Let’s Get Organized!

{My office two years ago after I finished the makeover}

Who’s with me? I know organizing posts are typical this time of year but it has been an ongoing process and struggle here. Since we made it through the holidays without too much chaos let’s get our houses, our businesses and our lives ready to tackle the new year!

I’ve been working in all of these areas a little at a time but I’m hitting the house full steam ahead. I do believe that when my house is in better working order the rest of my life functions a little smoother as well.

{Here’s an example of a space that is NOT working as it’s intended purpose!}

I just finished The Life Changing Magic of Tidying Up book and it is life changing, perspective-wise anyway. I’m sure you actually have to carry it out before it’s truly life changing but I highly recommend it. I plan on implementing a lot of the strategies in the book.

My good friend and professional organizer, Jennifer of Pure & Simple Organizing, has a similar philosophy and helped me kick off the Great Organizing Mission of 2015-2016!

Jennifer came over for what turned out to be about a 6 hour session of purging, chatting, questioning and letting go and it was AH-MAZING!!! Books are awesome but actually having someone help me make decisions and support me in those decisions was so freeing! My attitude toward my stuff is forever changed.

Seriously stuff EVERYWHERE!!!

Stuff inevitably builds up and if there isn’t a working system in place it will slowly take over before you know it. There are so many spaces that need organizing in our home but I prioritized them all and we decided my office (currently my catch-all), small attic spaces and paper storage were the biggest needs! My dad would tend to disagree and say the garage is the biggest disaster lol!

We started with the attic spaces first and after purging and re-organizing I was able to get rid of over half of what I had in there. I was even able to create a space for my blogging props and home decor that I like to change around throughout the year! We put everything that was to be kept back in the bins according to the category and labeled them.

Seriously this space was so jam packed you couldn’t even walk in it. You would not believe how many empty appliance/electronics boxes I was holding onto, some I didn’t even own anymore! People, hear me…LET THEM GO! :)

{see how much room we have now?}

While we were working Jennifer taught me about storage solutions, labeling, what paper files to throw away and to keep, and even how to manage my time for handling business receipts. Her suggestion that I will be implementing this year (after I get through my 2015 receipts) is designating time twice a month to enter or code receipts in either an excel spreadsheet or Quickbooks.

Here are the biggest takeaways from the organizing guru Jennifer that I want to pass along to you when you begin YOUR great organizing mission:

1. Pull everything out of the space you’re working on so you can see it.
2. Go through each item one-by-one and decide if you really love it and it’s a keeper or if it should be donated or tossed. 95% of the time when I was conflicted about an item I ended up discarding it (with Jennifer’s gentle suggestion of course!)
3. Organize by category for example all photos, books, crafts, etc.
4. Worry about storage solutions AFTER you’ve purged and categorized. Chances are you will have LOTS of leftover bins!
5. Label, label and label your bins. Jennifer was definitely armed with her sticky labels and sharpies! If you end up buying new storage bins choose clear ones so you can see the contents.
6. There needs to be a place for everything. No more piles of junk mail, stuff sitting on the stairs to go up, etc.! (This is what I will be working hard on in 2016!)

We ended up donating probably about 10-15 bags and throwing away about 6 bags and I’m still working! Guys, that is SO much stuff that I was hanging on to just sucking the life out of me.

There was so much to do that I’m still working on finishing my spaces but I’m so motivated that I’ve chosen little areas or small categories to tackle almost everyday! Jennifer set me up for success and I know I can finish! It was just the kick in the bum I needed to conquer our mess once and for all! I’ll definitely be posting some pretty pictures of the finished spaces once I finish all my tasks :)

Having a professional organizer come to my house was not really something I had ever thought about but it has made a world of a difference in my confidence and motivation. Charlotte folks, Jennifer can whip you into shape like nobody’s business and it’s SO worth it! Make sure to check out her site and all the services she offers! She is just the sweetest and will come for as long or as little time as you need. It was a day well spent for sure! You can read more about our day of organizing on Jennifer’s blog here!

This month I’ll be talking more about files (I’m hoping to go somewhat paperless starting this week), new systems for incoming papers, and the time management strategies I’m working on! You can read about the planner I chose to use here.

Happy NYE you guys! I’m signing off again until next week so I really hope you have a wonderful weekend! Make sure to follow along on Instagram too!

Cheers!