Don’t “Get Organized”

One of the first questions that people ask me is, “What organizing products do I need?” My answer is always the same: don’t buy anything! At least, don’t buy anything YET. Decluttering is the crucial first step. If it turns out that you don’t need, use, or like something, then there’s no need to spend time organizing it. 

When I work with clients, I repurpose things like boxes, glassware, bowls, baskets, and trays found around the home. If they decide they want to upgrade their containers down the line, that’s perfectly fine. I love a great organizing product and have many to recommend. But I believe that hiring a professional organizer is an investment in CHANGE, not more stuff. And not more stuff to hold your stuff.

So when you commit to getting organized, your first impulse should be to pare down your possessions. Drastically, in some cases. Marie Kondo encourages you to choose only the items that “spark joy,” and this resonates really well for some people. The metric I like to use is: do I need it? Do I use it? Do I love it? You might have things that you don’t love and don’t use very often but you need, like a can opener or ski clothes. And you might have items that you don’t really need but they’re useful because they make a task easier. An example for me is my Dental Pod. And then there are things that you don’t need or use, but you love them- sentimental items that remind you of some person, place, or thing and decorative objects tend to fall in this category.

Brace yourself: you’ll probably find the decluttering process both boring and anxiety-producing, but once you start to loosen your hold and see results, you will feel lighter and energized. Once you have decided which items you definitely want to keep and where they should go (mise en place!), then you can look for storage solutions that maximize space, visibility, and functionality.