Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast - I’m a Ladybug - Organizing Tips and Tricks - What ClutterBug are You? | Clutterbug Podcast # 38

Episode Date: February 1, 2018

Here are some home organizing tips and tricks just for you Ladybugs! Get clean and clutter-free for 2018! You can find out more and download my FREE eBook at: http://clutterbug.com Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hey, clutterbugs and welcome back to another clutterbug podcast where we're talking about organizing tips and we're still doing the What Clutterbug Are You series? So let's just jump into the clutterbug series. And if you're just joining us, I am talking about your organizing style and the fact that there are actually four different distinct organizing styles. And unfortunately, most, I guess, traditional organizing systems, filing cabinets, even binder systems, everything you use sort of as a kid all the way to a grown-up when you think of traditional organizing systems is really made for one specific style. So the rest of us are sort of struggling to use these. And what can happen is you can feel, even at a young age, that you are just a messy person,

that you're disorganized because you're having a hard time using a system that really isn't made for you. Organizing is not one-size-fits-all. We do not all organize. Our brains don't all work exactly the same. So why are we trying to use organizing solutions and systems and products that are all made for one specific type? It's total madness. And I discovered these different organizing styles when I was myself. a super slob. And it wasn't a slob in the sense that you see like on hoarders on TV or you think of clutter everywhere. I was a Heidi hoarder. So there was a time of my life where I mean I had a path from the door to my bed and one to the kitchen. But that was in my, you know, teenage years, early 20s. When I became a stay-at-home mom and I bought my first home, it was really important

to me that my space was beautiful. You know, I really tried to have it look as nice as possible. And I was into decorating and trying to make my home as lovely as I could, but don't open a drawer and do not look in a closet or under my bed. And I know other people who were the same way, my mother-in-law, my mom, other people in my life who their home was always neat and tidy, but they had some hidden areas that were a little messy. But I was like a stage five Heidi hoarder. There were drawers in my kitchen and I had a tiny 900 square foot home, but there were drawers that I couldn't even open. They were so jammed that they, I couldn't even use them. Who knows what was inside? Totally utterly useless drawers. I had an entire shower. Okay, I ran out of space, so I filled a shower

with things because it was, it was hidden. I could put the shower curtain over it. And then we had, you know, one of our two bathrooms that couldn't even be used because I was using it to store stuff. our storage room, we could hardly walk in. It was so full under every bed inside, every closet, inside every drawer was jammed. And it was to the point, though, even though my home looked, I guess, neat and tidy on the outside, every single day was a struggle to find things. It was a struggle to find, you know, the papers that I needed, the bills to be paid, the umbrella, if it was raining, I would have to tear everything out of every closet. it and I'll never forget the feeling of not being able to find something that panicked, the anxiety

that it caused. I used to think people robbed us, you know, because I would, I would misplace something and I swear, I knew where it was and it wasn't there. And I'd rip our home apart. I was late all the time for just about everything, constantly feeling frantic. And yeah, it was all because of this disaster that I was inside my home. And it was definitely a hidden problem. So I know of other people, I call them butterflies, who are visually a lot like me. And the only difference is they don't hide. So they leave all of their stuff out. And so it's more obvious in this case. It's more obvious that they have a sort of clutter disorganization problem than it was on the outside for me, I guess. If you came to my home, you probably would think I totally had my crap together because visually

everything was hidden and I needed it to be that way. And it wasn't until one day, honestly, I had tried so many different organizing systems. I bought the freedom filer for my paperwork. I saw it, you know, I saw it online and I was like, this will solve my problems. And it was way too complicated. I set it up. And I was like, yes, I'm going to rock this. And then it was, it was difficult to maintain. It wasn't difficult like I couldn't figure it out. It was just, it was time consuming and ain't nobody got time for that. So I would just, you know, shove the papers here and everywhere. I wasn't even using it because it was just not quick and easy. And I had tried, went to a container store and I bought all these beautiful stacking matching containers for my hall closet for all our extra bathroom products.

And I was too lazy to stop, take the lid off, unstack them to put things away. So I would just like put the products in front of the containers or set them on top or toss them into the bottom of the closet instead of using these beautiful stacked containers that I had. And why? Was I lazy? I didn't feel like I was lazy. I mean, in other areas of my life, I was doing things that were productive, and I wasn't a lazy person. But for some reason, I just wasn't able to use these organizing systems. I loved setting up binder systems, but using them on a day-to-day basis, you know, taking out the paper or sliding the back in the binder. I just didn't. do it. I wish I could say that I did, but I didn't. So I felt like I must be a disaster.

