Organizing Solutions | Tips For Making Progress and Staying Motivated

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Growing up, I was the kid who would rearrange the furniture in my room every few months just for fun and loved organizing all the various items in a space. This brought me joy and a sense of satisfaction every time. This love for organizing has transitioned well into adulthood and having an organized space is an area where I take great pride in achieving for our home. I’ve discovered over the years, this passion is not the same for all people and instead many people get overwhelmed which prevents them from taking the simple actions needed to achieve more organized spaces in their home.

If you find yourself wanting to organize a space or particular room in your home but you aren’t sure how to get started or if you have a goal of becoming more organized yet get overwhelmed just thinking about what to do, I have the solution for you!

A big reason why it is important to start with small manageable projects when organizing is because it helps us build momentum without the dreadful feeling of being overwhelmed. So when I say small projects, this can be as simple as organizing one drawer in your kitchen or bin in your pantry to help you achieve an overall goal of organized kitchen. Identifying projects which will take less than 30 minutes, gives you the quick wins that are often needed to stay motivated and inspired to take on the larger projects.

If this hasn’t been your approach to organizing a space, you will be amazed at how breaking down a big project into small manageable steps, can quickly help you achieve your larger goals of organized living. I’ve outlined a few additional tips I have found useful as I work to organize spaces around our home and I hope some of these will inspire you to take on your goals with confidence!

Tip #1: Identify your biggest pain points

Let’s say you want to organize your kitchen, what is it about your kitchen that is causing you the most frustration? Is it the lack of an adequate storing system for your dishes or is it catchall drawer that has gotten out of control? When possible, I like to start with what is causing me the biggest angst because I find once I fix this piece of the puzzle, this helps the rest of the space come together. Take a few minutes at the start of a project to get clear on what problem you are trying to solve in the space and this will help guide you as to where best to spend your time to address the biggest area of need.

Tip #2: Breakdown big goals into small projects

If you have a big goal of organizing your kitchen, start to think about your kitchen in terms of smaller spaces within the bigger space. As an example, if you want to organize the kitchen, start with one drawer. Then move to the next drawer. Make a goal to organize all of your kitchen drawers as a first step to having an organized kitchen. Then when you are ready, move on to the cabinets, repeating the same process, one cabinet at a time as you did with the drawers. Instead of “I need to organize the kitchen” which just feels daunting saying it aloud, change it and think “I need to organize this drawer today”. My guess is you can achieve this goal without too much effort and this will give you encouragement to take on the next step in the process.

Tip #3: Pace yourself with small incremental changes

Most of us don’t have a full day to clean out an entire room and often large projects can feel so overwhelming, we never start them. When we give ourselves permission to work towards a goal of organizing a space over time, it suddenly starts to become more manageable. So maybe you can’t tackle your entire pantry in one afternoon, but ask yourself if you have a few minutes to clean out one bin or area within the pantry. If the answer is yes, get it done! There are no rules that say to organize a room you have to do it all at once. So give yourself permission to tackle a space over time and it will be a more enjoyable experience while achieving your goal.

Tip #4: Test Ideas

When possible, I will often test an idea I have for organizing a space with items I already own. For example, I may move a basket I have in the living room to the pantry to confirm the idea that I want to use a basket in this space. If I find when I put a basket in the pantry and determine I don’t like the look or function of this idea, I won’t waste time trying to find and purchase a new basket. This has allowed me on more than a few occasions to quickly shift gears in figuring out the right storage solution to achieve the function and look I want in the space.

Final Thoughts

I believe living an organized life, starts with one small space at a time and gradually spreads to become a well organized, functional home. Once you build confidence and find success with small projects, organizing spaces becomes easier to both get and stay organized in any space around your home. Keep it simple and work towards your goals with these tips in mind! If you have other tricks for what helps you tackle big spaces, drop a note in the comments. I would love to hear from you!

This post pairs well with a Chateau Ste. Michelle Cabernet Sauvignon wine which is great wine to open to celebrate achieving your goals of organized living spaces! If you found this post useful, please consider sharing it on Pinterest with others! Cheers!