Welcome to the my creative days podcast where we will talk about all things DIY home decor, decorating tips, and creating a beautiful home on a budget. I am hoping our time together will spark a creative idea help you plan your next DIY or inspire you to finally tackle that project to keep putting off, grab your favorite cup of motivation. And let's chat.
Welcome back to the podcast. Today, I'm going to talk about something that I've kind of talked about before, but I wanted to do a kind of a quick little, like some organization hacks for your home because people are reaching out and asking about easy ways to get organized, stay organizing, or to stay organized in your home. It's springtime, people are feeling the you know, open your windows clean deeply in the house, organize the house, it's one of my favorite seasons for those things. I'm a little weird in that aspect. But it's something I love to do. Organization is something I do weekly monthly. I do major organization, like purging things. Usually right after the holidays, and then kind of in the fall sometimes in the spring, I'm always I'm always in that mindset of if we're not using it, it's not working for us get rid of it like that. It's just a constant thing for me. But there are some times during the year that I'm do some major purchases and but I'm getting some questions about getting organized, it's springtime, you're feeling the need to deep clean, organize what you have, get rid of what you don't use. And so today, I thought I would do just a few like eight tips, eight hacks, things that helped me stay organized and stay in the mindset and in the the routine of organizing. And these are easy things that if you can just work on making them a habit, it just makes the biggest difference. And then it's not like one big you know, weekend or week that becomes so overwhelming, you never finish it. Because nobody likes that nobody has a time for that. So these kinds of hacks can really help. You know, you get organized and then stay organized in your home. And this is the perfect time of year to do it. So I love one of my favorite things when the weather starts getting nice and I know I've organized and I've got rid of all the things and is to really deep clean everything and when I say deeply in like I'm pulling out the fridge I'm pulling out the the oven, I'm it's like one of my favorite things, listen to some fun music, but it's just that time of year. That's just just great for that. So let's get started. And I'm going to just share some things that that worked for me. And these are just easy, quick things, hacks that you can that you can use to stay and get organized. So number one declutter regularly. This for me, it's a weekly thing. So we don't have a big home. So sometimes some weeks, it's like, well, I've already done that, or, but sometimes it's just like your top drawer, like a small drawer in your, in your bedroom that it's just kind of out of sorts, just to like organize that the linen closet would probably be one for us that you know. And here's one question and one like, pain point that I get from a lot of people you're not just living by yourself, right? So you have kids, you have a husband, you have you know, whatever your home, or your living situation is you have other people in your home that aren't that aren't in the same mindset that don't care that don't really deal with it or don't aren't around it all the time. So they don't even see it really. And so that that happens for me too. It's not like my kids are perfect. And you know, Matt is always organizing not at all and so one area for us is the linen closet in the bathroom. So you know, it's it's real, I have found some ways to make it easier for them. clear containers is a huge win for us so they can see where it goes. But they still don't put things where it goes. Where they go. So the linen closet is kind of a ongoing declutter for me. And by decluttering I don't always mean that you have to like throw everything out or get rid of a bunch of things. decluttering is you know if everything's cluttered or not put where it is. That's cluttered, right like it's not even if you're keeping everything in the linen closet, you know, it's toothbrush toothpaste, you know, deodorant things that you're using every day, you're not really getting rid of those things. Side note, but like makeup and things that you aren't using, you should definitely get rid of but or that are outdated, post dated, whatever, get rid of those. But, um, so decluttering is when things aren't in order, you know, you declutter, you put them in order, you put them back in the spaces where they are. And so if you can make that a regular habit, literally in under a minute, I can have those areas decluttered it's not it's not a major thing. Now, if you can set aside some time each month to go through your belongings and get rid of things that you no longer need or use. That's great too. And one thing I like to do now that we're going into spring. So now all our winter stuff is going to be kind of put on the backburner. So if you have kids that are still growing, every year after these seasons, I would go through what we had just use, where the snow boots get into tight, like you didn't want to go and buy new, you knew these were going to last until the end of the season. But now for sure, they're not going to make it till next year, right. So we need to get rid of those same things with like hats, mittens, coats, snow pants, those kinds of things. They're getting a little snug or a little, you know, small at the end of the season, you don't really want to buy new, great they worked for this season. But now they are definitely not going to go into the new season or the next year. So it's time to donate those, get rid of those. So spring, you know, and then you go into another season like summer and then you go back into fall and winter. Like those are just the perfect excuses. Not even times, they are the perfect excuses to go through those items that are more seasonal, that work that you need to, you know, declutter, get rid of, and then donate and, and then go from there. So if you can do that regularly, declutter, you know, weekly, just in little areas in your home. But then, you know, on a more monthly or, you know, seasonally, whatever it looks like for you, where it's a little bit more, where you're going through things and actually getting rid of things that is going to make the biggest difference, you're not having to do it all at once. So it's not like you're doing all summer clothes, spring clothes, fall clothes, winter clothes, you know, and the linen closet and your dresser and under the bed. You don't I'm saying at one time, if you can get in the habit of doing it regularly, it just makes the biggest difference. Another thing is to use storage containers. Now.
