Believe it or not, growing up my room was never really that clean and everything was thrown in drawers and cabinets. But something else I do remember is that I loved dragging everything out of drawers and closets, organizing it in some way and put it back nice and neat. There was never really a rhyme or reason to how I organized my stuff, but over the last year I have been really interested in finding new organization strategies that make life easier.
Whenever I was at my parent’s house for a few days this summer, my mom and I decided we were going to organize a few spaces. We pulled every thing out of drawers and cabinets and closets and transformed all of those spaces. I actually recorded the progress and most of you followed along on my Instagram stories (which is still saved to my highlights in case you missed it). During the process I got a ton of questions on my method and the containers I used. This post is designed to be a resource for you to refer back to and to keep all this information in one place.
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Something to keep in mind when you are trying to get organized; it can be overwhelming. Take your spaces piece by piece. This will help keep everything simplified and hopefully keep you from giving up all-together.
Another thing, you don't have to throw away things. You can drag everything out and put everything back where it belongs in a nice, organized way. BUT, just know, if you don’t go through and get rid of some things at some point, then you will continue to clutter the space you live in, regardless of how organized it may be.
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I am here to challenge you to try and look at your space in a different way. Its easy to get used to seeing it the same way every day and your brain is trained to only see it that way. So try to see a space from a different perspective and think, “how could I improve and maximize this space?” If you don't think that this is something to tackle on your own, ask a friend to help you or a family member. Shoot, I would even be happy to come help you, but that might not always be possible. So I am going to share with you some tips and tricks I use to revamp and organize any space.
Drag Everything Out.
Drag everything out. I mean it. Every single thing needs to come out of the space you are working on. That is the only way to see everything you have and know what you’re working with. I know it may seem overwhelming at first whenever you see your floor covered with what was once out of sight, out of mind. But just work on small pieces at a time and don’t look at the project as a whole. I find that whenever I look at everything that I have to do, I either don't start or am more likely to quit. If I take it small spaces at a time then it is so much easier for me to focus and adequately assess the space.
As you can see in the pictures above, we brought the entire contents of the pantry out to see what all was in there. Sometimes things can be hidden behind stuff that you forgot you had. By dragging your stuff out, this helps you identify what you have in a space.
Love It or Lose It
Once everything is out in the open, this is when you start going through and deciding, “do I love it or use it?” If you answer no, then BYE. Get rid of it. There is no sense in just cluttering your space because you "might use it someday." One man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And that means if you no longer love or use it and it still has some life left in it, then donate it or sell it. By doing that, someone else can get some use out of it and give it the TLC it needs.
Please know that I’m not saying go through and just chunk all of your grandma’s china because you don’t use it and it's just taking up shelf space. I am talking about the things that don't have sentimental value and that you swore you’d use. Or the project you said you would finish. OH! And what about those pants you said you would wear again? News flash: you probably won’t ever do the project or wear those pants again. If you haven’t done any of the things you said you’d do, then there is a good chance you won’t start now. Trash it. Donate it. Sell it. If you don’t love it or use it, it’s time to let it go.
Find a System That Works for You
I am a huge color coding gal. My closet is organized by colors (clothes and shoes) and also any kind of notes I take has a color coding system. But I know that that isn't always possible and that doesn't always work or appeal to everyone. So my biggest tip if you either don't want to color code or don't like it; start by gathering like items and group them together. For example: whenever we were organizing the pantry, we paired pasta together and spices together and so on. This is a very simple way to keep everything categorized. I know everyone has their own way of doing things so just find a system that works for you and stick to it.
Bins, Bins, Bins
You might not know this about me, but I LOVE bins. Bins are just an easy way to keep the things grouped together. Plus, you are more likely to stay organized and keep up with your system if you have a place to put everything. If you just throw things back onto the shelf or back into your closet, then you are slowly setting yourself up to eventually fall right back into the mess you started with.
Now I know going out and buying all new bins and containers can be a little pricey, but it doesn’t have to be. We shopped around for the best deals on all of our clear containers and I linked some that we used below. Walmart is where we found pretty much all of our clear bins. As for the wicker baskets, we found those at our local HomeGoods.
Also, If you don’t want to buy new bins, that is totally fine and 100% understandable. I’m almost positive you have some sort of basket laying around your house that could definitely be used to help you organize.
More Before & Afters...
Hall Storage
Laundry Storage
Office Storage
These are my favorite tips and tricks to organize any space and it is a pretty universal way to organize throughout any area of your house or work space. If you have any questions feel free to message me on Instagram or shoot me an email and I would be more than happy to help you out.
