How to start organizing places you haven’t in years!

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Organization is a skill. Yes, it really is! This isn’t something you can likely wake up one day and totally get down pat. Organizing and decluttering spaces takes practice, patience, and some strategy. When it comes to organizing those places, you often forget about it, attacking these spaces without a plan can quickly lead to disaster. Therefore we’re going to go over how to start organizing places you haven’t in years.

We all have those spaces, those places where you just throw stuff, put it there to deal with it another day. As well, as spaces you literally don’t know what you put there years ago but you know one day you’ll need to tackle it. I’m guilty of these spaces too, don’t worry it’s not just you. These spaces are quick fixes, they’re simple and easy and please us at the moment. On the flip side, they cause stress and worry about how to tackle them and most often a sense of confusion about where to even start.

Items to gather to prepare for how to start organizing.

Before you can begin diving into the different spaces in your living space it’s helpful to gather some items first. This will the process go smoothly, and help you feel like a professional organizer! Below is a list of recommended items to review and consider gathering before beginning.

• Garbage Bags
• Labels & Pens
• Empty Storage Containers
• All-purpose cleaning spray
• Dust Cloths & Cleaners
• Broom, Vacuum, Mop, and floor cleaning tools

As I mentioned above this list is full of suggestions – you can begin organizing clutter without these items. It may add more time to gather the items once you’ve begun to organize the clutter in your living area. Let’s dive into getting organized at home and where to start with some room ideas below.

Under the stairs

If you live in a space with multiple levels, then it’s likely you have space under the stairs. Some designs create this into liveable spaces, while most spaces turn this into storage space. When this space is for storage it’s easy for it to become a catch-all zone for a plethora of items that you likely barely remember you still own.

It can become the catch-all zone for old children’s clothing, old holiday decoration, memorabilia, family heirlooms, gifts you got that you don’t know what to do with, and space for clothing that “one day” you’ll wear again. Typically, under the stairs storage is tucked away. This means that because it’s out of sight it’s out of mind which means items we rarely touch go there.

So, let’s tackle it! This is going to take some time, but honestly will be so helpful! Take everything out from under the stairs. Yes, I literally mean everything. Create toss, donate, and keep piles and sort through each time.

Once you’ve created your toss, donate, and keep piles you can sort each item into its designated pile. It can be tough with family heirlooms and sentimental items so you can also store those off to the side for a later decision if you need them. Once completed give your understairs storage a clean and then put the kept items back into the space neatly. Use labels when needed to help you know what is in the space for future cleaning.

You’d be surprised how much more effectively you can not only re-pack this space but also how much stuff you’ll likely toss or donate once you realize you still had it after all these years.

Junk Drawer

We all have those drawers where we just put things to sort for a later date or items that don’t really have a place, but you know they’re there so it’s easy. I get it, I had a junk drawer for years before I got serious about organizing things. Junk drawers are good in theory, they give you quick access to not things you never do every day but things you need often. However, the downside is they’re messy, not organized, and downright stressful. How to start organizing your junk drawer can be overwhelming so let’s simplify things.

You can give your junk drawer an overnight makeover with some simple steps! First, remove everything from the junk drawer, and lay it out on a counter or table (a large space). Separate items into categories and like items. For example, all your loose pens are put together and screwdrivers can go with home maintenance items. Put any items that don’t belong in the junk drawer into their designated space. Once you have your piles of items go through each pile and determine what you’d like to keep, toss, and donate.

When you have all your keep items ready then take note of what you have left over. Do you have 10 pens that will just roll around in the drawer, do you have a cluster of paperclips that are bound to get lost as they shuffle about items? Make note of what needs organization bins and the shape and size you need. You can DIY these out of cereal boxes, food boxes, and shoe boxes. You can also go to the store and buy plastic bins for your drawers. Once you have your storage bins then you can put the items into the storage baskets and then place them in the drawer. Doing this will help promote the organization and deter clutter from building unnecessarily.

Under the Bathroom Sink

This is another common space where things just get tossed and added over time without really going through the space to find out what is actually in there! You don’t need professional organizing tips to tackle how to start organizing under your bathroom sink, it can be simple!

Moving houses not that long ago really opened my eyes to how much (regardless of how organized) was under my bathroom sink! This is a simple space that is easy to build clutter but can be time-consuming to remove.

Now as mentioned in my bathroom clean-out post, I do tackle this a couple of times a year which I do find helps keep down the clutter in this space. For many years before I got into these habits this was a hot mess, to say the least. It was cluttered, things were always falling over, and I barely knew what was at the very back.

To tackle this zone, you’re going to need to take everything out. Lay it all out on the bathroom floor and go through each item individually. Likely it should be living somewhere else (somewhere you can actually use it or remember you have it!) and what you want to remain under the sink can be organized so it can be functional. I love using storage baskets to hold the smaller items. They keep my bottles and containers from falling over and leaking (creating a bigger mess!).

Only put back the items that should be under the bathroom sink, and ensure they’re in an organized fashion that will not lead to more clutter later on. I like to use plastic bins to help group items together that are alike so I can easily find them when needed.

How to start organizing your Garage/Shed

Are you seeing the common theme so far with these spaces, the less time we spend in the more likely they are to be cluttered and disorganized! It’s true, out of sight out of mind is an easy way to not address or deal with organizational systems in those spaces. If you have a garage, shed, or storage unit then you likely know what I mean about it becoming a catch-all for bigger items. How simple is it to say, “Just put that in the shed” or “Just toss that in the garage well get to it later”? Well, when does later happen? Before you know it, years can pass with little to no progress made to being to organize this.

How to start organizing a garage, shed, or storage locker can be a large undertaking. Unlike the rest of this article, this task may take several days and several attempts to tackle it in small portions. This all depends on the size of your space and how much is in there. For my own garage and shed, we utilize utility shelving to help organize heavy and bulky items. We also use storage bins that are clear so we can see what is in each bin (which is super helpful!). There are multiple ways to tackle this. You can do it piece by piece or just take out all the items and start fresh. Either way, you’re likely to need to implement some storage bins and shelves to help with organizing the items that need to remain and stay in that area.

Summary

Organizing and getting rid of items can be time-consuming, tough to get through, and sometimes discouraging. That’s why I always recommend taking your space apart into bite-size pieces. Don’t take on too much and then become overwhelmed. Decluttering and organizing a house take time and patience.

Talk soon,