A well organized home, that sounds nice doesn’t it?
Well, obviously you think so or you wouldn’t be reading this, but sit back for a moment and try to visualize what that would feel like. Close your eyes and imagine no more clutter or messes so overwhelming you don’t even know where to begin cleaning them up.
Imagine everything having it’s own place and then imagine it actually BEING in it’s place more often than not. Go ahead, I’ll wait.
How did that feel?
Good?
Trust me on this, it feels even better in real life!
How do you get there?
That’s a question I’ve been asked countless times over the years. People come over and say some version of “Oh my gosh, your house is so clean and organized, show me your ways!” or “I need you to come organize my house!” or secretly in their head “Oh my gosh, her house is so clean and organized I am definitely NEVER inviting her over to mine”
Eventually I’m able to convince people that I do not judge them for their clutter or lack of organizational skills. I make sure they know that I'm fine because I don’t feel responsible for the stuff, so while I may not be able to relax well in my own home when it’s messy, I sure as heck can in someone else’s!
Also, is it just me or does everyone think another person's clutter is way less bad than their own?
Look how artfully strewn those crayons are!
Look at how creative they were at their table!
I have to work a lot harder to see the beauty in my own messes.
I also know that all of my friends are better at something else than I am. Some write, some sew, some are amazing cooks or photographers and I understand that organization is one of the things I am personally good at so I don’t hold it against anyone else for putting their energy towards their own personal strengths.
I have realized over the course of many years though that I have something a lot of people want, a well organized home, but that most people don’t really know how to get there.
I’ve also realized that I’ve learned a lot of good tips and tricks along the way that I can share to help people figure it out and that’s what this post is all about.
Below I've outlined 7 steps you can take to get, and more importantly stay, organized.
Why 7?
We’re surrounded by sevens all the time,
7 dwarves,
7 deadly sins,
7 brides for 7 brothers,
so when I was thinking of what steps to include, the number 7 jumped out, and what do you know, it turned out that was just enough for everything I wanted to share.
Read the whole list, then go back to the beginning and start implementing them step by step. Many of the steps builds on one another so skipping one might throw a bit of a wrench in the gears, but really take what’s the most useful for you right now.
There might be steps that don’t apply to you, go ahead and skip 'em!
Use what works for you personally and leave the rest, don’t worry, I won’t mind.
My goal is to help you get your home where you want it to be, and your journey there might look different than mine did. Great! As long as you get there, that’s what matters right?
Okay, so I imagine you’re starting to feel a bit like “Okay! I get it! Get on with it already!”
So without further ado, I give you Step #1 -
Step 1 : Make a Place
The first step is to make a place for everything, and I do mean EVERY thing. Ok, ok let me back up, not every tiny little thing needs to get it’s own special place in your home, but at the very least all your stuff should have a general area to belong in, whether that be a drawer, cupboard, basket, closet, etc. You like to throw your wallet, keys, and sunglasses on the table by the door? Great, put something there to throw them in! Charging cords coming out your ears? Designate a drawer or basket just for them! I guarantee your local thrift store has tons of inexpensive baskets and storage containers or you might even have something already that you could relocate to serve the purpose. The point is to make a dedicated place for the items in your home so that when you want to put things away, they have a place to go to.
Step 2: Be Selective
If right now you’re saying “But how can I find a place for EVERYTHING?!!” Fear not, this step is for you! I have a trick that will make putting everything away much easier. Here it is: Only find places for the things you need, use, or love. Trust me on this, when all you have to clean up and organize are the things you love or find useful, tidying up is a whole lot more enjoyable and takes a heck of a lot less time. And what to do with the things you don’t need, use or love? That brings us to tip #3
Step 3: Pass it On
Keep a donation box at the ready. We have ours in our garage and whenever I come across something that no longer has a space in our home I toss it in. Whether it’s pants my boys have outgrown, a toy they no longer play with, or the 6 extra teaspoons that somehow ended up in our kitchen, they go in the box and when the box is full it goes to the Goodwill.
Step 5 : Make a Plan
Now if you’ve done the work of paring down what you own to only the things you use and love, the next step is making time in your schedule to put them away every week. Our family started Sunday housecleaning a few years back and it was a total game changer! Simply put, we all work together for a few hours once a week and clean our whole house. We each do our own rooms, the boys take turns cleaning their bathroom, then we all work together to finish the rest. I am someone who has a hard time relaxing in clutter or mess and I used to constantly either be freaking out about stuff everywhere or feeling overwhelmed at how to ever keep on top of it. Now that I know everything will be back in it’s place every Sunday I am able to let a lot more of the messes go and just enjoy life the rest of the week. Everyone has the same amount of time to work with, 24 hours in every day, and if you want things to be clean and organized you need to prioritize time in your schedule for it.
Step 5 : Enlist Help
Did you notice that I mentioned some of the work our boys do in the last step? Well that leads me straight into step number #5, have everyone play a part. That old saying “Many hands make light work” is true and when it comes to taking care of the home you all share, it should be all hands on deck. Obviously age and ability level should be taken into account, but even my 5-year-old can help tidy his room and put his toys away. My older two at 12 and 14 though are able to pitch in and help out a lot more. Our family has video game time after cleaning and while a tidy house might be reward enough for me, something a little extra for a job well done might do wonders to further motivate your kids ;)
Step 6 : Find the Time
Does the idea of spending only one day a week cleaning sound like it might be overwhelming? If you aren’t doing any dishes or putting anything away all week, it probably will be! The 6th step is to pick up when you can throughout the week. Only have 5 minutes? Set a timer and tidy up for 5 minutes, you’ll be amazed at how much you can actually get done in a very small amount of time. Just making the bed can make a whole room look neater even if you don’t do a single other thing. And just like in steps 4 and 5, enlist help! Last year I woke up to the fact that my boys were more than old enough to step up and help in the evening with the dishes. One of them unloads the dishwasher (if needed) and the other washes the dinner dishes. We've made sure they understand that we all need to do our part to help keep our home running well. My husband goes to work to earn the money to purchase groceries, I plan, shop, prep, and cook the meal, they can do their part and clean up after. And if they decide to take up cooking? I’ll be more than happy to clean up after any meals they make :)
8 : BE CONSISTENT!
If your family isn’t used to cleaning this way, take it slowly and just keep going! Once it becomes part of your regular routine you’ll be amazed at how smoothly things go. Every so often due to illness or out of town visitors we miss a Sunday and I’m blown away at how much clutter can build up in that time period. The longer you let things go the more work it will be once you finally tackle it, so consistency really is the key to keeping up.
One last thing address is that maybe it’s already been a long time since you’ve tidied your home or culled your belongings, so getting started at all might seem an insurmountable task. My advice here is to look at your calendar and find time in your schedule for a full scale purge (you can read more about what that entails in next week's post) but basically it boils down to a systemic elimination of everything you don’t want, need, or use. Start with a purge and and then be as consistent as possible every week after and you'll have the best chance for long term success.
I hope these steps will be as helpful for you as they've been for us! Being surrounded by clutter and mess can be a huge source of anxiety and stress and my wish for you is to find the routine that works best for your family and enjoy the peace that comes along with it. Please reach out in the comments if you have any questions!
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