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A little planning can save time and frustration on a home organizing project. Check off these 7 things to do before you start organizing, and you’re sure to be successful.
Right before you begin a home organizing project, you probably feel exuberant. Excited. More than ready to see the awesome, beautiful product of all that hard work you’re about to do. You haven’t given a single thought to the things to do before you start organizing.
30 minutes into it, though, you’re feeling overwhelmed. You’ve made a huge mess of the space you’re trying to organize. There’s stuff everywhere. You don’t have enough time to finish the project. Sad and defeated, you shove all the clutter back where it came from.
Hearing stories like this from readers really breaks my heart. I never want that to happen to anyone again! So today, I’m sharing a simple list of 7 things to do before you start organizing a space in your home.
If You Fail to Plan…
Yes, yes, yes. It’s a cliché. But it’s overused to the point of nausea because it’s TRUE. If you fail to plan, you plan to fail. While spontaneity and figuring things out as you go have their place, they don’t usually work well when it comes to home organization.
Like any project with an end goal, home organization goes a lot more smoothly if you have a plan in place. That’s not to say that you have to stick to the plan from start to finish; it’s good to be flexible and adjust as needed. But you wouldn’t set out on a road trip to Minneapolis without GPS tracking, a road map, or a set of directions, would you?
As a result, a little planning before you start an organizing project will go a loooong way. Check off these 7 things to do before you start organizing, and you’ll be perfectly positioned for a successful project.
Things to Do Before You Start Organizing
Ready to dive in to my list of things to do before you start organizing a space in your home? Let’s do this.
Decide How You’ll Use the Space
The functions and tasks a space will be used for will inform every single decision you make as you’re organizing a space. What do you want to use the space for? What will be stored there once you’re finished?
Knowing how and why you plan to use a space will help you figure out what to keep, what to get rid of or store elsewhere, and even how to arrange items. Good planning of space usage answers all of those questions easily.
Define What Is and Isn’t Working Right Now
Analyzing the strengths and weakness of your space before you start organizing will help you make better-informed decisions about which containers to keep, and even give you insight into how you can improve your routines once the space is reorganized.
Maybe that little basket is too small to hold all of your haircare products. Or maybe storing your socks all the way in the back of your closet makes getting dressed a hassle every morning. Maybe you really like the way your desk supplies are set up, you just need to get rid of some of the clutter around them.
A quick assessment of what is and isn’t working in a space will help you make smart, informed organizing and decluttering decisions.
Decide What “Organized” Looks Like to You
Envision how you want your space to look and feel when you’re done.
Cute, matching containers and decor? Or simple, straightforward organization without frills? What are your goals for the space? Do you want to be able to physically see every pair of your shoes? Do you want your pantry shelves stocked no more than 2 items deep?
By defining what “organized” means to you and your space, you’ll know when you’re done – when you’ve reached your goal of getting the space organized. This is probably one of the most important things to do before you start organizing.
Schedule More Time Than You Think You’ll Need
Brimming with optimism, we often think we can knock out a project in just a few minutes or hours… and sometimes, that’s the case. But the worst thing is when you start an organizing project, don’t give yourself enough time, and have to abandon it for days or weeks because life happens.
As a result, be generous in scheduling time to work on your project. Estimate the amount of time you think the project will take from start to finish, and at least double it. If you finish early, it’s bonus time!
Enlist the Help of Family and Friends
Organizing can be overwhelming and stressful. It can also be lonely. Enlisting the help of a positive, encouraging, helpful friend or family member can make all the difference. You’ll have help and good company while you work on your project, and you’ll get some extra bonding time.
Create a Plan for Trash and Donations
One of the biggest (and most common) organizing fails? Having trash and donations sitting around your house long after your organizing project is complete.
It seems ridiculously simple – and hardly worthy of being one of the things to do before you start organizing – but that’s exactly why you should create a plan. We’ve all fallen into the trap of saying, oh, I’ll take those things to goodwill next week, or promised ourselves that we’ll remember to put those extra trash bags out on trash day. And what happens more often than not? We forget.
Schedule a donation drop-off in your planner. Or better yet, schedule a donation pick-up so you don’t have to do the work yourself! Set a reminder on your phone or somewhere where you’ll see it around your house to set out extra trash bags from an organizing project. Call your trash company to check their policy for large-item pickup if you’re getting rid of old furniture.
Resist the Urge to Buy New Containers Before You Start
One thing that is NOT on the list of things to do before you start organizing? Buying new containers for your space.
It’s sort of like buying a box before you know how big the gift will be. Sure, they may work out, but you really won’t know the size, style, and type of containers you need until you’re almost done with your project. As a result, you should resist the urge to buy those pretty containers up front. Save that as a reward toward the end of your project, instead.
Things to Do Before You Start Organizing: Conclusion
A little up-front planning will help you get any home organizing project started off on the right foot. You’ll clarify your goals, save time and frustration, and help ensure a successful outcome. To recap, here are my 7 things to do before you start organizing:
- Decide how you’ll use the space
- Define what is and isn’t working right now
- Decide what “organized” looks and feels like to you
- Schedule more time than you think you’ll need for the project
- Enlist the help of family and friends
- Create a plan to remove trash and donations
- Resist the urge to buy new containers until the project is almost done
Once you have these 7 things checked off, you might still feel a little lost. Check out my post on how and were to start organizing your home if you’re not sure where to start.
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