adult(ed) EPISODE 8: LET'S GET ORGANIZED!

I recently became another level of self-aware when I read a couple of books on the Enneagram and discovered I was 9. Something I found interesting about myself was that aside from being prone to procrastination (which I’ve known about myself for a while) it can be hard for me to finish a task at times because I see everything as equal importance (without even realizing). So, things don’t always get prioritized. Then that day comes when I get tired of opening our linen closet to see a disaster, so I’ll start to take everything out and begin organizing. When I go get some water I may notice that our drink ware is a disaster too and so I’ll begin working on that before finishing the other task.

Organizing, although pretty simple sounding on paper, can be quite the task at times for many reasons. And if you’re like me it can be easy to want to take it all on at one time. In this episode of adult(ed), Ashley from Creatively Neat broke it all down for our guest Kim and I, so we can all tackle getting organized one step at a time.

Where do I start?

Ashley broke down the process of organizing into three simple steps:

SORT. PURGE, ORGANIZE.

Sort!
We started with the first step, by taking literally everything out of Kim’s closet and putting items that were alike together. So the hats went with the hats, the pants with the pants, and some of those random items that didn’t make sense in her closet together. It was so helpful to lay it all out so we could actually see what was in her closet.

Purge!
Next began the purge. This is the step where you decide if you will be keeping or saying goodbye to some of your items. I sometimes start a bag for donate or trash during the sort process, but if you need a moment to see everything laid out in for you first, this is when the purge will happen. If you’re immediate gut says “no” it might be time to let go of that item. Ashley mentioned too, that we never need to feel obligated to keep a gift from someone we love if we no longer want it because it doesn’t represent that love you have for that person. I thought this was a helpful tip during this purge step, to know it’s okay to let something go so it could serve someone else.

Sort!
Once the purge is complete it’s time to put it all back. This is the step where we find a home for everything. A tip to take away was “file, not pile”. Filing our items in a way where we can actually see what we have is so helpful. When we begin to pile things to a point where we can’t see them, we slowly find ourselves back to where we started as we put things back. During this process you may also do things like label, so you can see what goes in that “home”.

One Closet at Time

If there was one thing I could emphasize on from the episode it would be this: you don’t have to organize your life all at once! Take it one step at a time. One closet at a time, one drawer at a time. If you want to take a weekend to do it all, more power you, but know you don’t need to! Also, know you don’t need to go out and buy organizing containers right away. We all love our containers. I literally think The Container Store might be one of my favorite places in this world, but buying a lot of cute baskets can be expensive at times. Plus, it’s so helpful to know what you actually want to put in a storage container before you go to the store. Some of those items might be purged and no longer need a home under your sink. Use what you have in the mean time even! Don’t let the thought of it needing to be more aesthetic keep you in the way of starting to get organized. Just take it a little at a time.

The Importance of Being Organized

I’m sure there are so many more reasons, but here are some of my takeaways on how organizing can be great for you life.

You can actually see you inventory.
Doesn’t it feel nice to actually know what’s in your closet? So before you buy a new pair of those cute black ankle high boots you saw on amazon, you may have some buried in the back.

It just feels better

When I open up a closet where things aren’t pouring out of it, that takes some stress off. When I can go to a drawer looking for some scissors and know exactly where they are that feels so good!

Creates healthy habits

Everything has a home and if we get in the habit of putting everything in those homes, we will stay organized. Little things like when we get home and hanging our jacket instead of throwing it on a chair or after brushing your hair, putting it away instead of leaving it on the bathroom counter. We all need to create some good habits in our lives and getting organized can help start some new ones.

To learn more tips on getting organized watch the full episode here.
Once you ready to get some items to get to another level of organized check these out:
Storage Bins
Hanging Closet Organizer Drawer OrganizerHangers