Confession time. For some reason I have never been good at organization. In fact, I SUCK at it. I will tell you, I have had my gas turned off simply because I am disorganized. Laundry = HELL in my house. I can easily spend 10 minutes trying to find my kids matching socks. When I have something that requires three months of pay stubs/bank statements, it could take me hours to put together. If it is an empty, flat surface…. it probably has mail, a magazine (or ten) piled on it. I am not proud of these things, I WANT to change it.
But, unfortunately I would be lying if I said that it was just an easy “fix”. So I actually am getting help. I figure I will share my experience with all of you! I am guessing that I am not the only disorganized person on the planet, so I figured my experience and learning process may help you too!
Unless you have read Julie Morgenstern’s book “Organizing from the Inside Out, Second Edition: The Foolproof System For Organizing Your Home, Your Office and Your Life“, you are probably wondering what is S.P.A.C.E.? It is a pretty useful acronym that I am coming to love in the few days since I was introduced to it. Stands for: Sort, Purge, Assign a Home, Containerize, Equalize.
So step one, what is S.P.A.C.E. and how can I use that information. The consultant that I am working with came into my house last week and we went over quite a bit — biggest thing for me personally is having a place for everything. So in order to do that I will be conquering the SORT part over the next couple of weeks. This is not going to be a short process but I will keep you posted as I go!
Do you have any tips of ways that you have successfully organized your home?
Thanks for all the tips! I love getting organized!!!
I’ve got the clothes down but I’m awful with organizing paper work it takes me forever to find something too
I have never heard of this acronym, but I have heard great things about Julie! I find that I keep buying organizing products when what I really need to do is purge, purge, purge!
I used to be so organized until I had kids. Now my house is constantly a mess. I figure when they get older I will have my organized house again!!
Great advice!
If you haven’t used it in over a year it’s time to get rid of it! I find it useful to set different times of the year to work on different rooms, don’t do the whole house all at once it discouraging.
Getting organized was my only news years resolution- and I havent given up the battle yet! I have 8 kids, so its quite a challenge in this house. I love the acronynm
i buy plastic baskets and containers from the dollar store to sort kids toys and craft items. i also have my jewelry in the the little drawstring pouches and then put it them in my jewelry stand. it keeps my necklaces/bracelets/anklets from tangling. plus i can see what is in each bag. for my watches i have a plastic tub from the dollar store. like the ones you use for holiday cookies. keeps my watches and large bracelets organized.
I try to go through my clothes and if I haven’t worn it in the past year I get rd of it,even if I really like it. as for the rest of my house,I need help!
I don’t really have any tips. I think I probably need help also. I love the S.P.A.C.E. tip. It makes so much sense.
I definitely need help getting organized!
Who doesn’t need help getting organized!?
Oh, my gosh. I so need to put organization back into my life. I just got married over a year ago and organizing OUR stuff is all kinds of interesting.
Thanks for the information!
Diana C
I suck at organizing my own home, but can do wonders for everyone else. Guess I better check out the book.
Sounds useful, def need help in the organization area as well
love this, I have a hoarder-phobia so I throw everything away— it’s a curse sometimes because I usually regret throwing some things away!! lol
I WANT to be organized, truly I do! I watch the show about Hoarders to try to make myself NOT become a crazy hoarder person! 🙂
wish i could do this!
I need to be better organized. I have been working on clearing out closets of clothing that has been outgrown or that we have not worn in a while.
Good tips! I really need to do that! I”m in the process of purging now!
Organization can be one of the hardest things ESPECIALLY when u have kids.!!!
Believe you me, you are not the only disorganized one!! This describes me perfectly mail or magazines there is usually some sort of pile in the living room on the coffee table where ever. It drives my husband nuts and we have has countless fights about it.. So I am trying!! An right now I have a huge pile of laundry staring at me and I have started going through my clothes!! I wanna read this book!!
I am also very disorganized. I do not know why I can’t seem to organize my life, let alone my house! Thanks for the tips! Perhaps maybe I can get my house organized, which in turn will make me feel like a burden has been lifted from my shoulders! You are amazing!
I have no closet space in my house i need any help i can get
I have asked the kids to join me in purging toys. Sometimes they are less sentimental about outgrown toys or clothes and it’s easier to get things out of the house if I see that they have moved on.
Great tips! I try to not get overwhelmed by picking one thing a day to work on or one section/project a week. It always seems more manageable that way!
I definately have trouble organizing paperwork in my office. Always on the run and then everything begins to stack up. Thanks for the tips on making my spring cleaning (orgainzation) go smoother.
I’m not really an organized person, but I have learned over the years that if I put stuff away once a week it’s much easier to stay on top of things not getting too cluttered. I fight with bills/papers/recipes/magazines getting piled up in the kitchen all the time. so once a week i go through the stacks of papers and organize them by room they go in and take them there. from there on the person that lives in that room has to organize/take care of it. if it goes in the office, it goes on the desk and then i organize it there/file it like once a month. if it goes in my room/bedroom/ living room i put it away once a week too.
I really need this! I have been feeling lately like a cluttered house is a cluttered mind
I try so hard to get organized but my 4 year old and my husband are no helping factor :/
I am in no position to leave tips. I am very cluttered, but I know where everything is, so I guess I am organized, but not neatly organized. Same as you–all my surfaces are covered–no need to dust! Nothing on the floor, though!