One day I went to the dollar store, and this is way back in the olden days where they didn't have the beautiful containers they have now. So I went to the dollar store here in Canada, and I bought some dish pans. They were a dollar each, ugly plastic dish pans. I came home, I sorted my things in my closet into these dish pans. I tossed the stuff in and let me tell you first time in my life that I was able to maintain an organizing system. The difference between having things in a container for me was that it wasn't all getting jumbled together like it would when it was just on a shelf. But because the containers were really deep, they had no lids on them, I could just toss inside what I had and still keep it, you know, sorted and organized. It was life-changing.

And I replicated that system throughout my entire home and I was like, I am all. to something. I've discovered the holy grail of organizing systems. Why are people buying these fancy containers and doing all these different systems when they could just go to the dollar store and this actually works? And I mean, I thought I was some sort of crazy genius, right? Discovering this simple organizing system. Instead of sorting things into little categories, I had macro categories. I had a large category. So I would put all bathroom products, shampoos, lotions, you know, all of those type of things, extra toothpaste in one container and call it extra products, instead of having five different containers for all the different things inside. Instead of having a container for

an acids and a container for allergies and a container for pain relievers, I had one for first aid and everything went in there. And yes, it took a few seconds to sort through and find the thing I needed, but the success for me came in putting that thing away. That's where I struggled. I struggled to take the time to really micro-sort when putting away. I needed to be able to toss it, shove it, hide it, but have it go back in its correct, organized, sorted home. So open bin containers with macro categories was the secret for me. And then I was like, this is it. I'm a freaking genius. I'm going to tear up the world and become a professional organizer and transform other people's home the exact same way. So I charged in, I had clients, and I was doing my thing, and then I fell flat

on my face, realizing that that system, hiding all your stuff in dollar store containers in your closets, didn't work for all my clients. And then I thought, well, maybe they need traditional organizing systems. But guess what? That didn't work for everybody either. And so I really then had to think, why? Why is it that this works for one person and not someone else? and that's when I discovered the four different organizing styles. You can take a free test on my website to discover your organizing style. I also have a brand new ebook. It's free.

It's really short. It's only 30 pages and you can download that for free as well. So just go to www.clutterbug.com and you're going to see what clutterbug are you. Take that test and then you'll see the free ebook on the bottom of that page. So we're jumping right into the organizing style today, which is a ladybug, which is me. I'm a total ladybug. And what I just described, the shoving, the hiding, the not wanting to see your things, but needing really simple macro organizing systems is exactly what a ladybug is.

Now, you could say to yourself, okay, well, I didn't struggle like you did Cass. I like to have my things hidden and I need simple solutions, but I wasn't a complete and total disaster. And that's the thing. I think there's all different levels of disorganization. And for me, I was like a level five. But for you, you may just have a few drawers or a few little, maybe you have a room in your home that's your spare bedroom that you really struggle with because nobody goes in there. So that's where you hide everything. I mean, we're definitely all at different levels when it comes to our need for organization. Some of us are neater than others. But it's about the style that works for you. So if you're the person who really likes visual minimalism, so you don't want to see all your stuff all over the place, you want to have it hidden away, but you really do best with containers without lids, really simple systems with large containers where you can just toss things in and walk away, you're probably a ladybug. So that is exactly what works for you. I recommend getting lots of bins and baskets. It is going to be the secret to success for you.

you. The difference between having just a closet with shelving and putting your things back into the shelving and instead putting containers in that closet means that you can still toss. You can still open that and just put it back really quickly without even a second thought. But this way, having a container, it contains. That's what a container does. It contains your things and keeps them from getting all mixed up together, which makes it easier to find things the next time. So it makes it easier to put away, and it makes easier to find things. And it also doubles your storage. So you can fit a lot more into containers than you could just having things on a shelf.

I know for myself, when I had things just set on a shelf, even when I did it neatly, I would reach for something in the back, like bottles would fall over, things would topple. It just really created a lot of mess. So dollar store containers or, you know, recycle something. Use boxes. Use those. It doesn't really matter what it looks like. What we're doing here is going for function. I remember the first time I used drawer dividers in my dresser drawers because I struggled to keep my dresser drawers. I used Kleenex boxes and I cut the tops off and I used for papers and in my drawers for my pens and pencils.

I use cereal boxes and I cut them down. I mean, it wasn't about having it be beautiful, interest-worthy space. It was about having it be really, really functional. Obviously, if you can afford to spend the money, go for it, and get containers that you find beautiful, because that's going to motivate you even more to keep that space organized. Let's be honest, we are motivated by a beautiful space.

