Making Homes for Things We Want

Spring Courtright
May 6
3 min read

(Also known as "getting organized"). Here are my recommendations...

"I want to get organized!"

I hear this all the time as a declutter coach and home organizer...

But what does "getting organized" actually mean for YOU? Not to the tik-tok and instagram stars, not to the YouTubers and book writers. To YOU.

"Getting organized" means different things to different people and there is no right or wrong, good or bad.

There's safe and unsafe, healthy and unhealthy, but even that has wobbly lines.

Some people love open space and minimalist style, some love lots of memorabilia and things around, some love lots of color and choice, some love stark and clear.

Many don't know what they want because there's too much crap in the way to be able to think clearly!

To me, getting organized means:

Making a home for everything we want to keep in in a way that truly supports our life, dreams, energy and desires.
Playing with the homes we create until each item is so easy to put away and easy to find when we need/want it that it's more work NOT to use it's home.

I also like the Cambridge Dictionary definition: "to do or arrange things, plans, ideas, etc., according to a particular system so that they can be used or understood easily."

FIRST DECLUTTER, THEN ORGANIZE

Don't waste time organizing clutter!

If you have a lot of clutter and haven't read my blog post, "The Difference Between Decluttering, Organizing and Tidying," I highly recommend you read that BEFORE spending any time on getting organized.

I feel like I'm wasting time and energy if I haven't first made sure everything I'm organizing is something I want, need, use and/or love.

There are MANY other things I'd rather do than organize clutter! (including pull my hair out one by one)

BUY CONTAINERS AFTER YOU KNOW WHAT YOU'RE CONTAINING

I recommend buying bins only after you know what you're containing AND you know you don't already have the containers you need.

Unfortunately, containers won't get us organized! I so often see MANY different sizes and kinds of containers in a home full of clutter.

I know...they're so cute! They were on sale! I had great intentions!

But we often find the containers we need while decluttering...

Or at least we find temporary containers that will work until we figure out what will work for #2 of my definition:

Play with the homes we create until each item is so easy to put away and easy to find when we need/want it that it's more work NOT to use it's home.

FOCUS ON THE REAL, NOT THE IDEAL

AKA it must be ridiculously easy.

If we choose a place for a thing or category based on an IDEAL of where we'd like it, but it's not easy to put away - we likely WON'T put it away, so it'll become clutter again.

I like to work with the REAL - what we'll ACTUALLY do.

Yes, I work with the ideal lifestyle - what you REALLY want to be doing with your time, who you want to become, what you want to eat-do-wear-be...

And yes, our habits can change.

But changing habits takes work! And most of our brains are already tired and overwhelmed just by being human right now, so I strive to make putting things away (tidying up once we're organized) as simple as humanly possible.

No extra steps (literally), no "If only I would..."

Just. Be. Real.

Be honest about what you will and won't do.

Play with it, watch yourself like a hawk, and tweak homes until you're working with the REAL you.

THINK ALL THE WAY THROUGH ITEM HOMES

If possible, imagine your Future Self putting the thing(s) away.

Do this one item or category at a time.

When you're tired, will you actually put the stirring spoons in their new home when putting the dishes away or will they just sit on the counter?

Will you actually put the waffle iron in the back of the cupboard at the end of a long day or will it just sit on the counter or stack on top of something toward the front, therefore making life more difficult later?

Imagine where you might get hung up before going through the trouble (and maybe money) of making homes for items and categories.

Some brains don't step into the future easily - this is where focusing on ONE SMALL AREA OR CATEGORY helps.

Some brains need to try things to see if they'll work

Some brains need support to figure this out.