Do you wish to put an end to clutter once and for all and actually enjoy spending time at home? Let’s see the home organization secrets and get your home clutter-free! Sometimes “knowing” things isn’t enough. We all know we should eat less, work out more to be in shape – do we do it? Of course not. We enjoy eating junk food more than we worry about what it will do to our health in 10-15 years from now. The same goes for creating a clutter-free home. You will not see what that one decorative item you bring into your home will do to it in 10 years from now. It is just cute. You wanted it. But if you think about it – it will cumulate into a big pile of something, which you will not like or care about and just collects the dust in just couple of month….

You can organize your home alone or with a help of a professional organizer, but it is important to know the top home organizational secrets in order to get you to the next level. Knowing things, understanding them and actually have the motivation to do them matter a lot. Maybe you will even enjoy the process after all all…

Home Organization Secrets – and what happens after

As a professional organizer I know how good it feels to have that enviously perfect pantry to walk into and show it off to the neighbours and Instagram. However in terms of “using” the space it all comes down to WHO is using the space and HOW one uses the space. If you are a predictable shopper, and you buy mostly the same brands, the same amount each week, then you will love the airtight containers. On the other hand if you like to try new flavours, there is no possibility of having the same shopping cart twice in months, then you will hate those same containers… There’s no one size fits all approach – it mainly depends on your habits and how you want to approach life being at home.

When you are organizing your home, you will experience 5 things that will affect other parts of your life:

1. deciding what to keep, not what to get rid of

Words that are often used is “decluttering”, “letting go”, “getting rid of”, or “throwing it away”.  We focus on what we no longer need, and what to do with them. Thus, we focus on more of the negative side, rather than focusing on what we cherish, and what will make our lives easier and more meaningful. Home organization starts with decluttering and push those rubbish bags outside, but it does not have to be just that. 

When you start to cherish and take care of things in your life and create a sacred space, there is no room for negativity. Rather than focusing on choosing those objects that you no longer need (because they have fulfilled their destiny for you), think positively and choose the objects that bring you happiness, useful or just pretty. Choose intentionally and create a space where you only have items which are dear to your heart, make your life easier, or help you reach your goals.

What happens with the other ones, that do not fit into these categories? Just let them go. Not just put them into the garage or the entryway. Bring them physically OFF your property. It will be easier, I promise.  With this small change of attitude in your mind and a positive thought in your heart, you will feel more uplifted to organize. Because if we only focus on what we no longer need, it can only bring unhappiness into our lives. We tend to think about “just in case” items  as well. What happens if I need it? Nothing. Probably you will forget all about it in a day or two.

Other times when you can use this positive mentality instead of focusing on the negativity: 

• “What tasks can I delegate?” instead of “What are the tasks that are really important to me?”
• “How can I save time?” instead of “What do I want to spend my extra hours on?”
• “I can’t do it-” instead of “This is what I can do!”
• “I don’t have time for this.” instead of “I have time for this!”

The attitude of “What will I keep and what will I make time for” can change the way you think about your time management and your attitude to stress in your daily life.

2. Settling in and accepting things is GONE

Another secret is that clutter is just part of our habitual routine. We keep things and habits even when we no longer need them. We think of them as status symbols.

If I have lots of books, ergo I’m smart.

A living room must contain a TV, a sofa and a coffee table.

I need to have at least 3 different sets of plates for different occasion.

…and so on.

E.g. different plates? Why? Do you MUST? What if you do not enjoy cooking, you alway go to your family for holidays, and you do not really invite friends over, but rather go out and eat at a restaurant. Yet you see the tradition is, that you have to have an everyday set of plates, and then the holiday set, and then the set which you never use, but as a tradition you inherit it from your elderly. Do you know how much space 3 sets of plates (and of course cutlery and glasses) take from your living space? At leaset a big cupboard. A cupboard that you could have used for other things, or even not to have that cupboard at all! Pay less and get a smaller rental. You want to fit in, although it does not give you any pleasure. It doesn’t make eating pleasant. It breaks the intimate time when everyone gathers around the table and tells you what happened to them that day. And do not get me started with the no dishwasher policy…

The same goes for our “duties”. We like to look busy, we like to share pictures to show that we have a good life, we are busy and we are having the happiest years of our lives. But being busy is not the same as being productive and focused. The books on the bookshelf do not make us smarter, books only purpose is to be read and get the knowledge out of them. In our living room, the TV can lose its functionality if it is not turned on. If you only watch shows on your laptop, why spend money on a TV?

