I’ve always been one that loves to organize. I know, it sounds pretty crazy. I once organized my aunts closet for an entire day and it brought me so much joy! My college roommate likes to tell the story that she would come back from class and I would have her stuff put away and organized (oops!)
There have been a few things that have helped me develop these skills in the past ten years. I want to share them with you because I believe that so many positive things can come from organization such as efficiency, time management, feelings of freedom, peace and much, much more!
- Hire a professional or listen to one speak. I have had the pleasure to hear a professional organizer, Debi from I’ve Gotta Get Organized, here in town speak on more than one occasion. She has given our Mom’s groups so many wonderful tips. Especially when it comes to saving children’s art projects and clothing. How about saving some of your favorite clothing items then having them made into memory quilts for each of your kids? Brilliant! I follow a woman on instagram who can do just this and I think her work is beautiful. Her shop is called Vintage Giggles.
- Read a book for organizing and simplicity inspiration. Here are two I’ve read recently that were life changing!
- Notes From A Blue Bike by Tsh Oxenreider
- The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up by Marie Kondo
- I read Marie Kondo’s book just a few weeks ago and something in it really inspired me to let go of around 18 bags of items that haven’t been used in our home and were creating clutter. I watched a bunch of YouTube videos on her theory or tidying up (and learned a more effective way to fold my clothes at the age of 37!!!) The major theme of her method is to touch all of your items and to ask yourself whether or not they bring you joy. I have been holding onto clothes for years, feeling like I had to because someone bought them for me (she has an entire section that she talks about these feelings) or because it was so long ago that I purchased the item, I didn’t like it, but I could no longer return it. All silly reasons I made up to keep the items cluttering up our space! As I did this purge over the holiday break, I inspired my husband who added 2-3 bags to my 18!!! A major part of my 2016 cleaning spree was downsizing my photo albums. I LOVE photography and took HUNDREDS of pictures in high school and college. However, this was before the digital camera era and I have about 30 pictures depicting one event because I didn’t have the option to sort through and delete them back in the day. This lead to over 2 dozen albums sitting in our attic, untouched for 10 years. I don’t have the desire to look through them, let alone anyone else in my family. So I looked through them all, pulling out just a few pictures to remember and highlight each event, and downsized it all to 3 albums. Phew! THAT was a huge undertaking but I am so happy I did it! Thanks to Shutterfly, I now make one album a year for our family, sized 8 1/2 x 11, that sits on our shelf in our family room. Everyone in our household can be caught sitting on the couch enjoying these albums! They aren’t taking up a ton of space and they highlight the main events from the year.
- I started a Pinterest Board a few years ago with some great ideas on organizing that I like to go back to from time to time. I love my Home Binder which was inspired by several moms who post on Pinterest.
- Instagram is my favorite social media platform, most likely because it is filled with beautiful photos! I follow a few people there that focus on organizing. They post ideas and will host challenges where they give you one small daily task every day for thirty days to get your house in order. Here are some of my favorites on IG:
Additional Resources:
- Mom binder with FREE printables.
