The Key to an Organized Life Series: Objects
Welcome to the second post in my “Key to an Organized Life” series. Today we’re talking about organizing stuff. When it comes to organizing your objects there is a ton of information at your fingertips. You have books, blog posts, podcasts, and YouTube videos you can reference at any time.
With so much information and guidance, it can be hard to choose what will work best for you. What I’m sharing today are the five tips I followed that helped me get things in order. You may only be up for following a few, but it doesn’t hurt to try them all. You never know what will stick.
Here are some ways you might consider organizing your objects
#1 — Give everything a dedicated home
I’ve talked about this tip in previous posts, but it bears repeating because it's the number one rule in organizing. Everything in your home must have a dedicated home. A spot where it lives when not in use. When you start organizing your objects, it’s vital to find it a good home. A place that makes sense to you and goes with the flow of your lifestyle. I’ll explain that in a bit.
When you make the effort to give everything a home and put it there at the end of each day, you’re going to find things faster. A 2021 study revealed that the average person loses 3,000 items in their lifetime. They also spend about $50 annually replacing lost items. And they’ll spend a year of their life looking for those lost things. [1] Why put yourself through that aggravation when giving each item a home will save you time and money?
#2 — Hold off on buying all the bins
I write for professional organizers. One thing they see all the time is people running out to buy storage bins. Most organizers discourage this and even tell their clients not to do it. You can't organize your stuff until you know what you have and how you plan to store it. Only then can you buy containers. When organizing your objects, it’s also a good idea to limit your storage.
Organizing doesn’t mean stuffing things in containers you’ll never use to get them out of sight. Organizing means streamlining things so you find items faster and feel more at peace. So before you run to the nearest Target or Container Store, hit the brakes.
When I organized my bathroom cabinet, I first pulled out all expired and not used items. Then I separated everything into like groups. Hair products with hair products. Bath products with bath products and so on. Then I shopped my house to see if I had anything I could use to keep these products organized. I found a few baskets and old shoebox lids, but I needed a few more. Then and only then did I go to the store — with a list — and buy what I needed.
So make sure you have decluttered and organized before going to the store. You may even want to limit your storage options. Say, one bin for holiday decorations and one bin for seasonal clothing.
#3 — Organize per your lifestyle
Organizing your objects per your lifestyle means this: setting your home up in a way that makes sense to you. Not your neighbor, not your friend, and not the images you see on social media. We all live our lives differently. Since the pandemic, many of us have set up a little home office or at least a dedicated workstation. Some children do homework on the dining room table while others do it in their bedrooms.
That’s why it’s important to organize per your lifestyle. Ask yourself: where do I normally drop my keys when I come home? On the kitchen counter? On the first available surface? In your bedroom? Wherever you naturally drop your keys is where you should make their home. Install a hook or use a small bowl.
If you’re a parent and your children tend to do homework on the dining room table, dedicate some cabinet space for supplies. Paper, writing utensils, rulers, etc. Or get a rolling cart that can be moved elsewhere when company comes over. If they do homework in their bedroom, make sure they have everything they need within easy reach.
Make your home work for you and your family. While it’s fine to get inspiration online, the way that person lives will be different than you. And you don’t want to emulate something that doesn’t work for you.
#4 — Put it away when you’re done
This rule goes hand-in-hand with giving everything a home. It’s also the tip that took me the longest to get the hang of. If you’re not used to putting things away when you’re done with them, this might take you some time as well. But it’s super important when organizing your objects that you learn to put things away when you’re done with them.
For example, if you journal, make it a habit of putting your journal away after you’re done writing in it. I know where my journal lives. So when the time comes that I’m ready to write, I can find it quickly and get to writing. When I’ve finished, I close it up and put it right back where it belongs.
It takes less time to put something away as soon as you’re done with it than if you find it later and have to put it away then. This tip also helps you stay ahead of clutter. I offer some other tips on how to stay ahead of clutter in this blog post.
Will you get distracted or pulled away by a family member before you can put everything away? Of course. But do your best to get that item back in its home as soon as you can. This way you can go to bed knowing everything is in its home and you’ll be able to find it tomorrow.
#5 — Declutter regularly
It doesn’t matter how hard you fight against it, there will always be new things coming into your home. Whether it’s leftover food, gifts, or on-sale purchases you couldn’t resist. This will make organizing your objects not so much difficult, but more prone to getting out of hand. One way I fixed this was by scheduling regular decluttering sessions.
Once a quarter, I make it a mission to sort through my things and declutter what I no longer use, love, or value. Sometimes I’ll find something on a random day. I think to myself, “I haven’t used this/worn this/needed this in X amount of months. I’m going to declutter it.” Don’t overthink this. You’ll have a pretty good idea of things that no longer serve you by holding them in your hands.
Your biggest hurdle when it comes to this is the dreaded “just in case” scenario. You know you haven’t used a certain item in months, but you might need it “just in case.” If there’s one thing I learned is that those “just in case” days rarely — and I mean rarely — occur. And on the off chance they might, I know many people who will have that item I need. The Minimalists have a great rule for this. They say if you can replace something in less than 20 minutes for $20 or less, you can let it go.
So be ruthless during your decluttering sessions, but also give yourself some grace. This is a major learning curve and it will take some time. You can even try the Minimalism Game. Many people have said it helped them build their decluttering muscles. Read all about my first time doing it on this post.
In the end, when it comes to organizing your objects, be strategic. Unlike information, which I talked about last month, objects are more visible and bulky. You want to take more time organizing them in a way that will simplify your day-to-day life. If you find everything a decent home and regularly check in with items you haven’t used in a while, your home will be organized in no time.
What’s been your biggest issue when organizing your objects? Do you cram everything in storage? Do you rush out and buy bins or do you shop your home first? How often do you lose things?
Resources
[1] https://www.spotypal.com/blog/why-do-i-always-lose-things/#:~:text=Almost%20everyone%20has%20lost%20or,%2450%20annually%20replacing%20lost%20items.
