Organizing Order
Declutter or Organize?
I like to define my terms when I’m working with others. People like to talk in generalizations or vague terms - this sentence is proof. When someone says “my house is such a mess” they mean one thing but I hear any number of things. Their house could be dirty or cluttered or both. They could have dishes on the counter or all over the kitchen. They could have a load of laundry that needs to be put away or a mountain that needs to go through the whole laundry cycle.
So let’s define a couple of terms for this blog. You may mean declutter and organize when you say organize but there is a big difference.
Declutter - letting go of things that don’t serve you or your household.
This will always include things leaving your house. This will never include bringing things into your house.
Organize - putting the things you are keeping in a home that makes sense to you and your household.
This may sometimes include bringing things into your house. This may also sometimes include things leaving your house.
Now that we’ve defined those terms, we can talk about what order to do those two different things in much easier.
Declutter first. Organize second. Always.
Now that you know what decluttering is and what organizing is you can hopefully more easily see why you always declutter first. Here are just a few reasons.
If you try to organize first…
you’ll want to buy lots of supplies that look pretty and helpful
you’ll fill those supplies up and see that it doesn’t help you keep up with your things any better
you’ll bring those supplies home and see that you don’t really have room for them
you’ll bring those supplies home and run out of energy to finish the project so you have a pile of supplies
you’ll want to return those supplies because you aren’t going to use them
you’ll forget to return those supplies because they got lost with the other piles
you’ll have spent time and energy and money on something you can’t really use
you’ll beat yourself up for buying something you can’t use and not returning it in time to get your money (and space in your house) back
you’ll wish you had a way to be more efficient in organizing your house and keeping up with it
you’ll remember that blog that you read that said “Declutter first. Organize second. Always.”
How?
Think you need some organizational supplies? Take some time to empty a drawer, decide what you want to keep up with, and let the rest go. Then put everything you’re keeping where you would use it. Do you still need organizational supplies? If yes, measure for what you need. Buy what you think will help. Put it in and fill it with your things. It’s a much easier and efficient process when you go in order.