“Being organized isn’t about getting rid of everything you own or trying to become a different person. It’s about living the way you want to live, but better.” – Andrew Mellen
IS THIS YOUR YEAR TO GET ORGANIZED? DON’T JUST FOCUS ON GETTING THERE, HAVE A PLAN TO STAY ORGANIZED TOO!
You’ve spent a lot of time going through closets, drawers, under beds, in bins, boxes, and storage spaces. Maybe you’ve bought new bins, systems, moved things around, labeled, and edited your possessions. Perhaps you’ve even hired a professional organizing company to help you with these projects. You finally feel like items have places and you are not overwhelmed by “stuff”. Such a great feeling! It’s ok to open your closets and drawers and just stare for awhile. We do it too 😉
But even when you have good systems in place, you need to maintain them…and we will tell you how!
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5. A HOME FOR EVERYTHING.
This begins before an item even comes into your home. Ask yourself before you make a purchase “where will this item be stored when not in use?” If you cannot come up with an answer, hold off on the purchase. Go home and see where you can put it. Do you need to purge/edit to get it to fit? Make sure you don’t add more items to your home if the item in question does not have an assigned place.
4. CAPACITY.
Not only do you need to consider physical space that items take up, but also mental, emotional and your time kind of space. Do you have the capacity- mentally, emotionally, and time-wise, to deal with this? Will it add more or less stress? Staying organized is about more than items being put away, it is also about time and space management.
Here’s an example. Your kids are asking for a new pet. You already have one so technically you’ve made physical space for a pet as well as the gear. But do you have the mental, emotional, and time capacity to deal with another animal in your home? Pets are wonderful, but if you cannot at this point in life handle another one, it’s ok to know and acknowledge your limitations.
3. SET BOUNDARIES.
Even though you have gotten organized- whether it’s one drawer, one room, or your entire home- there needs to be clear boundaries from here on out. More items will enter your home in the very near future (like that Prime package sitting on your doorstep containing unfun things like lightbulbs and toothpaste) and they will need a place to go.
One of our favorite rules is one-in-one-out. Clothes, toys, water bottles, mugs, small appliances, toothbrushes…it applies to everything.
Setting time limits on some things is another way to set up boundaries. When your kids come home with small trinkets from school or birthday parties, set up a time limit of how long the item(s) will be kept.
Another suggestion is if the item does not fit in the specified container, you either need to let go of something in the container to make it fit, or the item will not be staying in your home. For example, your company gave out swag bags which contained a new water bottle. You realize you do not have space for another water bottle in your water bottle holder. So now you need to decide if you need to let one go, or simply pass along the one you received today.
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2. SCHEDULE ORGANIZING.
Set up certain days of the year to go through spaces to assess and edit. We all experience seasons of busyness when we are not as good about folding the sheets when we put them away, or swapping out winter gear for summer when the weather changes, or even tossing items that are broken. Intentionally scheduling days to go through the garage, closets, pantry, and drawers gives you the chance to fold, put away, toss, purge, and reassess how your organization is working for you. We all need a reset from time to time. And bonus- if you are doing the things above, this really shouldn’t take too long!
If you can’t find the time to get this done, consider booking a reset service with The Simple Sort! And if you’re a previous client, ask about our maintenance services! As a Colorado Springs based professional organizing service we also travel to Woodland Park, Falcon, Black Forest, and Monument. We have also worked with clients outside of El Paso county including Pueblo, Castle Rock, Castle Pines, and the greater Denver area. Contact us today for a free consult!
1. DON’T PUT IT DOWN, PUT IT AWAY.
Are you surprised this is our number one tip for staying organized? This seems like no-brainer advice but it really is a game changer. Think about how many things we get out and use daily. If we don’t put those items away when we are done, things accumulate rather quickly. Soon surfaces, floors, couches, and stair railings are piled with mail, art work, keys, hats, books, toys, coats, leashes, and more. Your future self will thank you to put things away instead of putting them down.
Which tip do you think will help you the most to maintain organization? If you found this post helpful, please share it! Check out some of our other blog posts here!
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