With the spring planting season soon upon us, you’ve no doubt spent some time outside preparing your flower beds and gardens: removing leaves, clearing out fallen branches, and pulling weeds. But just as our plants need an ordered space to thrive, so too do we as people need an organized home. After all, a house is like a garden.
Spring offers the opportunity to not only clean your cottage, but a chance to clear your clutter. Sometimes it can be difficult to identify where that clutter is. Take for instance the junk drawer.
Somewhere along the line, we collectively decided that all kitchens should have what is affectionately referred to as the “junk drawer”. But why do we insist on keeping items that we’ve deemed as “junk”? Why not use the space productively to store items that we need to have within convenient reach? Do the kids like to color in the kitchen?
You can easily turn the junk drawer into a small art supply space for crayons and markers with a few simple organizers. Now, expand that concept beyond the junk drawer. What other spaces in your home could serve a better purpose instead of being filled with items we don’t care for or need.
Throw out the rules when it comes to what should live where and instead set up your home in a way
that works for you and your family. Reduce the distance from the storage area of an item to the usage
area for the item. For example, one of my clients exits her home on a daily basis through the basement
out to the garage. Everyday, she was carrying her shoes up two flights of stairs to be stored in her
bedroom closet just to bring the same pair of shoes back down the two flights of stairs the next day to
head back out to her office. By relocating her shoe storage system to a freshly decluttered closet in the
basement, she reduced the amount of time spent each day moving the shoes up and down throughout
the house. A conveniently placed hook nearby the shoe storage created a simple “drop zone” for her
purse and jacket.
So how can you get started today? Think about the amount of time spent each day looking for an item,
how many items have to be moved out of the way to access the one item in need, and how many of
those moved items you can probably live without. Imagine how easy it would be to flow throughout your
home if it was simplified and decluttered.
One tip that I share with my clients is to start small. For instance, instead of decluttering the entire
bathroom, declutter the shower. Remove empty product bottles, dull razors, unraveling loofahs, old
toothbrushes, and forgotten bath toys. Making a big impact on a small area can often inspire you to
continue the decluttering process.
If you’re not sure where to begin, or how to go about the sorting, decluttering, and organizing process,
or need an extra pair of hands and a fresh perspective, a professional home organizer can be an
invaluable investment that will pay dividends for years to come as you enjoy a soothing, simplified space.
I hope your spring will be a wonderful time spent enjoying your home, and your garden, without the
stress of weeds and clutter.
If you need help with your decluttering journey, we’re here to help! Are you local to Winston-Salem, North Carolina and surrounding areas? Contact Organized Jill to schedule your complimentary consultation.
