Do you need to organize your home?

I’m guessing you do. For me, organizing my home is a continual process.

I consider myself an organized person. That doesn’t mean my house is always perfectly neat and everything is in its place. But I do have my systems. And I think once you have those systems it’s easier to keep things organized even if at times things pile up (like the pile of papers I have on the floor of my bedroom at the moment).

There are loads of resources on home organization. I particularly like The Home Edit because it fits in with my own way of doing things. Except I don’t like the part where they organize by the colors of the rainbow, I don’t do that (sorry Clea & Joanna). You can find them on Instagram under The Home Edit. They also have a show on Netflix that I really like and it shows how they go about organizing different rooms, closets, etc.. The 4 steps in their process are:

• Edit
• Categorize
• Contain
• Maintain

I think these are a nice way of describing the organizing process. Let’s discuss 2 of them a little more.

Editing

Probably one of the most important pieces of advice in the edit phase is to not take on too much at once. I like to focus on 1 room at a time. Or if the room has a big or crowded closet, maybe just the closet. When I’m in organizing mode I’ll set out goals for the day and week. It might be one room on one day, and a certain number of rooms by the end of the week. Or it could even just be a few drawers in the kitchen. Or it could be less or more. Just depends on how much time I have.

Containing

There are lots of products to help in the contain phase. You can find many, many ideas in this Good Housekeeping article. While I really like how they look, I don’t get too into products. If I feel I need something I’ll usually go to Target (or Bed Bath and Beyond when it was still open). The Container Store is also a good option.

The Home Edit has their own product line with lots of nice things (I especially like their premade labels). Their products are available on their website and at Walmart. The only thing I have bought from The Home Edit is this 3 tier riser for my kitchen pantry which I think is brilliant.

Once you have gone through the edit phase getting rid of everything you don’t want can also be a lot of work. Options include:

• Throw it out (if you don’t think anyone else could use it)
• Recycle
• Donate or give away
• Sell

Check out What to do with your unwanted stuff? for more information on these options.

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