1. Designate exactly what you want to organize. Set aside a pile, select a room or cabinet. Stay within the confines you have set for yourself and don’t get distracted by other things you want to organize as well. Save them for another time.

2. Once you have selected what space and/or materials you wish to organize, it is now time to deconstruct. Yes, deconstruct. Anything that is contained in something, take it out. The goal here is to not miss a single item. You want to have the opportunity to evaluate what you have and whether or not you want to keep it or trash it.

3. Now it’s time to sift through everything. Here you will need a trash can handy, maybe even a recycle bin, and lots of open counter or floor space. One by one, go through the contents of what you have set aside. Create two piles: 1. Keep 2. Trash. Be very specific and DON’T HESITATE. Go with your gut instinct. If you haven’t been thinking to yourself “man where is that ____” then you can probably trash it.

4. Now it’s time to divide and conquer. Start categorizing things based on their similarities. Essentially you are taking your larger “keep” pile and creating smaller piles where items are grouped together.

5. Storage. Here’s where you can get creative. Take your smaller piles and decide how and where you want to store them. A plastic storage box, on shelving, in a filing cabinet, you name it. The possibilities are endless. There are two important things to remember here. Keep it simple and keep it functional. It’s easy to get carried away in the container store, Walmart or Target. Keep a realistic mindset, and you should do fine.

That’s it! Now get to organizing! And if this seems too tedious, complicated and boring….hire me