5 Steps to Organize a Space

What does being organized mean to you??

For me, being organized means finding things that I need quickly.  To do that, everything needs to have a home, so I can find it!  Being organized might mean something totally different to you!  Maybe it means not being embarrassed when someone drops by the house unannounced.  It could be that being organized could help you accomplish goals that you have for yourself, or give you extra time to do the things in life that you really want to do!

A wonderful author, Lisa Woodruff  (organize 365.com), has some great steps to take when organizing a space!  FIRST, you will want to go back to last week’s post on De-cluttering and start there!  If you’re ready to move to step 2- Organizing, then here are the steps!!

 

5 Steps to Organizing

1. Get a big picture plan for the space.
2. Combine like items.
3. Match your items to the space.
4. Buy organizers.
5. Clean and finish.

Let’s talk about step one:  Let’s say that you are taking on the task of organizing your laundry room and you have already gone through the de-cluttering stage and kept the items that you want.

Step 1- You will want to get the big picture or plan for the space. What do you do in the laundry room?  You do laundry, right?  Yes!  BUT, our family also feeds the dogs in our laundry room, and I repair buttons that fall off of shirts, etc. too!  When everything is out of the cabinets, drawers and closets, group like things together.  Laundry detergents, fabric softeners, bleach, stain removers, vinegar, mesh bags and other laundry accessories will all be grouped together as well as dog feeding items and sewing items.

Step 3- If you find when it comes to putting items back in the drawers that they don’t fit, consider moving them to a new space. A closet or cabinet in the room may accommodate the space much better.  In fact, I found that my sewing kit fits better in a drawer than on a shelf in my cabinet.  Be flexible!

Step 4- I know you’ve been tempted to run to Target (my favorite store e-vah!) and shop for tubs and bins since day one, but only NOW is the time to do that.  Measure your space and find bins that will fit in your cabinet AND fit your items.  I like to corral my laundry items in a bin, so they don’t tip over or get pushed to the back when I’m reaching for them. The bins also contain spills or leaks too!

Step 5- Clean and finish.  Pretty self explanatory- shut the drawers, closets and cabinets and wipe down horizontal space to leave your freshly organized room looking Mah-velous!

For more ideas, please consider purchasing Lisa Woodruff’s book “The Mindset of Organization: Take back your house one phase at a time!

See you next week for the last post in this series- Productivity!!

Linking up with The Diary of a Real Housewife & Organized 31