Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast - Are you Overthinking Organization? | Clutterbug Podcast # 62

Episode Date: August 22, 2018

In this podcast I discuss the problem with overthinking organization. Honestly, it's way easier than you think.  I'm going to share the inspiring story of my sister-in-laws newfound journey from overthinker to organizing guru!   Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey guys and welcome back to the Clutterbread podcast. Today we're talking about overthinking organization. So thanks so much for joining me. I'm actually, this is like a story time podcast, I guess. It's just something that happened to me this weekend. So I thought I would share it with you. I went to a birthday party for my nephew. He's turning. He's turning. three at my sister-in-law's house, my sister and brother-in-law's house. They just bought this house. It's crazy beautiful. They moved in, I'm going to say like four or five months ago, and my sister-in-law's sort of been stuck when it comes to organizing. While they made dinner, I opened up what was a pantry and saw like it chucked full of just random everything. There was crock pots and there was huge pots and pans and there was like food and dishes and just garbage bags.

There was just random stuff in there. And she's not a messy person at all. So honestly, I was kind of shocked. And I said to her like, what is this? It's supposed to be a pantry. We totally have that relationship where I can call her out on her crap. And she said, like, I didn't know what to use it for. So we just shoved all the stuff we never use.

inside. And so I asked her, like, how often do you use the crock pot or this giant walk or this huge soup pot or the big, big blender? And the answer was never. So here she is with a, I'm not kidding you, like full-sized door, gorgeous pantry that I would kill for. And she's using it to store things that she never uses. And the thing is, when she moved into the home, people were helping her. unpack and this is just where the big stuff like that was going. It didn't fit in any of the smaller cabinets so people were putting stuff in this big huge pantry and then it was filled up so there was no spot for food and this is where these things had lived. And honestly, they probably would have lived in there forever. I see this in so many of my clients' homes. They move into their house.

They unpack everything. They're tired. They're rushed. They don't even know how the, you know, house flows for them and their family and they put things wherever and that is where that stuff stays forever whether it's working or not so i took everything out i think she kind of looked at me like i was crazy um i took everything out and we relocated all the things that she never ever uses into the storage in the basement she has this insanely huge amazing cold storage room in the basement again, I would kill for this space. We moved everything that she's never used in four months down there. And then I relocated all of the food from the cabinetry into this pantry. I mean, it was gorgeous. And I ran to the dollar store. I got some beautiful matching bins. I did chalkboard labels

just from everything from the dollar store. And in about an hour, I rearranged everything else in the kitchen. I think she probably was getting annoyed with me, but it was done within an hour. It was gorgeous and it was functional and there were things that were sitting out in her counter that were bothering her, like her papers and her incoming mail and the school papers that her kids would be bringing home. They're starting back to school soon. She didn't have a spot for any of that. So because we now had this empty cabinet right over where all of the stuff gets piled on her counter we filled that with shallow containers for incoming mail and school paperwork and all those other bibbitty bobs that were homeless clutter now have a spot in their own kitchen cabinet.

Let me tell you, she caught the bug. So I was there two days ago, and she has sent me pictures of her closet upstairs, her linen closet, her office completely renovated, and today I got a picture. she turned one wall in her garage into a full mudroom. And I said to her, you've caught the organizing bug. And what she said to me was so cool. I had to share it with you. She said, I just saw how easy it was for you. You literally went to the dollar store. You grab some matching baskets. You sorted things into it. You threw some labels on. And it's organized. And she's like, it was so much better the next day using my kitchen, she wanted to replicate that same feeling throughout her whole house. And she hadn't done it up until then because she was overthinking it. She thought it was more complicated than it actually was.

She thought she didn't know how or she had to know the right stuff to buy. She was feeling overwhelmed. So literally now she knows, you buy some baskets, you put some labels on it, you sort your stuff into it and you're done. And it's, it really is that easy. And it's that overthinking that stops us from ever getting started. In her mudroom, she has been paralyzed. Where am I going to put the kids' boots and hats and coats and scarves and all of these things? Now that she's moved into this house, there wasn't a real entranceway closet. There was no spot for her family of four to put any of that stuff and she worried that it would just be in a pile in the corner in her entrance way. So one trip out, she got a shelf, she put some hooks on a piece of wood, she got some dollar

store baskets, and she's made a really functional mudroom in just a few hours. This is something that's been bothering her since the day she moved in, and she's a teacher. She has had all summer off, and she has been just beating herself up over, not knowing what to do. She looked at hiring people to make custom locker. She was really overthinking this. And I'm so happy that she's made that transition to see how simple it really has to be. And the other thing that's changed for her is she realizes that not only is it pretty, I mean, she keeps saying, it looks so pretty, everything's so pretty, but it's functioning so much better. She said there is,

hasn't been any papers on the counter, any, anything. This is something that was a struggle for her every day. She'd have to tidy up every night before bed, all the stuff all over the counter. The kids can now access their own snacks because I put them really low and get their own cereal in the morning. Just all the little things that were bugging them about their kitchen have been fixed. And when it comes to their office, they have not even had an office in four months. It was just piles of junk. It's now a functional space that they can use in just a few hours. And it's just because they got out of their heads. They realized it's totally not as hard as you think it is. They got some baskets. They slapped some labels on it. They threw some junk in it and there you go. Now, it definitely, I mean,

