Make sure you always keep in mind the golden rules of organizing!
We know just how exhausting it can be to keep your home tidy. This is why we made our lives easier with these golden rules for organizing that we gathered from some of the biggest experts in the field!
You may not think that you need to master organization skills, but in the long run, once you have them down to a T, you will thank them!
An organized space is a neater one, while also making your home more efficient. Gone are the days when you could not find what you were looking for or when you got frustrated by all the clutter!
Despite this, organizing can be an arduous process, and it can be hard to even just begin, not to mention keep at it until you’re happy with the result! This is where these golden rules of organization come into play!
From helping you get started to upkeeping your process, these golden rules are devised by experts to help keep you on track and keep your home free of clutter.
Are you ready for the easiest organizing recipe? Keep on reading to discover it!
1. Be realistic
While you may want to tackle all the areas in your home that have become extremely cluttered, you need to stay realistic with your goals.
Sure, the basement is in complete disarray, and you want to organize it until it does a complete 180, but it did not take a day to get to that unorganized state.
Therefore, the problem is that it will take quite some time to get it into a state where you are happy with its organized state.
No matter what space you want to tackle, you need to keep in mind that it is going to take you a while to clean and organize it, so thinking you can do everything in a couple of hours or a day is probably not feasible for bigger, more cluttered spaces.
Being realistic with your time is one of the golden rules since this is the only way you can give yourself time to dedicate fully to the task and not end up being overwhelmed from the start.
If you have too little time, you will not have the results you desire, and you will feel pressured to get everything done.
Not idealizing a timeframe is going to leave you space to do everything how you want it and get the result you desire, instead of hoping for a perfect result with too little time, which is going to take away all the motivation you may have had at the start.
2. Break it down
Another golden rule that is going to help keep you motivated is to break down your space and set a clear path you need to follow.
Thinking that you can organize your entire house in two days is not going to help you, since you will feel pressured by time and you will not know where to start; not to mention, this will lead you to stuff everything out of sight since you will not know how you can manage this huge task!
The best way to get around to organizing your home is to break it into chunks and separate the spaces you need to tackle.
That way, you have a list, and you can see how you can separate it into smaller tasks. Then, every time you cross a task off your list, you will feel accomplished and closer to your goal, thus not losing any motivation to keep up the good work!
Another hack you can use is to set a timer for 15-20 minutes of focused organizing for smaller spaces like a couple of pantry shelves or your junk drawer. That way, you will not let yourself be distracted, and with time, focusing will become easier.
3. Declutter first
We know that organizing is exciting, and you may be thinking about all the bins you may need. But you should wait before you end up splurging on these organizing products, not just the bins.
Before you can truly start to organize, this is one of the golden rules you cannot skip out on: you need to declutter.
Not only will decluttering help you see the space you have more easily since it will be empty, but it will also help you decide what you need to put back into and what you need to donate or just simply throw out.
Getting rid of the items that you no longer find useful is an important part of organizing; you can give them to friends and family or simply donate them, and just like that, you have more space to work with!
And we are sure there are items you no longer use that could either use a new home or just need to be thrown out!
Only after you have decluttered can you start to plan what and how many bins you need to get.
Once you need to invest in some organizing bins, we recommend you try to find them wholesale, since that way you can get more bang for your buck. This set from Amazon is affordable and has served us well over the years!
4. Trust the process
You may like the idea of open kitchen shelves and having a minimalist countertop, like the trend is raving about now. But when you stop to consider it, it can end up being counterintuitive to your organizing style.
A golden rule is to find your organizing style and stick to it, considering all the possibilities before you start your project; do not just jump into one without knowing how you like to organize.
If you find that you keep forgetting about items if they are out of sight, then you should probably avoid using matte and opaque bins, as well as the idea of putting them out of sight completely.
Likewise, if you get easily overwhelmed, i.e., you can see everything, and it is a sensory overload, then you should try to use hidden systems to your advantage; for example, people put their mixer on a hidden appliance lift instead of on the counter to avoid always seeing it.
Your organizing style can be different for each room, so with each organization task, you should consider your options and preferences.
You may be okay with compromising and having things on your bathroom or kitchen counters, but facing piles of clothes in your closet may drive you up the wall.
The bottom line is to choose what works for you, even if it goes against the organizing trends and they “clash” from one room to another, and stick to them.
That way, you will be happy with the end product, and that’s the most important!
5. Do not give practical up for pretty
If your organizing system and preferences are not easy to upkeep, then you will lose the perfectly organized pantry and closet you have dreamed of. All your hard work will crumble before your eyes, and you will not be able to enjoy a clutter-free zone.
For example, you may think that putting the linens in wicker baskets is going to look nice, but when you have to fish through them to get to the linen set you want, it will show how impractical it truly is.
The best choice you have is to look for practical and pretty solutions, not just pretty ones, since those may end up ruining your organizing system and returning you to the starting point.
Do not skimp on the style you like, but find the balance between function and form, and you’re set!
6. Forget about any guilt
We know it is easier said than done, but you should not dwell too much on buyer guilt. Sure, you may run into some items that were expensive that you’re not truly using or gifts you left to collect dust, but you should not let these things stop you from your organizing task.
You want a tidy and clean space, so this means getting rid of some items that are taking up both physical and mental space.
This does not mean you should get rid of keepsakes or memorabilia—items that are important to you—but you should not stop and feel bad every time you find items you spent money on or received but never used.
Every misguided purchase is a lesson, and you should learn from it and move on!
While organizing is an important part of keeping your spaces in order, so is cleaning them. And when it comes to cleaning, there are certain items we can guarantee you have not cleaned in a while! Check out this article to see if you clean these items as often as you should!
