate every 3 months like I do.
Any more organizations tips? Leave them in the comments below!
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