Where to start organizing?

This first post is about thinking and planning before you get started with your organizing project and identifying those clutter “hot spots” that are really not working for you.

Whether you have a little or a lot to organize, think of the “hot spots” that are annoying to you. If you start on one of these spots then your battle with that spot is already on its way to being a thing of the past. You will feel a sense of achievement when you are done! Try to keep that area clear for a week or two and then move on to your next clutter hotspot while maintaining the first area as a clutter free zone.

It also helps to have a plan before you start! Before you roll up your sleeves and get stuck in, think about what is working as well as what is not working in order to tweak your existing systems. Obviously you don’t want to change what is working well for you – and this might give you insight into your organizing style.  Try and go with your existing habits – for example if you like to kick your shoes off on the bed, store your shoes under the bed in a neat row or shoe rack. If you like to read mags in bed, keep a magazine rack in the bedroom or dedicate a bedside drawer. If you like to dump everything as you walk in the door, then make a plan to store your essentials in the entryway if possible.

I think it will pay to spend a bit of time reflecting on your needs and habits before you start organizing so that you don’t end up re-doing anything unnecessarily and also so that you work with your strengths to streamline your living spaces.

One of the areas that I manage to keep clutter-free is the dining area. Every day I make sure the table stays free of papers and other miscellaneous items as we actually do eat at the table most days. Unfortunately my daughter’s school bag does usually live on a dining chair as it is easily accessible there for homework in the afternoon and grabbing each morning! This seems to work for us at the moment though.

Less successful though is our music/craft room. It regularly gets cluttered up with items that have nowhere else to go. Ditto the garage! So those areas need to be regularly “dealt with” and I need to think of a better way to organize those spaces. The garage is on our list for next week!

What are your clutter hot spots? Do you have a strategy to avoid clutter building up in those areas? Make a list of the most cluttered surfaces that you would like to streamline and then plan when you will tackle them.