The 5 Myths Keeping You From Decluttering and Organizing Your Home

Sometimes getting started is the hardest part. If you’ve ever had a big project in front of you, or you’ve felt the desire to make a big change, you’ve felt this way. When it comes to keeping your home organized, it can feel daunting knowing you’ve got a lot of work ahead. But some of those ideas floating around in your head may also be unfounded.

Understanding what’s fact and what’s fiction can help you look at a large task from a more realistic viewpoint—and it may just help you spring into action and get stuff done. When it comes to decluttering and organizing your home, putting too much stock in a myth you’ve heard could prevent you from getting the work done.

Here are some of those myths about decluttering and organizing, debunked.

Myth: Decluttering and organizing is an annual project

Truth: Yes, spring cleaning is typically an annual project where you take on some deep cleaning and more substantial organizing projects. But decluttering your walk-in or reach-in closet, your pantry, or your office should be done frequently—perhaps on a rotating schedule. The reason? Reviewing items and deciding what stays and what goes regularly will help you avoid more time-consuming buildup in the future.

But it’ll also help you from feeling frazzled. Research shows that trying to find the right outfit each morning in a closet that’s packed to the gills can cause you to carry stress throughout the day. When your closet is neat and organized, you’ll start your day feeling relaxed and ready to face what life throws at you, rather than feeling tense and rushed.

Myth: No plan? No problem

Truth: Before you spring into action, you need a plan. In fact, part of the reason you might feel overwhelmed by the prospect of decluttering and organizing your home is that you should go into it with a plan. We might suggest starting with our 30-day home organization checklist, which will help you tackle some target messy spots in your home and organize them.

Once you’ve completed the 30-day plan, consider developing a daily and weekly tidying routine to help you keep various spots throughout your house organized. For example, a high-use area, such as your entryway or closet, may warrant your attention each day for just a few minutes. Your pantry, on the other hand, may only need to be reviewed every week or two before a grocery shopping trip.

Myth: You can tackle the whole house in a weekend

Truth: Okay, the truth is you could tackle your whole house in one weekend, but it’s certainly not recommended. Trying to declutter your entire house in one weekend may lead to frustration and burnout.

If you create a reasonable plan and set small goals along the way, you’ll more easily tackle decluttering your home room-by-room or space-by-space and see the results. Seeing these small victories will help you stay motivated to continue your path to organization.

Myth: Being organized is only for one type of person

Truth: Some people have an easier time decluttering and staying organized, but that doesn’t mean it’s only for one type of person. Being organized can help you feel more at peace each day; when all of your stuff has its own home, you’ll be able to find it much easier.

If making a weekly or daily to-do list doesn’t come naturally, you may need to think about staying organized in different terms. For example, if you’re more of a visual, right-brain thinker, it may help you to add a storage solution that helps you organize your stuff but still see it, such as cubbies. On the other hand, left-brain thinkers may be big fans of jewelry organizers or drawer organizers, which separate spaces into even smaller compartments.

Myth: You can’t organize without bins, boxes and other supplies

Truth: While any space in its most-organized state may include cubbies, drawers, baskets and boxes, those items are hardly necessary to get started. In fact, it’s best to declutter everything in a given space first so you know exactly what you need to store and how you’d like to store it. Only then should you seek out decorative storage containers or a custom organization solution to help you stay organized. Don’t let the need for supplies keep you from getting started.

Once you’ve reviewed everything in a given space, you may be ready for a custom solution. Reach out to us for a free, in-home consultation where we’ll take a look at what you need to store and create a custom plan to help you stay organized.