Today’s blog post is alll about getting organized because I am an OCD freak and will literally get anxiety if our space get’s too messy (gunna be scary when we have kids). I blame it on being an ICU nurse, but I’m pretty sure it trails back much farther than that, hashtag clean freak.
Regardless, organizing is one of my favorite things to do and the month of January was literally spent purging and rearranging. It feels good, guys….like really good. So, today I thought I would jump on and share just exactly how I did it and how I allocate my time to do it all because let’s be real, life can get BUSAY!
Now, given that we have a house, my organizing took a lot longer this year than in years past, but I broke it down which made all of the difference.
So, here is how I have it organized for you. You will need to dedicate a morning or afternoon each weekend for a total of four-five weekends. This can be mismatched, rearranged and tailor to your specific needs, but this is just how I did it.
Weekend One – Your Spaces: I tackled the biggest annoyance this first weekend for me and that was my closet, dresser, and bathroom. I went big and in all honesty, this may take you a lot longer than I did, so feel free to allocate more weekends or more time if you can spare it.
Weekend Two – Kitchen/Dining Room: This is some people’s most difficult areas. For me, I just got rid of anything we had not used since moving in (which was the previous March), so I would encourage you to get rid of anything that you haven’t used in this past year (this rule can be used in all areas of your house). And don’t forget the fridge and pantry! These can be huge mess areas because they are high traffic, meaning we are constantly touching them and bringing things into the space
Weekend Three – Garage and Laundry Room: I technically did this the last weekend, but I am placing it for weekend three because I think that these are once again high traffic areas, making them susceptible to needing organization and some extra love. For us, this included calling the city to pick up a few items we had sitting in our garage, and doing some rearranging. We spend a lot of time in our garage, whether we are working out, working in the yard, etc.
Weekend Four – All Other Bathrooms, Spare Bedrooms, and Spare Closets/Misc Spaces: For this weekend, I want you to play catch up through the house. What areas are needing some extra love and refresh? You can also use this as a catch up weekend or a break!
Weekend Five (optional): This is the weekend to deep clean the house, rearrange furniture, pick up any decor or organizational supplies you feel like you need, etc. Use this weekend to make your house, your home.
**Below is a before photo of all the stuff I had in my bathroom. To see the after, check out the videos below**
https://www.thechicdelight.com/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/d03d5ca9c72041acba4a1d35823a3359.mov
Now that we have discussed the breakdown, I want to give you some tips that I live by for when I am organizing and purging.
The first being, if you haven’t used it in a year, you most likely won’t miss it. There are always exceptions to this rule, but I feel as if this rule works majority of the time for me.
Next, is don’t worry about the money it cost you. We all have impulse purchases we regret and it definitely sucks to feel like you spent a ton of money on something that you are just going to throw away. I always remind myself that this is an opportunity for me do better when spending my money, but also if I am really going to regret it, I can try to resell it on a website or at thrift store that buys and resells.
Keep things that spark joy. I learned this lesson in the book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up… by Marie Kondō. If you haven’t read this book and you do enjoy organization, I highly recommend it. I think it is a hard one to implement entirely, but I think she teaches some really great lessons, like keeping things that only bring you joy. I apply this concept by looking at an item and thinking about if I feel happy when I look at it. Does it spark any sort of emotion in me? If it does, and it is a good emotion, I keep it. If it doesn’t and I feel like I just want to keep it to keep it, I get rid of it.
Fourthly, have a buddy with you that is a little more cut throat. So many of us struggle with getting rid of things, so enlist someone with you who is GOOD at getting rid of stuff. They can be your referee if you will. Feel free to text them pictures or make it a fun little adventure by adding some wine and 90s music to the mix. For me, I am a stand alone organizer. I don’t really need help getting rid of things. I do, however, enjoy help when I am rearranging.
Lastly, have fun and remember that this is a special way to show your home, your things, and your personal space some serious respect. You bought these items with your own money and I feel that it is so important to show our spaces, our HOMES the respect that it deserves. We spend so much time in our homes. They are our safe havens, yet we quickly forget to respect the space. Think of it as a massive way of showing yourself and your home and your family some serious self care.
I hope this helps and that you enjoyed this post.
I love organization. It is by far one of my favorite things to do, so I hope you enjoy it too. Feel free to send me before and after pictures too! I would love to see them!
xoxo,
Melissa
