When people think of home organization they tend to think in extremes: “My entire house needs to be organized” or “My basement is a disaster” or “I need to rehaul my closet” or “I can’t find anything anywhere” or “My kids’ stuff is literally everywhere”... etc.
My advice? Start small.
“Starting small” is not a new concept. But it’s oft-repeated for a reason.
Starting small with your organization efforts can be the jumpstart you need to tackle larger organization projects in your home. And starting small with your thoughts - what we call “elevator thoughts” which help you incrementally build upon a current thought to a more productive future thought - can be the ticket to a truly organized state.
One of the concepts behind habit-making is that the more you do something, the more credibility you build with yourself. And that starting with smaller, more achievable goals can help build that muscle to increasingly up your game to life-changing habits. However, if you start too big or too unrealistic, and set expectations for yourself too soon that are just not going to happen if you’re really honest with yourself, you lose your credibility as soon as you fail. And that doesn’t feel good.
Here’s an example…
You decide on January 1 that you are going to be ORGANIZED this year! You’re going to completely clear the clutter from your home, create a new system for organizing, and your home will be the envy of all of your friends. Maybe you lay everything out in your basement to get prepped, and buy 20 plastic tubs. And then 2 weeks later you have one tub filled that you keep tripping over on your way to the laundry room, and the rest of the home looks the same as it did last year. And by February you just give up.
That may sound familiar, but it’s not your fault, and it’s not your forever. You just set too large of a goal, too soon. If you start small, you have a better chance of success.
Try this example instead…
You decide today that you are going to organize your purse and make a commitment to only keeping your keys, phone, lip balm, and an extra hair tie in there. And you do it. Then tomorrow you go out and about your day and end up stuffing receipts in there and random trinkets your child hands you. Before your know it, your purse is stuffed to the brim. But that’s OK. Once you get home, you take those violating things out and take 2 minutes to put them where they belong. Magically, your purse… remains… organized, and you start the next day as someone with an organized purse who can finds the things they need easily. You do this day after day because it is small and you prove to yourself each day that it’s achievable. And maybe in a month, or a few months, you feel a little more in control, and feel like not only can you be a person who has an organized purse, but someone who has an organized wallet. You clear out the gift cards, the random receipts, the old credit cards. And onwards and upwards you go!
Struggling to think of an idea for an area you can tackle right now to put this to the test? Here are some low hanging fruit:
- Purse: Think about what you need day to day. What are you always reaching for? What are you wishing you had easy access to but can never find? Limit yourself to just these necessary items, not the ones that you’d need in case of apocalypse or some other unlikely event
- Wallet: Start by taking out all of those random gift cards, check their balances, write the amount ON the gift card itself, and toss the expired ones. Put them somewhere prominent in your wallet or office so you actually see and use them within the next month. Old receipts? Toss or file them. A zillion credit cards when you only use one daily? Leave your primary cards in there and put the rest in your desk or somewhere safe.
- Car: This can be a big undertaking for some, but just start with your glove compartment, or center console. Go through the same questions as you ask yourself when going through your purse: What are you always needing when you’re in your car, and what’s in there simply because you haven’t had the motivation to move it to where it belongs?
- Sock drawer: I know, I know… organization your clothes is a topic all its own. But this one drawer could be an entryway. Go through it and nix all the socks that have holes in them. Or the ones that always slide off your foot in your shoe. Or are stretched out and have lost their elasticity. Donate what you can, toss the rest.
Having consistently organized areas in your home - no matter the size of these areas - can earn you the credibility with yourself that will be crucial in your quest to become kempt!