everybody organizes differently. So she's obviously a ladybug, but her husband is a butterfly. So what we did is we bought a bunch of 3M hooks. I went to the dollar store and then I went to the hardware store and I bought a bunch of 3M hooks. And I just put hooks all over. Like she said to me, he's always taking his hats off and leaving them on the kitchen counter. So around the corner, we put up some 3M hooks for him. We also put some hooks for on the back of his door because he always takes his clothes off and leaves them on the floor. But when I said to him, why aren't you putting him in the laundry basket? He said, they're not. dirty. I'm going to re-wear them and I said, why don't you put them in the closet? And he said,

well, I've already worn them. So they're too dirty for the closet, but not dirty enough to be washed. So he didn't know where else to put them. So he's been leaving them on the floor. I kid you not, a couple of hooks on the back of the bedroom door solve that problem. Something that they have been fighting about every single day since they moved into that house four months ago. problem solved with some 3M hooks. Now, of course, I mean, they're both crazy smart people, but sometimes we're over thinking. And the simple solutions were just not seeing because we're so distracted by either trying to make it perfect or just wanting to have, you know, the exact plan of what it's going to look like. Or, yeah, not having the confidence to just go forward. So I am so

excited for my sister-in-law. She's on a tear. She is organizing every tiny little nook and cranny of her home, making labels and just, uh, I know, I remember that feeling like it was yesterday. That feeling of finally just going from drowning in clutter, not knowing what to do, like a hamster on a wheel, struggling every day to find things and just feeling overwhelmed to realizing how simple it is to make small changes to get organized and have it have a huge impact on my life. Not only did my house look so much better, but it functioned so much better. I saved time. I didn't have to clean. And that's exactly what my sister-in-law has been saying. Like she goes to bed at night and she doesn't have to spend time picking everything up and tidying. It's just staying tidy. And it's only been

three days. Three days of her like realizing, making that transition to start getting into organization. So I kind of was like, have you not been like watching any of my YouTube videos this whole time? Or reading my blog or listening to my podcast? Obviously she probably hasn't. But the other thing is sometimes we hear it. We see it, but we don't get it. And I think she had to come with me to the store to realize I literally went in the dollar store with her. And I said, Do you like this color? And she went, yeah, and I was like, oh, I'm going to get all of them. I'm going to get 12 of the bins.

And she was like, well, what are you going to put in them? And what size do we need? And I was like, don't overthink it. We're going to make it work with the color that we like. We're going to see what we can do when we get back. And we used every single one of those 12 bins. And it worked out. And it always does.

Sometimes you might have to go back and buy another one or return one. But you make it work. And when she saw that, that simple process that you don't have to plan it out on paper and take measurements and really overthink it, that's when she realized how easy and fun organizing can really be. I wanted to share that with you in case you're an overthinker too, in case you have a space that just like her has been bothering you for a really long time and you just don't know where to start and you want to plan and you want to, you know, measure and you want this, maybe this

expensive organizing system or a piece of furniture, or you want to wait till you see exactly what you need. I'm going to suggest you, you just let that go, make your best idea of how many bins or baskets you think you need, whether they're clear or not depending on your style, and you just get it done, my friends. Don't forget to label. I cannot tell you how important it is to label. I really recommend getting some dollar store chalkboard labels. We just hot glued them on the bin. and used a piece of chalk to label them, they look adorable. And she can change them. And so could you, if you're ever changing out the things inside the containers.

But that's it, short and sweet little podcast today. I wanted to motivate you and just, again, tell you how simple and easy it really is, as long as you're not overthinking it. Thank you guys so much for listening, and I will see you next time. Using what you have now. maybe it is just a can of paint or an old bookshelf that you can use to fold clothes or or just purging and having less can make such a huge impact in your home and it's going to save you time it's going to make you feel better about your space and it's going to motivate you to go

and tackle other areas of your home so i know Pinterest and looking at instagram and looking online can feel discouraging because we see spaces that we want someday And we know that with what we have, our space isn't going to look like that today. So it's so easy to fall into the why even bother trap. It's like a vicious cycle. Why even bother? But let me promise you, it doesn't take long. It will not take you long.

It does not have to cost you money to take small steps to make your life easier. And that is exactly what organization is all about. It's making your life easier. I don't care if you cut down some cereal boxes and use those to organize that drawer that always stays messy. It doesn't matter if you get some 3M hooks for your entrance way for your keys instead of thinking about this perfect landing strip that you saw on Pinterest that you want to recreate one day.

It's about today. It's about making your life easier right now. It's about loving your house a little bit more right now using what you have and just rolling up your sleeves and giving it some elements. elbow grease and some love. I promise you when you hug your home, it hugs you back. It hugs you back so hard. You're going to feel so much better about your space and yourself when you take time to take care of your home. So think about a project. Think about a pile. Think of something that has been bugging you about your house like my nasty bathroom was bugging me and tackle it this week. Don't

overthink it. Don't plan it to death. Don't go on Pinterest and look at a million different ideas. Just do it. Just do something. Trust yourself. That you know yourself. You know your home. You know your stuff. You are an expert of you and jump right in and give something a try today. So that is what I wanted to talk to you about. I'm hoping to motivate you guys to let go of the perfectionism a little bit. jump right in and embrace good enough. Thanks so much. I'll see you guys next time.