Spring is around the corner, let’s get your home ready to radiate a sense of calm and peace.
A question I often get is, “Where do I begin, my whole house needs help?”
Tip: Start by having a vision for each room in your home. Think about what the purpose of that space will be and how you want to feel when you walk into that room.
An example might be, you have an extra room in your home and you’ve decided to make that your craft/art room. That room should have colors and décor that will spark creative ideas and inspiration.
When you are going through the items in that room keep the vision you have for that space in the front of your mind. When you pick up an item ask yourself, will this help me be creative? If the answer is no, it should to go to the donation bin or be relocated to another room in your home where it will match the vision for that space. Do this process for every room in your home. Imagine how you would feel if every room in your home had a clear vision and purpose and everything in that space was a reflection of your vision.
You’ve got the vison and purpose figured out for every room, now what?
Tip: Pick the room that will make the biggest impact on you and your family. What room or area brings you the most unrest or anxiety? Start there! You’ll be amazed how contagious decluttering and getting organized can be. Once your family sees and feels how good it is to be organized they may just surprise you and start on their own room.
It’s time to start the decluttering and organizing process. I use the S. E. O. method.
S-Sort by category
E-Edit what you no longer love, use or need
O-Organize your “keepers”
The ultimate goal is for everything in your home to have a permanent home. You’ll know where to find it when you need to and you’ll know where to put it when you’re done with it. In order to do this you have to look at everything. Did I lose some of you? Stay calm! You can do this.
Tip: Don’t buy any organizing supplies until you’ve completed the sorting and editing steps. Many times you can use what you already have on hand or you may find that you’ve gotten rid of so many things you may not need anything.
Things you’ll need for the decluttering process:
· A six-foot table (or whatever size table you have) set up outside of the room
· Small bins to separate smaller items
· A donation bag or box
· A box for items that you want to keep but need to place in other rooms in the house
· Use Post-it Notes and a Sharpie to label categories
Every journey begins with a single step
Pick a table top or a corner in the room and start pulling things out and sorting them on the table by category. Like with like. Remember to look at every item. Keep in mind that just because it works, is in good condition or you just bought it doesn’t mean it gets to stay. It has to match the vision and purpose of the room. Be sure to look at the furniture in the room too. Do the shelves work for storage or are they too big, too dark, take up too much space, and don’t spark creative thoughts? Sometimes a coat of paint can work magic. If you come across a pile of clothes look at each piece and either put it in the donation bin if you no longer love it or put it in the bin to go to another room in the house. Once the room is done you will empty the “other room box” by bringing each item to its proper room.
Now that you’ve decided on all the items that get to stay in the room, it’s time to organize and put back all the “keepers.”
Tip: Measure the shelves you’ll be storing things on. If you need to buy storage containers eg. bins, baskets, etc. to store your “keepers” be sure to buy the correct size to maximize the entire shelf.
Tip: Go vertical. Use as much vertical wall space as possible.
Tip: Locate your work area where the best view is or where you can hang an amazing picture in front of you or put a board with pictures of things that will inspire you.
Tip: Shelves should be placed where you can easily grab the items you use more frequently.
Tip: Bins should be labeled so everyone knows where to find things.
Organization doesn’t come naturally to many people but the great news is it can be learned. If you didn’t grow up in an organized home you may have never been taught how to be organized so don’t be too hard on yourself if you struggle with getting and staying organized. The best way to prevent clutter and keep your home organized is to….wait for it….HAVE LESS STUFF! Before you buy anything or take a free item from a family member or friend ask yourself these three questions:
1. Do I have a place to put this?
2. Do I really need this item?
3. What will I use this for?
You need to be the gatekeeper of your home. Monitor what’s coming in. If things are just coming in and nothing is going out, you’re going to have a clutter problem. Once you have finished your decluttering and organizing project establish a house rule that if one item comes in, one item goes out. I call this the rotation system. If you don’t do this you’ll be back to where you started. Ready, set, organize!
If you or anyone you know ever needs help you can always contact me at (310) 310-7301. A lot of the time you just need an objective opinion about what to keep and what’s okay to let go.
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