Are you ready to start organizing your home? If you’re like most people, you probably feel overwhelmed or you are unsure exactly where or how to start. This post talks about two simple questions to ask yourself so that you can get started organizing in an efficient and effective way.
I’ve been organizing homes for over 15 years, and the sheer volume of possessions in houses I organize never ceases to amaze me.
What happens is over a lifetime you add more hobbies and activities to your life. Your size changes, your work changes, and your kids grow up. All this leaves a footprint in your space. Sometimes the amount of stuff can be so extreme that there is not much space to even live in your home.
When this happened, it means that the past is pushing out the present.
The things in your home should support the activities that matter most to you. The items that you have that don’t support your life in a healthy and positive way are nothing more than clutter.
As a professional organizer who has entered hundreds of homes, I’ve learned that what matters to you in your home is very different than what matters to me. Your prized possessions and the things that help you live your best life are not the same as anyone else.
If you ask a friend or family member to help you declutter and organize, they will want to discard the things in your home that they do not think are important and organize the things that they value. These may not be the things that you value.
My job as a Professional Organizer and Clutter Coach is to find out what matters most to my clients, then help them remove items that don’t align with living their best life so that together we can create space for the things that are important.
The way I start this dialog is by finding out what matters most in their life, and therefore their home.
Let’s dive into how to start organizing your home with just two simple questions.
If you prefer to watch my YouTube video on this topic, check that out below. Otherwise, keep scrolling to read on!
Start organizing your home
There are 6 steps total in the home organizing, but today we are going to talk about the first (and highly important) step. If you want to know what all 6 steps are, you can get that in my free Home Organizing Roadmap.
To get started with step one, first, you need to answer two very important questions. You can do this exercise either in the Home Organizing Roadmap or by filling in the blanks for the following two questions.
Question #1: Is it important?
Finish this sentence:
It is important that I make space in my home for__________________________.
Like we talked about before, what matters to one person will not matter to another person. When you are organizing your home, before you get started you need to decide what is important to you.
When you know what truly matters to you, you can start to let go of everything else easier.
Also, when you decide what’s most important to you, you can cherish those items more and find a proper place in your house that is not cramped or cluttered.
Related: Organizing your Home | How to Choose the Right Containers
Questions #2: What belongs?
Finish this sentence:
I don’t need space in my home for___________________________________.
Your home is not a catch-all. You don’t need to keep anything and everything crammed in your house.
A home should be a safe place where you and your family feel comfortable. In order to make a space that you love to reside in, chances are you need to do some organizing and decluttering.
If you have a bunch of items that simply don’t belong in your home, or if you have too much stuff, it’s time to get clear on what exactly belongs in the home and what doesn’t.
Not only is it uncomfortable to have too many things in your house, but it’s also unhealthy. Research shows that too much stuff is bad for your children, your health, your relationships, and your behaviors.
When you’re organizing your home, keep in mind that the less stuff you have, the healthier and safer you can live.
Decide what doesn’t belong in your home ad then get rid of everything that relates to that type of item or feeling.
How to start organizing your home with these two questions
I recommend that you write down your responses instead of just thinking about them in your head.
When you write things down, you can visualize them better, you can address them head-on, and you will remember them.
For example, when answering question #1 (it is important that I make space in my home for _______), you will likely have multiple items on your list. If you don’t write them down, you can easily forget them.
The same goes for questions #2 (I don’t need space in my home for ________). There could be multiple things in your home right now that DON’T deserve the space they are taking up. It is very important you write down every single item and feeling you can think of and REMEMBER what they are.
We live busy lives that are constantly going, going going. If we don’t stop to write down the answers to these very important questions, we could end up doing double work, or worse, forgetting something extremely important.
I recommend that you grab a journal to make your two lists. However, if you have a copy of my workbook you can fill in the pages with your top 10 for the questions. My workbook also provides my personal list of priorities in my space. This is helpful because sometimes it is nice to see what matters to someone else. It could also help you come up with ideas or remember things you potentially forgot.
Once you identify what is clutter and what is worthy of organizing in your home, you can create a plan for organizing your most important spaces first. You will also have a list of whole categories that can leave your home to make room for what matters most TODAY!
If you’ve enjoyed this, you will love these posts:
- How to Downsize a Home in 5 Days
- How to Downsize your Home in 10 Simple Steps
- Start a Professional Organizing Business in 2021
ARE YOU INTERESTED IN BECOMING A PROFESSIONAL ORGANIZER?
If you’re someone who LOVES organizing, consider starting your own organizing business
Get a copy of my free guide “Professional Organizer’s Launch Guide” HERE.
There are many things to consider when starting an organizing business including:
- When will I name my business?
- Where will I find clients?
- How do I become an organizer?
- Do I need to be certified to get started?
- How will I structure my business?
You have come to the right place!
When you are ready to start your own professional organizing business, check out all my courses on working as a home organizer. My course bundle has the best prices on courses so that you can create and market your organizing business and design a system of organization that will work with all your clients no matter how small or large their volume of clutter is! Check out the course bundle here: Online Boot-Camp for Organizing Bosses
Happy Organizing!
