Organizing is hard. Not only that, most of us have other things we would prefer to do. And, if you are tired, or busy, or sick, or working, or parenting, you just plain cannot get motivated. So, you can you get motivated to organize your home?
I used to walk into my little apartment and get the worst feeling in my gut. I was so overwhelmed by the clutter around me that all I wanted to do was sleep.
Other times, I would start actually working on organizing, but things progressed slowly. Then I lost motivation quickly and ended up distracted or, more often, avoiding the mess altogether and pretending it wasn’t there. To make matters even more touchy, I was working twelve hour days, and by the time I got home, I was tired and really, really didn’t want to work on cleaning or organizing. It was a constant downward spiral, that, I’m sure you can imagine, eventually spiraled out of control.
I finally decided I needed to actually do something about it. So one day, I built up my determination, set a timer, and started to “power-organize” through each pile of things that had overflowed into our lives. And got absolutely nowhere. The feeling of discouragement in that moment was pretty horrible.
Get motivated to organize!
Are you feeling the same way? Do you have some tricky projects that just won’t seem to go away? Have you decluttered and decluttered without seeing an end to the organization process? What if I told you, you do not have to live this way? There is hope for your home. You can find the motivation you need to get your space organized and stop the horrible cycle of discouragement.
If you are feeling like this is too good to be true, I can assure you it is not. I found a way to motivate myself and actually tackle each and every project in my home. Today, I am sitting and writing this looking out on a cozy, organized space that I am happy to be in. No more yucky feelings or avoidance for me.
It is time to start building momentum to organize your space, I am going to share my 6 steps to organizing quickly when you have no motivation.
- Choose one space to organize.
- Make a list of each project you find.
- Put on some tunes.
- Time yourself.
- Find a permanent home for each item.
- Take time to enjoy your space.
What is organizing?
It might be good to overview what I mean by organizing. To have an organized space, every. Single. Thing. In the space has a place it belongs. A home, if you will. Your things may not always be in their “home,” but when your space is organized, you could put those things away if you wanted to because you know exactly where they go. That’s it, really. It is a simple description for a pretty time-consuming process.
Now that you know what it is, how in the world are you going to actually do that? Trust me, I can sympathize. It sounds so simple on paper, but when you actually get started, the process can be very unmotivating and discouraging. But, no fear. If I can do this, you can to.
Start by choosing one space to organize.
When I declutter, I like to do it by category. Then, I can reorganize the category as I put things away. But in the scenario I described above, I was merely trying to keep up with my home. My husband and I had just finished a pretty expansive decluttering process. Instead, I just wanted to find homes for things I hadn’t actually done that for yet. Things we had gotten for Christmas, a new cooking gadget, mail, some sentimental items from Hubs’ mom, and gifts from my students.
They were just sitting there, mocking me. So, I broke it down by space. I divided my apartment into five areas: bedroom closet, bedroom, living room, dining room, and kitchen. Then, I decided to focus on one at a time because I knew if I could get even one organized space in my home, I would have a safe space to relax in and an example of what my whole apartment could look like.
I chose to start on my living room. It is a room we spend a lot of time in, and it is the first thing I see when I walk in the door. So, it needed to look nice.
Make a list of each project that needs to be organized.
Sometimes breaking a big goal down into bite sized pieces makes it much easier to accomplish. Like Bob in “What about Bob?” Baby steps. Look through the room at each project that needs to be tackled and make a list. This is my living room list.
- Coffee table
- Christmas tree (when you see the date of this post, please don’t judge. The tree has been the bane of my existence for 6 months.)
- Media center
- Get rid of pile
- Easy chair
- Craft supplies
- Cords
- Plants
For such a small space, I was shocked at how many projects I found. Some of them, I knew would be easy and quick, and others, well…not easy and quick. But, having clear, defined spaces to work on helped me mentally. All the frustration and defeat was cleared away with defined, go to, tasks. I finally felt like I knew where to start.
save this post for later
Put on some tunes.
Choose familiar music. I like to choose something with a high tempo. Picking something with a higher tempo is proven to get your heart pumping more and wake you up. You do want to make sure the music isn’t going to be too distracting. So, choosing something familiar is important. Of course, you can sing along, but make sure you will be able to keep working through it. If you find musing distracting, play music without lyrics softly as ambient noise to help cut out other distractions.
One thing I would definitely suggest would be to avoid TV. It is far too easy to get too into shows or movies. You may not want to leave the room at an exciting part. Splitting your focus like that is dangerous because it can slow you down.
Start working on the easiest tasks first.
I know some organization specialists have a specific place they encourage you to start. But, for me, I have to start somewhere that I can finish quickly. I’m not talking about organizing a whole room here. Work small so you can build momentum, build motivation. Getting something out will help you feel more accomplished. Look at your list of projects. Choose the one that is easiest for you to complete quickly. A pile of things that you already have places for or you can put away quickly.
If I have any laundry out, I try to start there. It instantly makes the room look less cluttered, and laundry is something that can be quickly and easily put away.
Starting with something you can get through quickly will help you feel accomplished. Seeing things move out of your home quickly, will give you the best feeling. It will give you the productivity boost you need.
Time yourself.
Working in short, productive bursts is better than long, sluggish stretches. I tend to get caught in loops when I am organizing because I find something that is very difficult to work on and spend more time cudgeling my brain about the best place to put it than actually working. When you have a time limit, you know when you will get to give yourself a break. It will help you get started quickly because you know you have a time limit as well.
I like to work in 30-45 minute spurts. Try to finish one item off your list before time is up. Then, take a short 10 minute break. Get up and moving. Go outside. Get a snack or drink. Read a chapter of a book. Do something completely different than the tasks you were just working on. When the 10 minutes are up, dive back into organizing again.
Find a permanent home for each item.
We are not after short term solutions here. Even the little ones. Don’t leave anything out. If you cannot find a space for it, (my absolute problem-pics of little pointless items we own), ask yourself:
- Do I like this?
- Do I use this?
- What do I use it for?
- What category is it going to fit into?
- If I get rid of this can I replace it easily in the next month?
You can download this decluttering flowchart to help you if you as you decide what to get rid of, to keep, or to toss.
The first question is the most important. If the answer is no to the first question, continue down the list. Unless you can find a compelling reason, do not keep things you do not like. If you do like the item, the questions will help you decide if it is necessary to keep.
Some things you will keep. Some, get rid of. It is not about the amount of items you keep. Instead, it is about making sure everything you do keep has a place to go.
Be vigilant about this step. It can be time consuming to find places for all the little knick-knacks that are lying around. But, without finding each of them a place where they can be organized permanently, they will just keep sneaking back out again and again.
Related Post: Pro tips to be more organized at home. Related Post: 12 gadgets that will help you organize your cabinets
Take time to enjoy your space.
Now that you have a beautifully organized space, take time to enjoy it. Don’t jump right into the next space. Congratulate yourself on exactly what you did to make this space organized and relax knowing you are one step closer to having your whole home look like this. Put your feet up, and enjoy the space you created.
What space are you planning on organizing first? Leave a comment below to let us know.
