Organization tips for beginners

For many years, getting organized has been one of my priorities. As such, I have tried and even paid for many organizational programs. (You can read about my favorites here.) While I have learned lots of useful tips about organization, my house and life is still a work in progress.  However, I wanted to share with you some of the most helpful ideas I have learned. Hopefully, my organization and decluttering tips for beginners will help you begin or improve upon the journey to a more organized and decluttered life!

Organization tips

Organization tips for beginners:

1. Before bed, plan for tomorrow. Set out your outfit and get everything you need for the next day in one spot. This one step positively influences my morning rush.  This is step also very helpful if you have children. Pack lunches, set out homework, papers or anything else that is needed the next day.

2. Complete a quick pick up daily. Start with five minutes dedicated to making sure everything is put back in its place. For my family, the time right before evening baths seems to work best for our pick up. During this time, I make sure to start the dishwasher so I can unload it in the morning. This has become part of my evening and morning routines.

3. Do a daily load of laundry (depending on your family size). This helps from creating a marathon laundry session on the weekends.

4. Plan your week. Check activities on your calendar(s) to ensure everything still works with your schedule and needs. It is also helpful to do meal planning.

5. Declutter on a quarterly basis (at least). Finding a charity that picks up donations has greatly increased the amount I declutter. When my 9 to 5 job slows down a little, I go online to schedule a pick up and start decluttering!

6. Adopt a minimalist mindset about new purchases. When deciding on an impulse purchase, ask yourself a few questions: Do I/they really need it? Where will I/they put it? Just pausing for a moment has really helped control the amount of items I bring into the home for my children and myself.

Do you have any favorite organization or decluttering tips? I would love to hear them below.

Happy organizing,
Stephanie

To stay connected with Sharing A to Z, please see Facebook or Pinterest. You can also subscribe below (or on the middle right sidebar) to get our SATZ newsletters.

 

7 comments

  1. Mariet/Practicingnormal says:

    I find it so hard to declutter. I think it’s the amount of little people makes it very difficult. I feel like Snow White cleaning up after the dwarfs with no prince in sight.

    I’m taking a few of your tips to heart, hopefully this will give me a head start for 2015.

  2. CE says:

    I have found another blogger- Mary Organizes, following her blog has helped me so much with my decluttering/organizing/etc. The support is fantastic in her facebook group Get Organized Today (with Mary Organizes).

    I love what you said about really thinking about what to bring in the home. For 2015 I am challenging myself to purchase ZERO toys except for Birthday/Christmas. Those will be limited. My daughter prefers experiences over toys and so do I. So that will be our focus in 2015. Just cutting out excess, so we can enjoy more experiences.

    Another great thing about Mary’s group- was learning about your blog! Looking forward to seeing and reading more.

    • Stephanie says:

      Thank you! I love Mary Organizes and am part of her FB group, too! She has helped me so much as well. I actually wrote about her in my prior post and have a link to it in this post.

Leave a Reply