Teaching You How to Organize

Published by cravat | Filed under Buyer / Seller Tips, Miscellaneous

Do you know how to organize? Once you learn these organizing basics, you can apply them to organize anything in your home or office. From closets, linens, handbags, junk drawers, kitchens–the list goes on and on.

Step 1: Commit to Organization

This step is really about developing and maintaining motivation, so focus on the benefits of getting organized. Think about the time and money saving benefits of being organized: no more rooting around for batteries or light bulbs when you need them because you’ll know exactly where they are stored. Additionally, you can stop buying duplicates because you can’t find an item you need. That means keeping more money in your pocket.

Tip #1:

Start with an area in your home or office where you will see results quickly. I like to direct people to their kitchen junk drawers. Paper is the hardest thing to organize and can take a long time. Pace yourself and don’t get discouraged.

Step 2: De-clutter

Before you can dive into an organization project, you’ve got to clear out the clutter. We recommend you work on one area at a time and make it as fun as possible: play music, invite a friend to help, and most importantly, pace yourself so you don’t burn out!

Tips #2:

Establish criteria for what you’re going to keep and toss before you begin so you don’t waste time and energy on items you are just going to throw out. Don’t keep multiples of items (think: soy sauce packets, plastic utensils, dry cleaning hangers, etc.)

Step 3: Group Like with Like

This is the most important step. “This is where you begin to create order from chaos.” First, begin with large categories and then break down those categories. Example: Cookbooks, Novels, School Books.

Tips #3:

Group by type of item (i.e. all extra tubes of toothpaste in a storage basket in the linen closet, etc.); Group by frequency of use (i.e. all daily work clothes hang together in the closet, etc.); Group by project (i.e. everything you use to brew coffee in the same spot in your kitchen, etc.); Group by person (i.e. everyone’s winter gear like hats and gloves in their own cubby, etc)

Step 4: Create a Place for Everything

“This is where you make everything easy to put away.” First keep in mind your “prime real estate” which are the spaces most accessible to store things where they are used!

Tips #4:

Out of sight, out of mind so make sure what’s important to you is visible; Identify and use the appropriate containers for items. If they don’t fit you probably won’t use it for too long; Avoid mystery boxes by using clear containers and labeling them as soon as you fill them up.

Step 5: Maintain Organization

The more frequently you maintain order, the less time it will take, so keep it up! Example: If you open your mail, pay your bills and file your receipts weekly, that will take about 4x less time than if you do on a monthly basis, so schedule your maintenance to suit your style.

Tips #5:

Schedule maintenance daily, weekly, quarterly or annually; or Event-based: as deadlines approach, when things become disorganized or messy, when the container for that item begins to fill up, or my favorite, when you have a guest coming! Use a timer to pace yourself.