This one is a little What do I want to say. So I have a love hate relationship with this. Because if you are somebody that needs help getting organized, if you're somebody that finds it hard to get rid of things, this can be a not a good thing for you. So my biggest thing is, I don't want to be storing stuff just to be storing stuff that never sees the light of day, right? So I am to the point, I don't want to if I'm not using it, I'm not storing it. Now you're obviously going to store you know, your Christmas items and stuff throughout the year. Those that's fine. I'm not talking about that. But I'm talking about you know, when you have a a closet full of home home decor that you're not using, that hasn't come out in the last year that you don't know if you really like but you may need it someday. Why are you storing those things? Why are those things that aren't seeing the light of day taking up, you know, prime real estate in your home, we got to get rid of this, this thought of I may use it someday, I may want it someday if it hasn't come out and you're just storing it in bins or in a closet. It's not coming out. So like it's time to get rid of those things. But like it like I sat in our linen closet, the clear containers that I bought, because I was just I'm always trying to figure out as the kids I've grown up, you go through seasons in the way you live in your home changes right all the time. And so I'm like clear containers will let them see this is where the deodorant goes. This is where the toothbrush goes. This is where the washcloth, cloths go. Those kinds of things. So when you're you're, you know you storage containers in that way, that's great. But don't buy storage containers to store things in a closet underneath the stairs in the attic, just to hang on to things does that make sense. And I always I always say use clear container. So those are like glass jars or you know plastic containers, whatever it is clear is always best because you can see what's in it. Those totals also like the blue totes, I'm just thinking of them are the red totes that you can't see in you have no idea what's in there and that just lives in the attic or the basement or whatever and never sees the light of day for years and years. We've got to get rid of those. I mean if you honestly think about it, if you could walk down to your storage area, your attic, wherever it is, whatever it looks like for you. And let's say you have a stack of totes, whatever. If there are totes down there that you honestly can walk down and say I have no idea what's in that. That literally I mean it would be it would be amazing. depending on what's in there. I would love for you to just pick up that tote and go donate it because it just goes to show you you have no idea what's in it. You're not going to take what's in it out of it. Get it out of your house. It just get it out of your house. Okay, I could go on and on about that because it gets my sister said that she wants me to help her organize her home this spring and I'm really excited about it. I hope she follows through with it because I just get so excited about organizing and helping other people get organized but we'll see. So okay, squirrel, I just that went I was just thinking about that. So Um, okay, so create a designated space for everything. Obviously, you know, this is gonna look different for everybody your homes are, the way we live is all differently, but everything needs a space Everything needs. So when you need the extension cord, when you need the charger when you need the, to plug in your toothbrush, you know, you know, you you know exactly where to go, that actually just happened this morning Gabrielle said I need to charge my toothbrush. And I know exactly where those charges are chargers are she went right there found it and plugged it in, you need a space for everything that you're using. You don't need a space and storage for things you aren't using those things need to go. But everything else that you use on a daily, weekly, monthly, yearly if it's like I said, it's like Christmas decorations or whatever those needs space, right like those have a designated space. So make sure because it just means you know exactly where everything is you know exactly where to go to get a pair of scissors, you know exactly where to go to find your reading glasses, you know, you know, everything that you're using in the kitchen, you know exactly where to go when you need a whisk when you need a spoon when you need a you know all those things. But do not find a space for things that we aren't using. Okay, utilize vertical space. So this is a huge one for us. When you live in a smaller home or a home that doesn't have a ton of storage, which is a good, good thing for us because I don't like to we don't have a ton of storage. So it's not like I can keep a ton of things. But vertical space