Clean House, Clean Mind: A Guide to Home Organization That Just Works
I have a confession — until just recently, I’ve never watched Friends.
So, believe my surprise when I realized that I’m a total Monica! Cleaning, clearing out spaces, using detailed plans and writing long lists is something that brings me joy and a sense of control.
And while some people might think that this is some sort of OCD, I don’t think this feeling is related to a medical condition — some people just like organizing things.
It’s not only me — I watched many makeover TV shows (Get Organized with The Home Edit being my favorite one) that were targeted towards people like me. TikTok’s most popular videos are about clearing and organizing spaces.
There is just something appealing, eye-pleasing, in watching people clean. Perhaps it’s because our lives are so messy (especially today), that people just want to see some order in it.
Having travelled the world and moved 3 times to 3 different countries on my own, I created a sort of system for how I organize new spaces. Whether I move houses, go for a 2-week trip, or just want to de-clutter my home, the steps that I’m going to share have been super useful for me and made cleaning less dreadful and exhausting.
Of course, each of us has different lifestyles and ways of arranging things at home. But I just want to share one of the ways that might help someone who doesn’t like organizing things like me (or maybe they do!).
1. Understand your lifestyle
First and foremost, analyze your routine and daily habits.
- When do you wake up?
- Do you cook every day?
- How big is your family and do you have kids?
And this doesn’t just concern what you do in the day, but also your likes and dislikes.
- What side of the bed do you like to sleep on?
- Where do you like to relax and where do you prefer to work/study?
- Is there something that you definitely want/don’t want to have in the house? (e.g., I always like putting posters or photos of my family at home)
2. Sort
Now it’s time to do the dirty work — sort through everything you have and be ready to nervously sip on some wine alongside.
If you live alone like me, it’s much easier since you probably know what you own (I hope). But even if you live with someone, you can still go through all stuff if you do that one room/space at a time. That way sorting won’t be tiresome and you can even have your family/friends join the process with you.
3. Filter
As you go through your things, you’ll probably find the most unexpected items that you never thought you owned. A ragged Green Day T-shirt that you wore as a 14-year-old “rebel”, old school books, maternity yoga pants…
This is the time to get rid of all that stuff. I know that many people find it hard to let go of old items, especially if they have sentimental value. But unless it’s something that you really want to keep, you have to stop cluttering your house with all that junk.
Over the years, I found 2 effective rules that help me get rid of things:
“If this thing doesn’t bring you happiness, leave it”
“If you haven’t used that thing in the last 3 years, throw it away”
While the first one is for sentimental items, the second one is more for everyday objects like clothing or books.
And filtering things away doesn’t necessarily mean you have to throw them away! Maybe you can donate them, sell in a garage sale or use them as gifts for future occasions. There are also numerous “swap” events where you can exchange your stuff (that’s what I did with my old books when I was done reading them).
4. Categorize
Now that you’ve realized how big of a hoarder you are, it’s time to get organized!
As you were going through things, you probably found some general patterns and can now group similar items together. The groupings can be general:
- Clothes
- Shoes
- Hygiene products
… or more specific:
- Winter clothes
- Body products
- Pots and pans
And the specifications can go even deeper:
- Have a lot of moisturizers for that dry skin of yours? Create a face cream category.
- You just love baking and use numerous baking tools? Huddle them together in a special group.
- Are you a shoe freak and just realized that you have at least 20 pairs of heels? Well, you know where that goes!
The categories can be as specific as you want, depending on what you own. If you have any sentimental items that you couldn’t let go of in the step above, you can create a separate grouping for them. The same goes for those things that you want to gift away — that’s something that I learned from Get Organised with The Home Edit (this show is just a storehouse of useful tips!).
5. Store
And now for the most creative part — containing all this clutter. Here you can actually start thinking of how you want your space to look visually. The most important thing to consider is to think about how this space will fit in your daily life.
Create zones for each of the spaces — the cooking zone, the reading zone, the working zone, etc. Analyze your day and track your activities to make sure that each zone makes sense for YOU. Remember, you’ll be living in this space, so you should feel comfortable with everything in it.
For instance, I work out 5–6 times a week, so it’s essential that I have a specific place where I store my matt and fitness gear. This nice drawer in my wardrobe is perfect for that — and because they’re stored within my reach and right below my workout clothes, I don’t have an excuse to skip on my exercise.
At this stage, you can choose to loosen the purse strings and get some nice containers and boxes. Personally, I don’t mind storing things just as they are but I did invest in some cheap baskets from the nearby Dollar Store to make everything look pretty.
Of course, my level of organizing is not as meticulous and beautiful as in those Pinterest pictures, but it works for me.
6. Maintain
And that’s it, your hard work is done and you can now breathe easily in your new decluttered apartment. I’m sure you found some extra-room that didn’t know you had, but that’s the magic of cleaning!
Now, all you need to do is maintain this system. You can, of course, make some revisions to your zones eventually — life changes and so do we. Just make sure that you follow the same system as you go along and you won’t have to do another deep organizing session.
There is a saying in Russian: “Clean house, Clean mind”. And I really believe that: if you keep your home clear of all the unnecessary junk, your brain will be clear of all redundant thoughts and you can actually concentrate on your tasks.
Plus, isn’t it just the best feeling ever when you finish cleaning and contemplate your new house? 😉
