Ep 51 - The Organizing Philosophy I Use at Home

 


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Welcome to this episode where I dive into my home-organizing philosophy. I'll be diving deep into a question I frequently encounter – whether organizers' homes are impeccably perfect. Spoiler alert: they're not. Join me as I share valuable insights into my approach to establishing and maintaining effective systems, offering you a peek into my strategic mindset. This podcast provides practical guidance for optimal home organization.

You can listen right here, on Apple, Amazon, Spotify or you can read the transcription below. Enjoy!

 
 
 
 

Welcome back. Today I'm going to be talking about the organizing philosophy that I use at home. I want to talk about this for a couple of reasons. One, I get asked a lot – and all organizers do– if our homes are perfect and they're absolutely not. But also I want to share a sense of what I'm thinking about as I set up and maintain my systems.

So this is going to be a quick overview of some things I talk about a lot and just how they apply to my own home. I know a lot of times I'm talking about client homes, but this is really about how they apply to my home. If you've been following me for a while or listening to the podcast, you know there are a couple of rules that I talk about all the time that help my clients, my club members, as they're decluttering and getting organized.

These are things that I use in my own space all the time as well, and really help inform my decision-making. So I am not going to harp on them too much. There's a good chance you already know what I'm talking about but the biggest ones that I use a lot are the numbers rule and the space rule.

The Numbers Rule

I know I talked about this recently as well with Brittany. We talked about how we both use these in our homes as well. The numbers rule really boils down to figuring out what the right number for you is for any sort of Item.

 I always use an example of reusable bags. That's something that I need to go through in my own home soon as well because it's getting to be a little bit much. I'm also realizing that somehow almost all of my reusable bags have migrated into one of my car's trunks, and I need to separate them out so I have them ready to go in each car.

There'd be too many in one car if that makes sense. So just figuring out the right number for you, because I'm not going to use 10 reusable bags at a time, I'm just not. Even if it's a Costco day, I'm bringing a cardboard box.

The Space Rule

The space rule is really about figuring out how much room you want to allot for a certain kind of item. This a project that I'm going to have in about a month and a half or so when I switch over to my fall wardrobe versus my summer wardrobe. Where I live in Sacramento, there is a vast difference because we're having triple-digit temperatures. 

So my summer clothes are really important and I want to make sure that that's streamlined. But when it switches over to Autumn, I know that I need to go through my clothes because the space that holds my off-season clothes as well as the clothes that don't fit me right now is really starting to be impacted.

So for me, that's the amount of space that I want to use to house that sort of thing. So I need to go through it and figure out what of those items I'm not really using, what doesn't fit and is just probably not going to fit, and make some tough decisions and let it go so I can have a little bit of bandwidth. Because when I go to put something in there right now, I'm kind of having to shove it in and it's no good.

So I'm going to wait a little bit until I switch it over. That's how I'm using the space rule to help me decide how much to keep. It's basically how much fits in the space, and that's a really important aspect of a lot of different spaces in our homes. 

Other places where I see this impact a lot are in kitchens. How many cups is the right number of cups for you? How many coffee mugs is the right number? How many water bottles? How many travel coffee containers? So those are areas where it might be good to think about how much space you want to use to house it and just pair down from there. Save your favorites, and start with your favorites. See how many of your favorites fit. The ones that aren't your favorite are probably the ones that could stand to go away.

My goal at home is really to be able to put everything away. I want it to have a home so I can find it later. There are definitely some spaces in my home where I have kind of an et cetera drawer.

There's going to be a drawer with some sentimental jewelry that I have but I don't necessarily wear it all the time. And that same drawer also has my sweater shaver and I think it even has my bingo markers and, oh gosh. What else? Just like some other random things also nearby. It's where I keep my checks and my IDs and my gift cards and that sort of thing. So some areas are kind of like, all right, this is encompassing a few different things and it's a little et cetera.

But I try not to have junk drawers. The reason for this is that I strongly believe that when you label something a junk drawer, I mean like a mental label, the thing that you're most likely to house in there is just junk. So if you don't want to keep junk around, I highly suggest renaming things, especially in the kitchen.