is always it's underutilized in most homes. So in I'm trying to think in, in downstairs and we it used to be called the toy room when the kids were younger. And now it's just kind of a, we've kind of got the workout area in there. You know, there's a TV in there for the kids Gabrielle's our tables in there, it's kind of like a just the kids can play games in there. It's just kind of that area. And one of the spaces in there, what they had a closet, like a pretty large closet with sliding doors on it. And we didn't need a closet in that room by any means. So when the kids were younger, we turned it into what is now Gabrielle's art area, but we just used all the space within that closet to add kind of an inset area, if that makes sense. I'm just trying to see you guys can visualize it, an inset area that didn't take up room in the actual room because it's not a large room. But yet it still gave us tons of room to make a creative space for the kids. So when they were younger, that's where I would sit down and do like projects and stuff with them and and then now that she's really into art, and that's where she goes, right that's where all her art stuff is. So you got to kind of think about spaces that are underutilized in your home and how else could you use them to you know, get more room or get more storage. And vertical space is one of those things. So think instead of thinking horizontal go up the walls go up the closets go up the but again, you're not using vertical space to fill with things that you don't use, right. So when you utilize vertical space, you want to utilize that vertical space in a way that gets used all the time. You know, maybe it's not every day, maybe it's every month or maybe it's every, you know, six months, whatever it is, that's what you're utilizing it for. We aren't utilizing vertical space to just put more bins of stuff we don't know what's in there, you know up the wall somewhere. You're using it to maximize your store. If you live in a house like we do that does not have any storage or doesn't or needs a little couple of extra spaces. Utilize the vertical space. See how you can get creative in utilizing those spaces. Instead of taking up you know, just vertical space in a in a room or in a storage area or whatever. Keep a daily cleaning routine so this one's huge. I've talked about this a lot. It's like I don't go to bed without the kitchen being cleaned. The dishwasher has been started the countertops have been cleaned off. You know picking up the house or whatever. We now have a dog we have never had a dog she is one and I am like I swear she has like if she gets one toy out we have to have at least seven so it's always picking up her toys and putting them in the basket that we have for her but it's just I when I wake up early in the morning I don't want to have to be picking things up and you know I want to be able to start my day in my routine routine in the morning. And it just helps so clutter and stuff doesn't get built up. Because if you're doing it every day and you do these habits you know daily weekly monthly depending on what it is. There is no build up ever so there will never be that overwhelm you know in under and I always tell people this to in under three minutes. I can have the entire kitchen done and set up for the next morning right. And I have timed myself with different I know I'm We'd like this but with different chores or different things, because I want my mind. One of the things, like I just did this, we walking hilly in the morning, that is our dog. And so there's like a certain route. And so I timed it so that I know, okay, if I need her to go to the bathroom, or I need to walk her in the morning, it takes me if I were just to do that one route, I know that it's going to take me 12 minutes or under. So I know, you know, you know, because sometimes we think about these chores, or these, oh, my gosh, I've got to put the stuff away in the kitchen, I've got to load the dishwasher, I've got to set a timer and do that chore or that task and see how little time it takes. So I know, in under 12 minutes, probably a 10 minute walk, I can get it done, right. So it just puts things in perspective. And for me, you know, clearing off the countertops, wiping them down, you know, putting loading the dishwasher, whatever it is, it takes minutes, it just, it's not a long time. But if we don't do these things daily, it becomes more and more and the build up and it takes more time. So keep a daily cleaning slash pickups routine, like it doesn't have to be a deep clean, but just wiping off the countertops, the top of the stove, so that when you wake up every morning, it's already done, it's the same thing with like making your bed in the morning, literally set your timer, it depends on how many throw pillows you have on your bed. And that's a discussion for a different day.
