2.22.19
In January I went to see Rachel Hollis’ “Made for More” movie with some girlfriends. The weather was awful that night and I really just wanted to stay home but I was curious about this movie and of course I wanted to hang with my girls.
If you haven’t seen the movie, I highly recommend it. It was only in the theater for a short time and is now available through Amazon Prime. During the movie Rachel talked about the need for organization. I felt like she was preaching to the choir. I agree with her 100%. She challenges her followers to just start with a room in their home and get it organized. What I have found is that for many people it’s their bedroom. The bedroom! Can you believe it? This is supposed to be the refuge and place for relaxation in their home. I’m sure many of you can relate to having a chaotic bedroom. But think about it, is that really what you want to look at last before you go to sleep and what you want to see first thing in the morning? No, absolutely not! Waking up to a messy room causes stress and anxiety and that is no way to start your day.
When working with clients on their bedrooms, the closet is typically a source of stress and therefore, it’s where I start the project. I suggest that you go through everything that is in the closet. Remove it all! Seriously go through your clothes with these thoughts in mind: is this style/type of clothing you wear on a daily basis (maybe it’s a more corporate clothes that you don’t need to wear anymore), when was the last time you wore it, does it fit (no sense in keeping things that no longer fit), does it make you smile when you try it on (or do you keep it because it was expensive or for the name brand), you have multiples of the same item (keep your 2 favorites and donate the rest). Shoes! Oh my gosh, sometimes the amount of dust that collects on a pair of shoes is unreal. If they are collecting that much dust, they aren’t being worn and it’s time to get rid of them. Another source of closet clutter is purses. Again, I ask you to think good and hard about your purses. Why are you keeping them? Were they expensive but not your style anymore? If that’s the case and you aren’t going to use them, then donate them to someone who will be tickled pink to have them. Continue to work the closet with these thoughts in mind. Once you have the items you want to keep, put them back in an orderly fashion. Some people like to group like things together, others like to color code by seasons and others like to keep their entire wardrobe in color order mixing the summer with the winter. Think about what works best for you. If you don’t have the space to keep everything and need to store some in a different closet, I suggest you keep the current season in your closet in color order an put the out of season items in another closet in color order. This will make it easy for the seasonal switch as well.
When you are finished with the closet do the same for your dresser surfaces, dresser drawers and night stand surfaces and drawers. Get rid of the items that you no longer use or like. Try folding clothes using the Marie Kondo method.
As a result of your efforts, your bedroom will become a sanctuary. You will start to notice some additional benefits as well. It will be much easier for you to put away your laundry when you know exactly where everything goes. When packing for a trip, you will know exactly what you have where to find it. The same can be said about unpacking. It will be a breeze because you can easily put things away where they go.
You will also be amazed at how much easier it is to clean your room! When surfaces are cleared of miscellaneous items you can easily dust them. The floor space should be clear as well so there I nothing to clean for the cleaning service or to pick up prior to you running the vacuum.
If you follow this process room by room in your home, you will quickly reap the benefits of being organized. Here are the benefits that come to mind:
1. No longer wasting time to find something.
a. Once you have established a logical place to keep your items, you can easily find them and you know where to put it away at.
2. No longer wasting money buying duplicates.
a. My guess is that many of you have done this. I see it all the time with my clients.
3. Your home appears to be “clean” even if it truly isn’t.
a. When things are put away and not piled up everywhere, the home is more visually pleasing to the eye. The floors may need mopped but who notices the floors?
4. Cleaning is a breeze.
a. When you don’t have to pick everything up off the floor or as my mom would say “red up” the room you can simply go about your vacuuming, dusting and countertop cleaning quickly and efficiently.
5. You no longer have to be embarrassed by your home.
a. When you have an organized home, you can simply embrace your space and relax and enjoy it.
6. Your stress / anxiety level will be reduced.
a. Imagine how nice it would be to come home to a home that has everything in its place versus coming home and feeling overwhelmed with everything that needs to be organized.
I challenge you to start with your master bedroom and create a space to embrace for yourself. If the thought of taking on this challenge is too overwhelming, contact me and I’ll help you! Even if we work virtually (I create a plan of action and hold you accountable to doing the work) it would still be beneficial. You can do it (or we can)!
Contact Julie for help with your organizing needs or to schedule a speaking engagement.
Such great advice! I found that cleaning my master bathroom really lowered my daily anxiety. You also reminded me that I’m holding onto way to many shoes that are collecting dust. Thank you for these tips!