I like to rename it your utility drawer because you keep utilitarian things in a utility drawer. The junk doesn't go in there. The junk goes in the trash. By aiming to be able to put things away. This can really help you pinpoint where your issues are. The things that you're like, okay, I don't know where this is supposed to go. Those are the things that you need to sit down and create homes for. 

So are there other locations where something like this lives? If I was going to find a new home for my bingo stampers, maybe I would put it in arts and crafts. 'cause it's kind of a marker situation. Or is there a whole category where you've got things?

 I find that a lot of people have things like camping equipment that are a little bit everywhere, but it's only used for camping, so that could be something to gather up. Travel items a lot of times fall into that category. If you find that you have a lot of things just kind of chill in different spaces and they need to find a home. It could be worth thinking about.

Are there other things in this category that are just roaming around the house? Gather them up, put them in a bin, slap a label on it, and now you've created a home for it. You just need to figure out where that bin goes.

When Things Are Too Full

So another thing that I think about a lot and something that lets me know when it's time to declutter is when things are too full. That is when I know that it's time to thin out a collection. That's really when I'm like, all right, let's declutter it. Maybe your socks are getting to be a bit too much, and there are some socks in here that I definitely don't wear because they're old or not my favorites, and now I've replaced them with things that are my favorites. So maybe it's time to let them go.

Underwear. That happens a lot too. I mentioned my off-season clothing. That's space that I need to thin out. This can happen a lot with shoes. If you don't have enough room to store all your shoes, then maybe it's time to reexamine how you're storing your shoes.

If you're just completely maxed out on room, think about whether you are actually wearing all these shoes. Now I have some extra space because I went ahead and decluttered all of my heels recently. Anything taller than I think two inches. I have a couple of little baby kind of stack heels, but anything that was Stiletto or taller is just now gone because I wasn't wearing it even to more formal events. I was really opting for these really low black velvety sandals that I have that just hit the mark, work with a lot of outfits, and are so much more comfortable than a lot of the taller ones that I had.

And I just decided that yeah, I don't care. So instead of housing them in my precious, precious storage space for all time and eternity. I just went ahead and let them go. Thinking about what no longer really fits your lifestyle, those can be good candidates to leave as you are thinning things out.

The GTFO Bin

I know that I mentioned this in my conversation with Brittany, if you missed it, I really think this one is worth mentioning. A big thing that's helped me to reduce the amount of clutter that I have roaming the streets of my house is to create a home for revolving items. So, I have a bin near my back door.

It's labeled G T F O. That means get the f*ck out of my house and any of the items that are going to be going away because they really belong in someone else's house. Right now I have an item that I'm going to take to my book club, or I have a vase that my neighbor lent us and I have some stuff that needs to go to my sister's house. That all lives in this bin near the back door, so that when I need it, I know where all those items are, and what's in it ends up having a rotation. But the common denominator is all those items are queued up and ready to get out of my house, so I don't need to worry about them.

You know, oh, where did I set that down? Or is it hiding in a closet, et cetera? It's just in a spot ready to go.

Sentimental Bins

Something else that's really helped me is to create a bin for sentimentality. In my home, I generally have pictures on my fridge of my nieces and nephews, or my friend's kids, and basically, I have this little collection we love looking at it every morning. It just brightens our whole day. First thing in the morning is when it makes me especially happy. And then as I get, say, a new school picture or a new sports picture, I'll switch it out for that kiddo so that they have the most recent one on the fridge.

If you are a fridge kid, then you should know I'm saving your pictures. I go in my sentimental bin where I have all the little, wallet-sized in there, or sometimes, someone will make you a cute doodle.

 My niece recently made a picture of her whole family plus Corey and me, and it was just the sweetest thing. So, that absolutely went on the fridge. It'll probably be there for another month or so. I'm absolutely keeping that one. Another nephew cut out a picture of a bridge that he found in a magazine and he really likes bridges. So that was a very big deal. The bridge has been on my fridge for a while and it will go to my sentimental bin too 'cause it was just so sweet.

But you know, there are some other ones where you're like, okay, we're going to keep it up for a while, then we can let it go. And that's fine too. Having a spot for those sentimental items is really key because then when I feel like I want to take a little trip through memory lane, I know where all those items are. But they're not on a shelf somewhere collecting dust because I'm thinking to myself, well, I don't know where this should go. And that's really the key is when you're thinking, I don't know where this should go. Let's think about what other items fall in that category, and then maybe we can create a home for them.

