Organizing Myths: Are they Holding You Back?

Myth #2: Organizing Takes Too Much Time

Truth: Small, fast changes will go a long way and SAVE you time every day.

Just like #1 where you COULD spend thousands of dollars, you could spend a TON of time organizing. But the good news is that you don’t have to! The key is tackling small areas each week instead of trying to attack years worth of mess all at one time.

Instead of planning to organize your entire closet at once, break it up into sections. Do the shoes one night, then purge dresses in a separate session. Try to carve out 15 minutes a week to declutter and organize small sections of your home. By the end of the year, you’ll have improved 52 spaces!

For a year, I was frustrated with the disorder under my bathroom sink, but I told myself I didn’t have time to fix it. That was just an excuse for laziness! Once I committed to organizing the space, it took less than 30 minutes. Such a waste that I didn’t do it sooner.

And yet it still took me another year to tackle my husband’s side of the bathroom because I kept thinking IT would take forever. Sometimes you have to learn by repetition. His side came together just as fast and we spend way less time hunting for things.

Some projects can be done in under 5 minutes. One of the easy swaps we made in the kitchen was adding a small marble tray for the most frequently used items.  It’s a tiny change, but SO convenient!

Myth #3: Things won’t STAY organized.

Truth #3:  When organizing is done right, things CAN stay organized.

If you simply declutter, it’s likely clutter will come back. But if you follow along with the guidelines in the 7 Things I Learned About Organizing My Home post, you WILL be able to get and KEEP your home organized. Putting things back in your organized space should be less work than when the space was cluttered and disorganized.

I’m not promising magic of course, you have to do basic maintenance. For example, I’ll let some small trash or clutter end up on the pantry counter. It never lasts long though. In a few minutes, I can always have our pantry looking great. I heard this myth so many times after we shared the pantry makeover that I did a 6 month follow-up post responding to some of the critics.

I think it’s also important to be realistic. Organized spaces can turn into a mess quickly if you don’t adapt to changes. If I start canning my own vegetables, I can’t assume the same configuration on the pantry shelves will work. I’ll have to adapt and swap things around for that lifestyle change.

Myth #4: I’m naturally messy, so I can’t be organized. 

Truth #4: Sadly, I’m a huge mess.

I kick my socks off in bed and let them add up on the floor WAY too many days in a row.

For years, my nightstand was consistently covered in water glasses. One came in every night but one did not always go out. Usually 4 or 5 would go out at once, which happened in 2 scenarios.

First, sometimes no more cups would fit (and yes, I am horrified I am admitting this). Second, I collected the cups when the dishwasher is almost full and I just needed a few more things to run it. I tell you these things not to embarrass my mother, who IS naturally neat, but to let you know it isn’t hopeless!

I figured out the key to a neat and organized house is simply having systems in place that work for you.  I’m still a work in progress, but our home is working so much better for us now. I want everyone to have that same experience.

We used to have an issue with lint, clothing tags, and other small trash cluttering the laundry room because there wasn’t room for a trash can. As some lovely people on the internet pointed out, it isn’t HARD to walk across the house to throw it away. But that system clearly wasn’t working for us because it wasn’t in the natural flow of doing laundry.

Figuring out I could add a wall-mounted bin for lint and trash was a game changer. No more mess!

Decorating also helps me overcome my natural messy tendencies. My nightstand cup-collecting habit was almost 100% fixed when we updated the bedroom. Now the nightstand is decorated and my desire to keep it looking good is a great motivator.

Do any of those myths sound like things you’ve been told OR that you have told yourself?

I’m going to get super corny for a minute and tell you that BELIEVING your house can be organized and work for your family is the most important step. Yes, some people are born organizers and others have to work for it. But, it’s possible for everyone to start making changes to your home that really will improve your life. Our homes should be our havens – where we escape the other stresses of life. When they are tidy, it’s easier to breath and relax.

Perfection every day is NOT possible. Please don’t think I’m writing this from a perfect desk in a perfect home.

I’m surrounded by receipts, packing supplies from Etsy orders, and some other miscellaneous stuff. BUT, because I put a system in place a few months ago, I know my desktop can be clear in minutes.

Organization is about progressively making your home work better for you. Don’t strive for perfection in the whole house tomorrow. Instead, identify your top struggles, and work through the list one at a time.

For decluttering tips that really work, head to this article next!