How to Organize Your Home: Step by Step Tips

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The organizing process can be intimidating and overwhelming.  Learn how to organize your home step by step, plus how to keep it organized.

A jumbled mess in a pretty basket.

That’s all it was.  Maybe it didn’t used to be that way.  But its beauty was a thing of the past.

My skincare basket, once beautifully organized, was now a disaster.

Getting your house organized can seem intimidating.  But the great thing about organizing is that no matter the size of the project, the process is always the same.

Today, I”m going to share my simple process for how to organize your home, step by step.  I also have tips for you at each stage, so you’ll know exactly what to do.  This organizing method is perfect for women who work full-time, because it can be done in small chunks of as little as 10 minutes, and doesn’t have to be done all at once!

How to Organize Your Home, Step by Step

There are 4 major steps to any organizing project.  As you can imagine, each of those steps has some smaller action steps as well.  Don’t worry, I’ve listed them here.  Okay, let’s get on with how to organize your home, step by step!

Step 1:  Declutter

Every good organizing project starts with surface decluttering.  When thinking about how to start organizing your home step by step, It doesn’t make sense to do anything else before you declutter.

Why?  Because the goal of decluttering is to get the easy stuff out of the way.

What exactly do you DO when decluttering?  The point of decluttering is two-fold:  To eliminate surface clutter and low-hanging fruit.

• Surface clutter consists of items that are out in the open and are not where they belong.
• Low-hanging fruit are items that you can easily identify as trash, things that belong somewhere else, or things you want to get rid of.

How do you declutter?  Simple.

Before you organize any space, take a cursory look at the items within.  Remove anything that is in the space, but belongs somewhere else, and put it away where it belongs.  Next, remove anything you no longer use, need, or love, and throw it away or donate it, if it’s in good condition.

Check out my post on how to declutter your home in one day for more info on decluttering!  I also have some specific tips for how to declutter clothes, because that process is a little different.

Step 2:  Deep Purge

Next on the agenda for how to organize your home step by step is the deep purge.

How does deep purging differ from decluttering?

Decluttering is focused on items that are close to the surface.  It’s also focused on low-hanging fruit – things you KNOW you no longer use, need, or love, and can therefore get rid of.

Deep purging is focused on the tougher stuff.  Things you forgot you had, or that you struggle to part with.  Unlike surface decluttering, deep purging involves evaluating every single thing in a space, and making a decision about it.

How to Deep Purge

How do you deep purge?  Try this simple line of questioning.

• Do I use, need, or love this?
  • If yes, do I have more than 1 of this type of thing?
    • If yes, can I get rid of 1 or more of the duplicates?
      • Yes – Put the item(s) aside to donate.
      • No – Move to the next question.
    • If no, move on to next question.
  • If yes, does it belong in this space?
    • Yes – Leave it there for organizing later.
    • No – Remove the item and place it where it belongs in your home.
  • If no, is it in good enough condition to donate?
    • Yes – Set aside to donate.
    • No – Throw it away or recycle it.

Deep purging can be emotionally taxing, because it can be difficult to part with sentimental items.  If you need more direction or you have a lot of keepsakes, check out this post from Landeelu on how to part with sentimental items.

Step 3:  Organize

The process of how to organize your home step by step includes, of course, organizing.

Here’s a rundown of how I like to do the organizing step of organizing.

First, remove everything from the space, so you know how much space you have, and how much stuff you need to fit inside.

Next, clean.  Clean the space, clean storage containers, clean the items you’re organizing.  Get it all nice and clean.

After cleaning, you’ll need to decide how to organize items.  Do you want to group items together by category, or by task?  For example, Do you want to group all of your skincare products together, or do you want to organize based on your morning and evening beauty routines?

Next, grab whatever boxes, bins, and baskets you have on hand, and do a trial run of your new organizing system.  As a result, you’ll be able to see what works and make adjustments before buying permanent containers.

It’s a waste to spend money on expensive baskets and bins that don’t end up working out because you didn’t do a trial run first!

Once you’ve tested your organizing system and you’re happy for it, you can go out and buy those adorable baskets.

For a super detailed explanation of the organizing step, check out my post on how to organize small spaces.  The process I describe in the post works on large spaces, also!

Step 4:  Maintain

So many good organizing projects ultimately fail because they aren’t properly maintained.  As a result, any discussion of how to organize your home step by step must include maintenance.

Believe it or not, even the best-organized spaces won’t stay that way on their own.  Products get used up, we no longer use/need/love items, and the way we use our belongings and our space changes.

As a result, an organized space has to be maintained.  Maybe think of it like a garden.  You can’t just plant it and walk away; you have to prune it, water it, and feed it to keep it beautiful and functional.

The good news is, maintaining an organized space is probably easier than you think.  A few minutes of maintenance every week or two is usually all it takes.  Try these steps to maintain your organized space:

• Keep items out that don’t belong – resist the urge to shove things somewhere they don’t belong to “get them out of the way.”
• Declutter the space regularly.  Take a few minutes every week or two and eliminate surface clutter and low-hanging fruit.
• Make adjustments as needed.  If you notice an organized space no longer works well for you, you might need to tweak it.  Sometimes you’ll even need to completely re-organize the space.

How to Organize Your Home Step by Step:  Conclusion

The process for how to organize your home step by step can seem intimidating and overwhelming.  However, it boils down to 4 basic steps.

• Declutter surface clutter and low-hanging fruit
• Deep purge by deciding whether to keep each item in the space; relocate items that you’re keeping but belong somewhere else
• Organize by deciding how to group items (By category or by task), and do a trial run of your organizing system with temporary containers
• Maintain your organizing system by keeping out things that don’t belong, decluttering regularly, and adjusting the system as needed

Remember my jumbled, messy skincare basket above?  I followed the organizing process above to declutter, deep purge, and organize it.  Now, with a little bit of maintenance, it stays neat and tidy.  My well-organized skincare products have saved me so much time getting ready for work in the morning.  I’m so glad I got organized!

Want even more helpful cleaning and organizing tips for working women?  Join the ShowMe Suburban community and learn simple habits and routines to keep your home clean and organized, so you can relax away from work without feeling the stress of a messy home.  Sign up below!