On a scale of 1 to 10, how stressful was 2020 for you? Off the charts for sure! How would you like to purge 2020 away? YES, PLEASE! I don't know about you, but I am all about reducing stress and eliminating anxiety in 2021. One way to combat the anxiety is purging, donating, and organizing. Spending countless hours in our house this past year led me on an organization journey. Even organizing and purging a small area like a drawer gave me an accomplished feeling.
2020 was super stressful and being disorganized just added to it. During every grocery trip, I would forget what I had in the pantry. Without a system I didn’t know what I needed (hint: organization also saves you money). Every time I would open my closet, I would get frustrated that I had nothing to wear, because I couldn't see what I had to wear. Every closet, cupboard, and drawer would invoke unnecessary stress. Tack on the stress of Covid = glorified stress ball.
I have two amazing books that helped me learn to organize. The first is the Complete Book of Home Organization by Toni Hammersley, who also has an awesome blog called A Bowl Full of Lemons. I highly encourage you to check it out. Her book and blog are a great resource on how to break down which areas to tackle first and how to tackle them. The next book is The Home Edit. They also have a very addicting series on Netflix (I warned you)! To organize my space, I used their 3 steps:
1. Take everything out. (eek)
One day during Wine with Dewine (yes, it was a thing). I cracked. I completely unloaded Clare and Joe's entire closets into my room...(holy hurricane!) and I sorted and purged. I was able to give the clothes they had outgrown to family. I neatly put everything away and poof, mornings trying to find clothes was a breeze ( a major plus for being able to help family too)! I felt a huge weight lifted off of my back.
2. Create Groupings (so you know what you have)
When I cleaned out the pantry I found three bags of pretzels and an insane amount of fruit snacks. I began to section the pantry and sort items according to kids snacks, beverages, cereal (I could go on and on). I also removed anything that didn’t belong.
Not only do I now purge and organize before I shop, so that I know what I have and what I need, but I also discard boxes and packaging when I can. It creates way more room! There are also some awesome suggestions in the books to store everything neatly and efficiently.
3. Pare Down (PURGE)
I eventually tackled my biggest project - my closet. I wanted to purge, purge, and purge. It took an entire Sunday (thanks to Dr. Moore for holding down the fort) but I did, and boy was it cleansing! It provided immediate relief seeing my organized closet, and every morning it relieves the stress of what to wear. I sorted into 3 piles: clothes that didn’t fit, clothes I wear, and clothes to donate. It was hard to purge, but alas I will not fit back into my size 2’s anytime soon (I like snacks waaay too much). Once I had everything sorted, I hung the clothes in categories (shirts, sweater, pants etc) , bought more bins for drawers and put everything away.
The books also offer advice to start small. Your silverware drawer or pots, and pans cabinet for example. For me, it was the cabinet of cups and lids for the kids. The junk drawer (or three ) came next.
Keep in mind, organizing it once, doesn't mean it will stay that way. It requires work, but when I cleaned out our junk drawer again it was so much easier.
I encourage you to pick a drawer or nook that is bothering you. Organize it and see how much better you feel. My goal for 2021 is less stress and more ways to make my life easier. I challenge you to do the same! Now, on to tackling my basement!
Cheers to Organization (and dental health of course)!
Katie
