How to Get Organized: A 3-Day Series

An introduction to our tidying series created by an organization expert

March 23, 2020

Fernanda Kirk,

Welcome to CH&L‘s Get Organized Series with organization expert, Fernanda Kirk. We first introduced you to Fernanda in a story featuring four tips for decluttering your space during your time at home.

Over the next 3 days, she is going to guide us through the process of getting your home organized with step-by-step instructions, questions to help you decide what you want to keep, and tips to make your home feel clean, clutter-free and most importantly, a home that feels like you.

The Guidelines

Before we begin, let’s talk about some guidelines that will keep you on track and help you stay motivated during this tidying marathon. We will tidy by category, not by location, helping you identify duplicates and understand the amount of stuff you own. Further, this method is more efficient when you follow a specific order, so we will tackle clothes, books, paper, miscellaneous and sentimental items.

After deciding you no longer want an item, express gratitude before letting it go, and remember, you will only decide on a permanent spot for your items once you are done with all categories.

The Goal

The goal here is to restructure your personal relationship with your belongings, so take a moment to set up your intentions and think about how your life will benefit from this process. Make sure you set realistic expectations and truly commit to this journey. To do that, write down how you imagine your ideal lifestyle, and be very specific.

The Vision

You can create a mood board with images and words that relate to your vision to keep as a guide for you throughout this process. Keep in mind that you will be choosing the things you want to keep and not what you want to discard. Letting go will allow your items to spark joy in the lives of others.

Here are a few things to think about when creating your mood board:

Why are you doing this?
What do you hope to get out of this?
Describe your ideal day
What changes do you want to make?
Set some goals for yourself
What can you do to achieve those goals?

Once you are happy with the intentions you set for yourself and are feeling energized to start this process, place your mood board somewhere you can see it daily and take the rest of the day to relax and focus on self-care. Be ready to start organizing tomorrow!