After you organize something, wouldn't it be nice if it just stayed that way?
Unfortunately it is not that easy.
But don't be discouraged. Help is here!
Here is a picture of my office this morning.
Even with the skills, knowledge, and tools of a professional organizer at my fingertips my office is temporarily a mess, and certainly is not “Instagram-worthy”.
I share this today because your house or office may look like this, too.
Things “get on top of you”, as my husband says, and suddenly you have a heap of things piled in the corner of your office and your once beautiful space is cluttered and stressful.
The good news is that this can be fixed. Those skills, knowledge, and tools I mentioned can be employed to sort out the heap.
And you are not alone.
Some people are natural born organizers. Their natural inclination is to keep a tidy space. But even naturally organized people follow processes to keep things organized.
Sometimes they consciously realize what they are doing.
Sometimes it comes so naturally that they do not even have to think about it.
And sometimes those processes go haywire.
Here are 5 ways to maintain an organized space
1. Every item must have a home.
This is a foundational rule.
Clutter is literally an accumulation of things that are not where they belong.
The idiom “a place for everything and everything in its place” has been around since at least the 17th century for a reason.
Part of the problem in my honest photo is that some of those items have not yet been assigned a home. The basket at the top does not have a space yet to live. I need to clear some things out somewhere and assign it a home.
Until then, it is resting, as clutter, in my office.
Give everything a home.
2. Follow the One-In-One-Out Rule.
This is another foundational rule.
It is preventative in nature.
When you buy something new, discard another, older, version.
This can apply to anything. Shoes. Clothes. Purses. Jewelry. In this way, you never over-collect too many of one type of thing.
Top Tip: A way to reduce what you have without full-on organizing is to follow the sister rule "One-In-Two-Out". If you buy a pair of shoes, get rid of two.
Part of the problem in my honest photo is that I currently have too many books. I generally follow the One-In-One-Out Rule with books but recently brought home books that do not fit in my available shelf space.
I literally am in the process of deciding which books can be sold or given away so that my shelves stop being overcrowded.
3. Get an Accountability Partner.
If you really struggle with organization, ask someone either in your family or outside your home to encourage you.
Sometimes life partners serve well in this role.
But if a person is attached to their things they might bristle if a loved one suggests they get rid of their things. Also, you can have uncooperative housemates that simply do not want to maintain as tidy a space as you do.
All of this is a process.
Sometimes you may have a friend who can fill the role, or a colleague that wants to maintain their tidy home as well.
You can also hire a professional organizer to help you gain control over what you have and then help serve as accountability to keep it maintained.
4. Notice When Things Are Getting Off-track
Noticing that there is a problem can be more than half the battle.
We can get used to living with clutter and so simply not see things piling up.
Kitchen countertops are notorious clutter-catchers. You can implement processes, but things can get on top of you.
Set a reminder on your phone once a week to make a sweep through your home or office and gather the clutter that has accumulated and put it all away.
Just the reminder itself is useful even if you do not have time right away to actually do it. It keeps the idea present in your mind and makes it possible to do.
5. Schedule maintenance checkups with your professional organizer.
When you have invested in a paid professional organizer, consider asking them to provide a maintenance package.
You can determine the time horizon; 3 months, 6 months, or whatever makes sense.
These “refresher visits” are useful. In this way, your hard work is maintained and you do not lose the progress you have made.
You will also have access to additional tips and tricks to further organize your space.
If you have an area of your home that used to be organized, you are not alone. If you have an area of your home that has never been organized, you are not alone. Organizing is not a one-and-done activity, not even for a professional organizer.
Circumstances change and you can suddenly find yourself with clutter.
Use the resources you have, pick up and carry on, and reach out for help if you need it.
When you're ready to tackle your tough organization project, I am here to help you learn how.
Let's RETHINK organization together.
For more information, visit the RETHINK website today.
Mandy Thomas is a professional organizer fulfilling her lifelong passion for creating order out of chaos. She finds joy in helping people tackle their most overwhelming spaces and collections to create the optimal living space and enjoy their homes.
RETHINK organization is on a mission to help you develop long-term patterns of organization that you can maintain and feel good about long after our work together is done.
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