The Hardest Part about Organizing (and what to do about it!)

As with most things in life, getting started is usually the hardest part.  You guessed it, getting started is also the hardest part of any organizing project.  But clients tell me all the time that the whole process was easier and less painful than they anticipated.  Mostly that’s because I was there to help them!  What if you’re ready to get organized and you just don’t have the budget to hire someone to help?  Not to worry, if you’ve been wanting to get organized for a while, then these quick tips will help you.  

Start small, then think even smaller.  Let’s take the pantry for example… that may be a lot for you to tackle on your own, especially if you haven’t done this before.  So take that pantry and break it down into smaller sections:  snacks, cooking, baking, etc. Then purge these areas separately until you are sure you’re ready to take on the whole pantry.

If you really have no idea what to do, start by pulling out anything you can trash and then anything that doesn’t belong in that particular space, e.g., the pantry (putting that stuff where it belongs will be an integral part of the process so make sure you leave some time to actually do it).  Doing just those two things should make enough of an impact that you will be inspired to continue and start purging what you don’t need!

Contain whatever you have with whatever you have.  Anything small and loose should go into a container, even if you just grab a spare shoe box or a box from some Apple products for smaller drawers.  If you can’t see the contents, label with a pen or piece of tape if you don’t want to write directly on the container.

A few ideas of small places where you can start:

-makeup bag/drawer

-purse

-one drawer- like pjs or undies 

-one drawer from kitchen like cooking utensils (DO NOT START WITH YOUR JUNK DRAWER!) 

Why it's important to start small:

-get your feet wet

-get momentum going

-see how long it actually takes so you can manage future expectations 

-build up your purging tolerance

- you probably won’t need a lot of special products and containers