Thus the second home organisation secret is, that when you organize your home it teaches us how to form opinions about things, programmes and even friendships and traditions. We shouldn’t just keep our objects, we should consciously design our environment.

I will no longer have the things others expect in my home, but the things that bring me and my family joy, are functional and therefore no longer have to avoid things we don’t need.

I will not say yes to a wedding if I hate weddings. Not because other people expect me to follow the tradition. I am not settling down. Life is too short to just do what other people expect from you and make them happy.

3. ME time is important 

We often feel like we clean all day but never get anywhere. Our time is taken up with various meetings, appointments, date nights, activities and to-do lists. We often hear time is the most important thing in life. You should not spend any second doing thing you do not want to. Imagine a cluttered space. It is either filthy, because it is never cleaned, or it takes a lot of time cleaning it, either you do it or the cleaning lady. 

When people tend to get richer, they tend to spend money on MORE things. They can afford it, they can finally show off. But with many shiny things, it comes great responsibility. Bigger house = more cleaning. More stuff = more time to clean, maintain and take care of them. 

If you continuously worry about thing that need your attention, you will end up enjoying your sacred space less and less. Home organization secret or not, more stuff, just the stake of more stuff do not always give you joy. Your home should be for you, not the other way around. You should be able to enjoy when you are home.

It’s important that you can only regain your mental strength in a calm, clutter-free and pleasing environment. To do this, you need to organise a home, where you can regain your power, to know what gives you real pleasure, and to find a home for everything in your home. Thus when you are home, you are not worried, rather than relax.

Once you have created an inspiring environment for yourself where you feel good, you will spend your me time more effectively, rather than thinking about how to tidy it up.

4. Change your habit and THEN buy stuff you need 

When you want to change your habit it is easy to buy the new clothes, buy the healthier option at the grocery store, because it will get you in the mood. However you first have to change your habit and declutter, and only then you will know what you will actually need. You might think before decluttering, that you will need x times more storage boxes than after decluttering. 

So stylish containers are actually the final part. Let’s say they are the cherry on the top. The present for yourself after organizing your entire kitchen, bathroom, or even the mudroom. Why? Because you will have no idea what to get, how many of them to get, and if you do not end up using them it is either a nice trip for you to return them, or they end up being clutter. The very same clutter you work so much pushing out the door. 

I know you will get motivated buying first, but trust me, it will save so much time and money in the end. You need to be a little patient and find other motivation of creating a new habit. Also, you know getting ourselves motivated by a product is not a good way of starting a home organizational project.

Stuff will not make you happy.

I know, it is a cliché. Certainly, they will make life easier sometimes, and even bring joy. That is okay, but to be only able to get motivation or joy from stuff, will not get you where you are heading in life. You need to change your habits, even in small steps to not be dependent on “celebrating, so going shopping” kind of attachments. 

5. Be in the present

People who have started to organize their homes and lives feel more at ease. They often have less stuff in their homes, feel more spacious to explore their surroundings and appreciate each object more. More specifically, they surround themselves with objects that they like and care about, rather than “just in case” items, or “we have the space, why not keeping it”.

The same is true of our time management. When we start to care about the things and people who are important, we eliminate the unnecessarily accumulated friends, duties and objects around us, and can be truly present in the programmes, friends and things we say yes to.

When we stop rushing from one meeting to the next, we leave ourselves space to really enjoy the meetings we attend (I mean who enjoys meetings anyways, but you get my point…). When we don’t overcommit ourselves, we spend less time being busy, for the sake of business. We feel we have more time to spend quality time with ourselves, to think about what we really want and what it is that will help us move forward in our lives. When we don’t feel the urge to have every single minute scheduled, we start to see the present more clearly.