Chaos before serenity

Full home reorganization goals can be daunting and should be approached with a plan.
If you don’t have the ability to dedicate several days in a row to knock a large project out (as many of us don’t), it can be broken down into manageable sized tasks if they can be looked at globally so priorities can be set. 

I am currently working with a client on a full house reorg.  The goal is to filter through the 40+ years of accumulated stuff, prioritizing what they want to keep, and removing the unnecessary.   They have been in the house since the seventies, raised two kids, now have grandchildren, and have filled every single nook and cranny in the house.  They want to de-clutter while keeping memories but they were not sure where to begin.

I reviewed the project and their priorities and set out a plan with the understanding that our sessions could be between 2-8hrs and as few as 3 times a month.

The first few sessions made progress in the bedroom and hallway but the next quest was to tackle the significant collection of books scatter throughout the house.  In order to do that, we needed a staging space as it was impossible to accomplish the book project in a single session and no one likes to live in chaos any worse than they already have.  This led us to the need to make a staging space in the storage shed because there are no other corners in the house to stage things.

Their shed was typical of most, it was outside the house with the door closed and only approached with a few times a year to pull out the camping gear or tackle a gardening project.  One of the shelves had almost broken due to the weight of the items thrown on it, there were multiple versions of the same item because they had either forgotten they already had one or could not find it, and then there was the outdated collection of paint, gardening supplies, and general household cleaners.  The one space not piled with years of collecting was the front corner reserved for the recently added golf clubs she gets to play with once a week.

So on a crisp fall day, I tackled the ‘shed staging space’ project solo. 

                      

In the process of making order, I first make chaos. 

Step one: Discover all that you have to organize.  My process for this is to remove everything from the current space and as I do this, I put it in staging piles that are categorized.  Every. Single. Item.  Tarps are great when working outside, beach towels work well in the house, but sometimes a table top or room corner will work just as well.  I often have a miscellaneous pile for those things that I’m uncertain how I want to categorize but they usually find a home before the step one is over.

Step two: Evaluate the empty space and all of the stuff that has to go back into it.  It seems silly but it’s like packing for a vacation – you have a finite space in the suitcase (or in this situation, the shed) and you have to make it all fit.  It fit before, it just happened to be mostly on the floor and unorganized, it will likely fit again – keyword: likely.   Plan in your head what has to be access quickly and what can be planted in the back because it is only used in case of breakage (spare tiles and matching colored grout from the bathroom remodel 7 years ago is the best example).  Remember the limitations – can the shelf handle that much weight, is the space tall enough to keep that upright, or does an item have to lay flat because the box will not close properly.  Consider measuring if spacial relationships are not within your talents.

Step three: Work in categories whenever possible.  Find the pile that will be buried and work with that first and then work your way through your piles, one category at a time.  While you do this, be flexible.  The best laid plans might not work out in reality and sometimes it requires a step back or a distraction for the suitable map to reveal itself.

Step four: Deal with the leftovers.  If the miscellaneous pile still has uncategorized items, taking a step back and thinking in broad categories can be helpful to identify the logic of what section to move it to.  If it turns out that you need to keep a miscellaneous box, so be it.  In the house they are called junk drawers.  I personally don’t believe in them, but it is an effective solution for many people.

At the end of my 6hr shed work, all belongings fit back in the shed, they were grouped successfully, and we opened enough space on the floor to stage the book project that is next on our list.

 

Don’t be intimidated by the size of the project, it might be large, but all things can be broken down into smaller parts and there is no right or wrong place to start.  Choose your priorities based on your wants and needs and dig in.  Remember to be flexible and understand that it will get messier before it gets organized.