Solving Organizational Problems

That's essentially how I do everything in my house, like what is the problem and what is a solution that I can make around that. Another really random example of what problem am I looking to solve is a smaller selection of oils and vinegars. I really try and get these as they're needed for a recipe versus having the store at my house.

We do meal planning, so every week I compare what is on the recipe that I'm going to be using and then compare it to what I have in the house. And if I need something else, then I can get it, but, If I don't, then it can just live at the store until I need it.

I have a small collection of oils and kinds of vinegar that need to live in my house. Because of how my pantry is set up, they need it to be up high, but I kind of have to stretch. It's easier for Corey. He's tall, but I have to stretch to get them. And so I was finding myself needing to go to the closet, grab the steps, stool, bring it out, get up high, make sure to grab a bottle on the back, but you know, you don't want to knock it off so that it falls on the ground and spills everywhere.

So it was a little bit precarious, but it was still the best spot for our kitchen layout. So I went ahead and got a lazy Susan one. Lazy Susan really saved the day because then I can still have some things stored behind the lazy Susan that I maybe don't need to access frequently. 

Let's see what's behind that wheel. We have a couple of bowls stacked into each other that I only use if I'm doing a really big baking project. Don't use 'em all the time, but if I need to bake 10 loaves of banana bread or four batches of cookies or whatever the case may be, they're ready to go.

They're also great for chips for a party or individual bags of chips. If we're going to a beach or something like that, it's there. It's a great big bowl, but I don't use it frequently at all, so it's a great candidate to be tucked away up above. it's OK if I need to get it, I can grab the step stool for that, but in front of it, it's just this lazy Susan. 

These items I use all the time, but now I can just do a little spinny spin and grab what I need and it's so much easier. That's always exactly what every organizational system here is about– What is the problem and then creating solutions around it. 

Maintaining Your Space

And then I wanted to chat real quick about maintaining your space because the tips that I give for maintaining are really similar to the tips that I give for when you're getting started decluttering and organizing. When you're feeling like things are just getting a little out of hand, I suggest putting on a podcast or an album that you love, that makes you want to dance. Set your timer for 20 minutes. Just put things back where they belong, because there are going to be things that are just out and about.

Maybe clothes are out, you throw them in the laundry. If you've been following me for a while, you know that there is a pile of clothes that ends up on the side of my bed. Maybe I put it away earlier today. I just need to pull out my timer, set it, and spend a little bit of time resetting those systems. 'Cause the thing is, your systems are not going to be perfect all the time. They're just not. If your systems unravel, it doesn't mean that it's a moral failing on your part. It doesn't mean that you're bad at organizing. It means that you're a human who lives in their house, has busy times, and maybe isn't perfectly putting every single thing away the second you're done using it every single time. And you know what, that's fine. That is fine. It is not a reflection of your ability to be or stay organized.

All it means is that there is a chance for you to reset. The beauty of creating homes for things is that when we reset them, they're going back to the space where they belong. We are able to find what we need when we need it and put it away easily. That's a system baby, and that's all it is.

I want to make it as simple as you would like it to be. I know I need my systems very simple, or else they are even less likely to stay maintained. So there you have it. A couple of things that I'm thinking about at home while I'm getting organized and while I am resetting my systems. If you have any questions about this, please dm me on Instagram @TidyRevival.

Or you can email me at Carly@TidyRevival.com I would love to answer any questions that you have on a future episode.

Thank you again for joining me today.

We would love to make sure that your questions are answered for a question of the week or a future episode. So we love to hear from you. DM (on Instagram) or you can always email me, carly@tidyrevival.com. We love hearing from you. We love hearing your thoughts about the pod, and thank you so much for hanging out.

If you wanna learn more about how I can help you, feel free to head over to tidyrevival.com to learn how I work with people one-on-one or in our private community. If you enjoyed this episode, please be sure to subscribe so you'll always have access to the latest episode.

We would also love to hear your takeaways. Feel free to tag us on Instagram, Facebook, or TikTok. The Tidy Revival podcast is written and hosted by me, Carly Adams, and edited by Brittany McLean. Title Song Maverick is by Dresden The Flamingo.

and until next time, remember that…

 
 
 

Links mentioned in this episode

 
 
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