For some people, organizing their homes comes naturally. They love it. It runs in their blood. Some people are obsessed with organizing and that’s one of the reasons why we have professional organizers.

Such people simply turn their passion into profit. How cool is that?

Most people, however, detest it. It is not like they love a disorganized house. I mean, nobody does. An organized home sure makes everyone happy and it simplifies everything around the house. They just don’t know where and how to start or they are overwhelmed by the whole process. Another plain truth is that some people don’t even know that they need some organizing in their lives.

For me, I loved organizing since I was a little girl. I would clean, re-decorate and re-organize my room almost all the time. My room always looked different each time because I liked to experiment with different looks. I’d declutter often, donate and re-arrange all that was left.

Maybe you happen to be one of those who don’t like organizing or who don’t even know where to start. You probably tried but it didn’t work out for you. Maybe you organize but before you know it, everything is back to being a mess.

Well, don’t worry. I’m here to help lighten the burden for you a little bit. I’m going to tell you 7 things you need to know that will make organizing your home easier for you and more effective as well. I want to help you overcome the overwhelm and organize more productively.

When you know what to expect when organizing, then you’ll be better informed about how to start, how to go about it and how to keep up with it without being exhausted or overwhelmed.

7 Things You Need to Know About Organizing Your Home:

1) You need to have a goal or a picture of what you want to achieve.

This is basically the foundation for almost anything. If we don’t have a goal, then what are we working towards? You need to work towards achieving a specific purpose. Why do you want to organize? What do you want to see after your space has been organized? How do you want to feel about it? All these will give you directions to what you need to do to achieve your desired outcome. For instance, if one of your goals is to reduce the amount of time it takes to choose an outfit? Then maybe you’d need to let go of duplicates so that you’d be left with fewer options to choose from.

2) Some of your things HAVE to go.

This doesn’t sound so much fun but it’s true. This is what we call “decluttering” actually, and I’m guessing you already know that word. Asides clutter being unhealthy, it also causes stress, wastes time, makes you feel like your work is not done and also clutters the mind. For you to effectively and beautifully organize your home, the clutter (unnecessary) has to go to give room and space for the useful (necessary) items.

3) You may need to invest in some storage items or containers.

This is not a must, but sometimes it is necessary. Some things you were not able to successfully organize in the past might be because of how and where you store them. In such cases, if you invest in functional storage containers for such an item, it will help you keep them organized. Let’s say you have lots of pencils and pens but you don’t have a single place you store them, they will be all over the house and most times hard to find when you need them. You may throw them in a drawer but i assure you, they may not be there next time. If you get storage containers, maybe the type with compartments, for your arts and crafts supplies, everything will have its place and will be easy to find. You will also know where to keep each item after use, rather than throw them just anywhere only to start looking for them when you need them.

4) You will have to do some cleaning.

Decluttering, cleaning, and organizing are like three sisters. I see them like they all need each other. You can’t just start organizing your home without decluttering and cleaning. Yes, some part of the cleaning might be after you are done organizing everything, but you still need to clean some areas before organizing. For instance, after bringing everything out from a drawer and decluttering it, you need to clean inside the drawer first before organizing it. It’s as simple as that.

5) Everything is organizable

No matter what you have, how much of it you have, the size of your space or the setting of your home, you can organize everything. Some things are quite overwhelming to organize like garages, but with the help of a professional organizer, some DIY tips and tricks or inspiration from other people’s homes, you can definitely make it work. Don’t be discouraged, just do some research and then get to it. You might be shocked at what you will achieve.

6) The end results should spark joy.

Last month, a friend of mine told me over the phone that she had just decluttered, cleaned and organized her home. The first question I asked her was “How do you feel?” She said she felt very light and happy. She also said she felt as though she shouldn’t touch anything in the house ever again because she didn’t want to disorganize them. If it doesn’t make you feel relaxed and joyful, then maybe you should try again. There’s this joy that comes with tidying up and you are likely to feel that way when you organize your home.

7) Organizing is an on-going process.

After we organize, we wouldn’t expect the house to magically remain that way, would we? We make use of things and some items get dirty. We also buy and bring stuff to the house. This is why forming the habit of staying organized is very important. It makes future re-organizing easier. You should make it a habit to have a place for everything and always put everything back in its place. Also, discard on the go to avoid piling up clutter all over again. Avoid piling up laundry for so long. Try to fold your clothes as soon as you can. Once all these fall into place, you’ll be okay.