4 Effective Ways To Successfully Stay Organized and Clutter-free

I grew up being an organizationally fastidious person. Keeping everything in order keeps me sane. But during quarantine, my previously well-organized pantry somehow got a tad bit out of hand and somewhat disorganized. Most items got piled on top of each other or were stored away in hard-to-reach spaces and were no longer in their proper designated spots. And Lord knows, I have no patience to look for things nor the flexibility to bend down to dig through a pile of stuff to get to what I need. Plus, it makes keeping proper inventory of what needs to be restocked pretty challenging. In all fairness though, the last time I organized our pantry was when we renovated the kitchen three years ago. So, it was time it got a re-organize refresh.

Furthermore, every fall season I like to re-organize things and refresh my home from closets and kitchen shelves to the pantry. It’s one of the things I most look forward to as I find it to be a nice way to ease into the season. It’s the perfect kickstart that gets me inspired to begin bringing in the warm autumnal hues.

Even though the white bins below have worked in my previous pantry, but I love the beautiful contrast the natural earth tones of these baskets add, in addition to the organization they bring. There’s something about the natural texture that makes my heart feels warm and fuzzy.

The people who know me very well always tell me that they could never be as organized as I am, but really, I find the first hurdle to overcome is to realize that organization is a lifestyle. It’s definitely not a “do and be done” type of accomplishment, like building a house or planting trees. Instead, it’s a way of life that satisfies your need to live in a beautifully organized and orderly fashion, which eliminates stress, and frees up your time to do what matters most in your life.

One of the greatest difficulties is implementing a system that works – giving priority to storage. It’s a process for sure. But, once you create a system that works for you, you’ll find that maintaining a life free of clutter and chaos is not as insurmountable as it seems. Not to mention, the lightness and efficiency that comes with having an organized lifestyle make it all the more worthwhile. Sure, it’s a lot of work, but the results are so rewarding!

That is why today, I’d like to share the basic 4 building blocks to get you started to succeed on your journey to a clutter-free and well-organized home, which soon will become an instinctive part of your routine without having to think about it at all.

Time

Just as it’s taken time to get to the point where you are with the accumulation of clutter, It’s important to realize that it will also take time to go through all that stuff. Take the pressure off of yourself and realize that de-cluttering and organizing, especially if you’re filled to the gills with clutter, will not be completed in a day. This isn’t a race against the clock to finish by a certain time. In fact, it’s good to keep in mind that organizing will become part of your daily activities for the rest of your life. To make the process a little less dreadful, imagine what your life and home will look like once it is organized. Keep that picture in mind and keep moving forward incrementally for fifteen to twenty minutes at a time. Each day that you organize a little bit here and there will contribute to getting closer to your final goal of having a beautifully organized home, with everything in its place and easily accessible.

Purging

Let’s be honest, sometimes it can be hard to know where to even begin or let go. First things first, go through whatever you’re looking to organize and purge whatever is no longer working for you. For example, if it’s your pantry, that means throwing away expired goods or items that you never use. Items that have not been used in a year or more would typically fall under this category. The key is to pick small tasks to start with and build from there.

Give everything a place

This is the key to maintaining all of your hard work. Have you ever spent a weekend organizing only to find that by Monday evening, a pile of stuff re-appears on those surfaces again? Two things are going on when this happens. First, those piles of items need a final resting place, which is where proper storage and files come into play. When each item, and object doesn’t have a place, it will always be out of place – creating clutter. Second, although things were organized, the maintenance was ignored. That’s why discipline is key to keeping one’s space in check. It takes discipline and patience to put things back where they belong after using them. Organizing requires structure and discipline. Mastering those two things, clutter will be gone once and for all.

Some of my favorite organizing items include stunning baskets like these. They not only fit perfectly – neatly corralling snacks, canned goods, condiments, and other pantry staples categorically well, but I also love the texture and warmth they add to the shelves. The good news is, you can get a discount for these baskets on me using my code: REBECCA10.

Using Proper Storage

Getting the right kind of storage organizers for your space is the secret behind organizing, expanding your storage space, and staying organized. Without proper organizers, it makes it difficult to keep everything in their place. It is good to think ahead, create a plan, and then write your shopping list so you can make the right purchases. For instance, what I do is take an inventory of what items need organizing and the size of storage I’ll need for those items.

I found these crates to organize all of our glass and canned drinks (getting rid of space-wasting boxes), small appliances, and other miscellaneous items that were kind of a strain to get to before on the floor of the pantry. I had this light bulb moment to add casters to the bottom of them, which makes them a lot easier to just pull in and out of the pantry closet to access everything in plain sight with much ease now.

Shop The Post