The Organised Co.

Labels are life

Bet you didn’t wake up this morning thinking you were going to be reading a blog about labels, did you? I didn’t think I would be writing one. Yet here we both are. Let’s get stuck in.

I was asked the other day, what is one part of an organising job that you would recommend to every single client no matter what? Labels are the answer. Labels for everyone. Let me explain…

They are often the icing on the cake to finishing off any project. Even if you can’t afford storage solutions, we can all get our hands on a Sharpie and a pack of white stickers and start designating categories to things. That way, even if you don’t have a physical container to “zone” out and categorise your space, you have this mental barrier. Most of us will think twice putting jeans on the shelf labelled “T-shirts” for example. It is an unconscious way of maintaining your new clutter free space time and time again. Rather than put something in the wrong place, you are forced to address why you can’t put it in the place labelled “jeans”. Of course, it isn’t going to work in isolation but is one of the many, many tricks to maintain your home.

Organising with purpose

Have you ever watched an organising show and gone out and bought all the storage solutions that they advertised or bought for the home they were organising, only to find that it didn’t help at all and now the mess now has a new storage product amongst it?

Have you ever watched an organising hack on YouTube and copied it exactly and felt really proud for about 2 days before the space looks exactly like it did beforehand and you never rectify it ever again?

Have you ever woken up absolutely sick of the clutter, gone round the house being ruthless and getting rid of a whole car full in a weekend, only to have to repeat the exact same process in 6 months’ time because it has all come back again?

You aren’t alone. In fact, many people tell me that they wouldn’t both with a home organiser or professional organiser as it just doesn’t work for them. But they are wrong!

A week in the life of a home organiser

It has been such a long time since I have talked about me on this blog. I usually stick to decluttering and organising tips, hacks, and thoughts to take with you on your own journeys.

The role of a professional organiser, a home organiser or whatever you would like to call us is still evolving in the UK. It is well established over in America but there are a lot of people only just finding out about it now over on this side of the pond.

So… I thought it might be fun to take you on a week in the life of an organiser. I could have done a day, but my weeks are so varied and frankly I don’t think you often worry too much about what I have had for my breakfast.

What is a back-stock area and why do I need one?

In order for your home to work for you, everything you use, and love needs to be accessible. You need to know what you have and where to grab it from at a moment’s notice. Some things will be easier to grab than others of course, but my point is, you don’t want to be searching through 5 different cupboards for one thing every time you need it.

That is of course when decluttering and organising your home efficiently comes in.

So, what happens when you have a lot of something, but it is used frequently? The best examples of this would be pantry food, cleaning products, toiletries, and even spare bedding for guests.

Have you gone clutter blind?

I recently spoke about clutter problems and hoarding tendencies in another blog. You can check it out here. However, today I want to talk about another problem. One that most of us probably have but just won’t realise it until you read on.

What is clutter blindness?

In its simplest form, it is just not noticing the clutter around you anymore. It is walking past an area in your home every day and it just blending into the background. It doesn’t bother you anymore, it doesn’t even register to worry about doing anything about it anymore. It isn’t just the cupboard that is a mess inside that you dread opening. You aren’t blind to that as you are reminded every time you open the cupboard. This is the pile of paperwork on the counter, the toys piled up in the corner that no one ever plays with and the wardrobe that is so full and out of date but because you only wear the same things over and over again from the washing pile, you forget the rest is an issue.

Sound familiar? Have you gone clutter blind?

10 Things to declutter today!

Over on my Instagram page, I have been decluttering all month. In fact, I hosted a whole month challenge. So many people got involved and ended up decluttering almost 500 items from their home in just one month!

The results and benefits people have seen in their own homes was mind blowing, it was pure joy to watch.

Part of the challenge included hints and tips from me, telling you where to head to next to declutter. I started easy and built up to some more of the difficult spaces. That is the trick really when it comes to decluttering. Starting easy.

If you are new to decluttering and feel overwhelmed by the thought of letting go of your belongings and where to even start, read on.

Below are 10 things to declutter today. 10 things that are easy to ease you in to your declutter groove.

Help! My husband is a hoarder!

This is one of the most common sentences I hear when people hear about what I do. I am sure there are many husbands saying the same for wives and other partners all the same but primarily I must admit that it is women asking me about their significant others.

The good news is though the advice is the same, no matter which family member in your home has a clutter problem.

5 Upcycled Storage Solution Ideas

I am a big believer that decluttering and organising your home does not need to be expensive. Often you re-utilise the things from around your home to store things better and make something absolutely perfect for you.

That’s why, every so often in my little corner of the internet, I like to collate some of the best free, cheap or upcycled storage solutions with you so that you can look around your home and be inspired too.

So, enough of the waffle, let’s get to it. Here are my favourite 5 upcycled storage solution ideas I have seen recently.

The most common declutter objections

As an organiser, I think I have heard most of the objections now as to why someone does not want to get rid of something. However, there are some that come up time and time again, so I thought it would be fun to share some of them with you and see how many you have said to yourself before to justify why the clutter needs to stay.

The 3 types of people I help as an organiser

The title of a professional declutter and organiser is still fairly unknown in the UK, whereas in the US it is a fairly accepted profession.

I love that I am part of the wave of organisers in the UK, teaching others what the job entails and the benefits of using an organiser in your home.

I get asked frequently what type of people I help and the honest answer there isn’t just one type of person. What I do for them though is the same. To calm the chaos in their lives and homes.

I thought though as that isn’t necessarily all that helpful, I would instead tell you about the 3 main types of people I help as an organiser. Hopefully one will resonate with you, or perhaps you will be a mixture of all 3?