If you’ve lived in your home for any period of time, there’s a good chance you’ve accumulated a lot of stuff. Does it feel like every surface is covered or a drawer crammed full? Sometimes the battle for organization can feel like a constant struggle, especially if you have little ones.
There are a lot of benefits to organizing your home even though it can feel like a massive undertaking. Organizing your home helps you to feel more relaxed and focused at home.
Ready to gain control over your home? Here’s your guide to organize every space so you can have a beautifully organized home.
Evaluative the space
Every organization project begins with evaluating your space. Spend some time and identify what you like and don’t like about the space and settle on how you want to use it once it’s all cleared out. Your goal should be specific and related to how you want your space to function. This overarching goal will guide how you use and fill this space.
Take everything out
This may be easy if you’re clearing out a small space like a pantry or closet, it can be overwhelming when you’re working with a larger space like a bedroom or garage. Keep plugging away! Clearing everything out serves several purposes: first, it allows you to see everything you have, second, you will have a better idea of how much space you actually have, and finally, the mess will motivate you to clean up as quickly as possible.
Purge and sort
Now that you’ve emptied the space, it’s time to look through your stuff and start making some decisions. Evaluate every item and ask yourself if you still need or love it. Be ruthless! It’s natural to develop an emotional attachment to our things but it’s important to be honest with yourself and learn to let things go. Start with the easy stuff: toss anything that is broken or worn out; anything that’s not fit to donate or give away. Separate anything you want to keep into a separate pile.
The next step is sorting through your keep pile and categorize them into the following: keep here, keep somewhere else, donate, sell, and trash (yes, another trash pile just in case you change your mind). Just like your decluttering phase, look at each item and decide which pile things should go. Keep the overall goal of your space in mind when deciding which items should stay or go. If you’re organizing your office, make sure the only items that stay are things you’d use in that room. Remember, you only want to keep items that are absolutely necessary.
Organize
It’s finally time to start organizing the items you’ve decided to keep. Before you run out and buy a bunch of new pretty bins, start by assigning a home for each item. Try to store like items together and preferably close to where you typically use them. Make sure frequently used items are easily accessible, with lesser-used items on higher shelves or in the back of your storage space.
Storage bins aren’t a required part of organizing but they do look great! If you want to buy new bins and baskets, now is the time to head to the store. That way you know exactly what you need and how you’ll use them. Buy items that will enhance the organization system you created.
Train yourself to keep it up
Being organized isn’t a one-time achievement; it requires ongoing maintenance. The next step to staying organized is training yourself to keep it that way. Get into the habit of immediately replacing items once you’re finished using them.
Feel free to make adjustments
Don’t be afraid to make adjustments if your current system is no longer working. If your space starts getting messy again, identify what the problems are: is there too much stuff in this space? are items being put in the wrong spot? maybe most used items aren’t positioned in an easily accessible spot.
Once you’ve zeroed in on the issue, find a new solution to get your system back on track. You may just need to change how you’ve sorted items, clearly label storage spaces so everyone knows where things belong, or perhaps you’ll need to declutter a bit more. Don’t be discouraged! Sometimes a little tweak or two is all you need to make lasting changes.
Using this simple system to organize your home will mean you’ll spend less time spent cleaning or looking for something, and more time actually enjoying your home.
For more information on new FCB homes for sale in Lodi or Riverbank, visit us online at FCBHomes.com to learn about our new home communities, home designs, and more. We look forward to welcoming you home!
