6 STEPS TO ORGANIZE YOUR HOME

The one thing I get asked more than anything is HOW TO ORGANIZE MY HOME!

I love organizing things. It truly gives me so much joy. Call it OCD if you will, but my life operates easier, I have less anxiety and I am truly happier when my surroundings are organized. I really believe everyone would be more at ease if their homes were organized. This is not a ‘one size fits all’ either. You have to determine what works for your home because we all operate differently. But, once you figure that out, you can streamline everything.

The first thing we did when we moved into our home was head to The Container Store. I did this before we painted, before we bought one piece of furniture or hung anything on the wall (2019 is going to be the year for that!) I went and bought so many bins, I should have bought stock in The Container Store. I knew I had to get organized and live in this space before I could start to think about decor. It was the best thing I could have ever done and today I am sharing my tips with YOU!

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6 STEPS TO ORGANIZING YOUR HOME

STEP 1: Put all your things in the middle of the room and purge!

Whatever area you are organizing – closet, bathroom, kitchen, etc. – pull out all the items that need to be organized first. Pile up your stuff. If you are starting with your kitchen, pull all those kitchen gadgets and small appliances out and go through each thing to make sure you still need it. If you will never use it, get rid of it! If feels so good to get junk out of your house!

STEP 2: Take inventory & Categorize.

Pile like items together. Make collections. For example, in a kitchen, pile all the baking tools together (whisks, cookie cutters, icing bags, etc), then have another pile for cooking tools (garlic press, large spoons, meat thermometers, etc.) This will help you determine where each collection of things will need to go, which brings us to our next step….

STEP 3: Plan out your space.

Once you have all the items collected into like piles, look at your space and determine what pile will fit where. If you have more baking tools than cooking tools, plan to put them in the larger drawer. You will need to measure every drawer, cabinet and shelf. This is VERY IMPORTANT to the next step.

STEP 4: Buy Storage Bins.

Here is the fun part! Go to the store and grab ALL the storage bins, baskets, tubs, cases you can find to fit your space. Remember the instruction of step 3 to measure each space??? Make sure you take those measurements with you to the store. I sat in the middle of The Container Store and laid out all the utensil holders I liked until I knew what would fit the 18×14 inch rectangle drawer I had.

If you have a shelf that is 60″ long and 18″ wide and you have 4 separate collections of items you want to put on that shelf, make sure your containers are no bigger than 15×18. Its pretty simple, but all those numbers can sometimes get confusing. Being prepared with all your measurements AND sketches on paper don’t hurt either.

STEP 5: Put Everything in place.

Once you have made it home with your storage containers, set them all up in every drawer, closet and pantry shelf. Make sure everything fits the way you want in each space. Once its all installed and in place, start putting your things away. Ohhhhh…it’s going to feel so good!

STEP 6: Label Everything!

This is essential to KEEPING everything organized. You will always know exactly where everything needs to go!

I hope these 6 steps helped you out a bit. If something doesn’t have a place to go (in a basket, bin, container, etc.), you probably don’t need it. The key to a stress-free home is to have a place to put everything away. This also gets rid of the need to have things piled up somewhere or sitting in a corner or junk drawer because you don’t know where it needs to go. Just designate a space for EVERYTHING or GET RID OF IT!