We love pretty things and we love to decorate most of us. us anyways and we like to have our space look really nice. So if our closet looks really beautiful and nice, we're much more likely to keep up on that system. So I really recommend for us ladybugs getting containers that all match. So getting, whether we're doing dollar store containers or we're covering, you know, cardboard boxes and contact paper, having everything be really uniform and all like matchy matchy is a really good thing for us to do. So what I've started to do is by all white containers from the dollar store. This way as I move things around, I get new things coming in or I'm letting old things go and I'm switching around my systems, which is just part of

life. You know, we're bringing new things in and getting rid of the old. Sometimes we have to tweak our systems. I don't have to, like, go out and buy new containers all the time. I can use the same containers that I have. Here's the things that are going to work for you. The first thing I want you to do is make a list of all the hidden areas in your home that you want to tackle. So I'm talking about your junk drawer, your closet, maybe it's your desk, maybe it's your the kids' toys. I want you to make a list of all the different areas that you're really wanting to tackle and break that down list, that list down into really simple tasks.

So 15 to 20 minute tasks, so one junk drawer, that would be one task. You know, your food container cupboard, your Tupperware container cupboard in your kitchen. That would be one task. And I want you to make a master list of all the things that you want to accomplish. And every single day, I want you to pick one different space. If you don't have the containers that you need to use that, that's okay. Try to find things in your home that you can use in the meantime. you can always go back and upgrade later, but I want you to schedule just 15 minutes a day

and tackle one hidden space with the knowledge in your mind that what you need is open containers in here and you need to macro sort it. So when you are putting those scissors back into your junk drawer, you can open up the drawer and literally toss it in to where the scissors go. You don't have to give it a lot of thought. It doesn't take any time. can finally stop shoving. And the great thing about being a ladybug is, as soon as we have all these hidden spaces, as soon as we have a system set up in all of these hidden spaces, we're really able to maintain it and keep an organized home for good. I promise you for good. I struggled for many, many, many years. And as soon as I started using this system, everything changed. I no longer had to

look for things. I no longer wasted hours of my life searching for lost things and I could find things within a few seconds. There is nothing in my home now that I won't be able to find within just a few seconds. I need something. I know exactly where it is and I always put it exactly back in that spot. So pretty life-changing. I should have got some stock and dollar store because I went through a time where I spent a lot of my time at the dollar store, but it really transformed my entire life. And it was a small investment in exchange for what I received back. I have way less stress than I did. I'm so much happier with my space and with just how I'm spending my time. I can't tell you how much anxiety that I had over misplaced items. And maybe that's not for

everyone, but for me, it caused me a lot of anxiety. And I'm so happy that that phase of my life is over. And I'm really passionate now about helping other people overcome that same struggle, that struggle with feeling like, what is wrong with me? Why can't I make this work? Why can't I stay on top of this? And remember, if you're struggling with your family members, if you're living with people and they're having a hard time putting their things away and you've set up systems and they're just not following them, it can cause a lot of resentment towards them. You can feel like disrespected. You can feel that they're not, yeah, caring about you because they're not just putting things away. But it really could be that the system that's in place just doesn't work for them. And I can

promise you that they're probably trying. And they have. tried and I know that I tried and failed for years to be able to keep up and maintain systems. And I felt like a failure and I didn't know why. And I just wasn't using a system that was made for me. They weren't simple enough. They weren't fast and easy enough. And despite all my efforts, I just couldn't do daily maintenance on things that were complicated. So that is what I wanted to share with you today, remember that not everyone organizes the same way and you may not organize the same way. And it's very likely that you are not a messy person and that you just haven't found your style yet. You haven't found that system that works for you.

And once you do, it should be effortless to maintain. I know it is for me. And after I'm not, you know, I watch videos on YouTube and I listen to other podcasts of people who've been organized their entire. life and I've never struggled and I feel like they just don't get it maybe they don't they don't get what it's really like and and and they're like well just put your stuff here and just make yourself do it every day and and for me that I mean all the all the self like you can do it gas in the world and and all the notes and all the to do lists and all the practicing just wasn't working for me I needed to not change myself

I needed to change the system. I needed to change the solutions that I was using when it came to organizing my home. And maybe that was a cop-out. Maybe that was an easy way out. But you know what? It worked. And that's all that matters. And so now I'm an organized person.

Well, I'm an organized-ish person. It doesn't look like the traditional organizing style. Everything isn't all perfectly folded and there's no Marie condo folding going on in this house. But everything is in its home. Everything is always neat and tidy, and I know where absolutely everything is, and me, my husband, and my children can find things and put it back with just a few seconds. So thank you guys so much for listening. I hope that this gives you a little bit of hope if you're struggling with areas in your own home or if you're struggling with loved ones. Remember that, yeah, take the test,

discover your style, know yourself, and set up a system that's made just for you. Thank you guys so much for listening and I will see you next time.