That would like to be in on that discussion anyway. But I mean, literally in under four minutes, you know, five minutes you can have the bed made, and that just making your bed in the morning is like a task done already completed, not even thought about, it makes the room look more put together. It's just it's, you know, nice to get into a made bed at the end of the day. So get in a daily cleaning slash pickup routine, it becomes less stressful, and it just it does nothing builds up, it just, it's just a good thing to get into. Use labels. Now, for me, I'm always saying, you know, use, you know, clear containers, so you can cut you always you can see what's in there. And I'm going to be completely honest, I see a lot of you know, content where people, they label everything, right, they have may have a Cricut machine or they may have a What's the other I can't think of it right now where they make like the vinyl labels or they get, you know, chalk markers or they get, I don't want I don't need everything labeled in my house, right? I know exactly. What is where especially on things that you're using daily and weekly, right, like you know exactly where to go to get whatever that is, you don't need it labeled, I think we can get a little too obsessive with the labels. And then what happens in a month when you decide that band doesn't work for those things, and you're having to scrape that label off or depending on what kind of labels you use. If you do like labels and maybe like I do think sometimes for like, if you have like a walk in pantry, I would love to have a walk in pantry someday. Or just a bigger pantry. You may use like baskets where they may not be you know, clear. And if they're up higher, if you're somebody like me, I am shorter. So anything up high, I have to you know, get a ladder or get like a step stool. And so, you know, maybe a little label for those kinds of things. And you can buy on Amazon, like those, you know, they have like their like chalkboard labels, you can even just, you know, cut some wood that's out in the scrap some scrap wood out in your garage. And then you can pay them with chalkboard paint use chalkboard, so then you can reuse them, wipe it off if you need to, and re re label things that are in there. But other than that, like I mean, if you really like every single jar and container and all of that labeled go for it, but don't think that you have to label every single thing in your home. But some of those things where you may not know really what's in it or you kind of put up for you know, you may use it every three months or whatever, you can label those but so just kind of figure out how you like to in the beginning, I labeled everything and then I just found that since I was changing things up all the time and things weren't working the way I thought they would, then those things were labeled. And sometimes the labels were hard to get off and it just you know, I don't want everything in my home to have a word on it, if that makes sense. So use labels as you've if you find that labels on everything works for you, my by all means use that, do that. Make that part of the system because you want to figure out whatever works best for you to keep your home organized. Minimize paper clutter. So this is one thing that I talk about. I am still somebody that writes out bills for for a lot of our bills. It's something where I'm also somebody that if I'm writing notes I like or if I'm taking notes, I like to write them pen and paper. I'm not a technical person in that way. I don't use a like a technical planner like a you know what I mean? Like online platter planner or anything like that. It's just not me but It's, even though I still write out bills for things, I am somebody that as soon as the mail comes, I go through it all right, then like, you know, if I not as soon as it comes, I guess I should say I, you know, whatever time that I am getting the mail out of the mailbox, that's what I how I should say it, then I know for the next, you know, three minutes or under, I am going to I'm going to sort through that mail and I'm going to do whatever I need to with that mail. Does that make sense? So I don't leave piles of mail. As soon as I get the mail out of the mailbox, I write out the bill, if it's a bill, if it's you know, junk mail, I throw it out, if it's something I have to file, I file right right away, again, you become you come in that habit and you become it just becomes part of the day, I'm getting the mail. Okay, I know, the next three minutes, I have to sit down and then deal with the mail. So you don't have a ton of clutter. So that's, and I know a lot of people I know a lot of people have their bills, everything's taken out. So that's great. But so So for you, I would say one of the big things that I like to do to weekly is unsubscribe from emails and things like that, that are just filling up my inbox. So that's something that you could do and get on a system of constantly doing doing that when you get emails that you don't want anymore. Donate and recycle. Can we get in the habit of donating and just like maybe having a box or a tote in our home that we are constantly filling. When we find things that we don't love us doesn't fit doesn't, we don't like the way it looks. You know, it's in the kitchen, I never pick up that spoon or that that whisk whatever it is and constantly have that mindset. And then you know, but then once we once we fill that box, or once we fill that tote and we're ready to donate, we need to get it to the store, we need to you need to put it into your car like that day. So then you can't or your kids can't go through it and say, Hey, wait, I think I may use that one day. Get it out of sight just and then it's in your car, the next time you drive by there, you can drop it off and donate it. It's like one of my favorite things. It literally when I am donating things and it gets out of my car, I get in my car and I am instantly I feel lighter, I'm excited to get back home and like it's one of the best feelings. So definitely try it, do the entire process. I hear from a lot of people that are like, Okay, did my closet, I got into a few, you know, I started doing it. Now my entire room is torn up, I've lost steam. And and now I just you know, like you don't want to do it. Can you please give yourself that hour, two hours, whatever and, and see the entire process through. So if you're somebody that wants to do your closet, and you find that, you know, you tear up your entire bedroom, you do the closet and you're like I'm done this is so I don't want to do this anymore. Don't do your entire closet, today, you're going to just do the sweaters. In two days, when you have you know, you have the motivation and you have the desire to do it again, you're gonna go through your jeans, you know, in two days after that, you're gonna go through your leggings, uh, you know, two days after that, it's, it's just button down shirts, like really get specific and really make it you know, smaller tasks. So it is not so overwhelming. And the entire bedroom is not torn up. Because I've been there before to when it's like, oh my gosh, are you serious, and usually I'm doing everybody's closet at once. But so I totally understand that, you know, and so like, maybe it's your shoes, maybe you're somebody that has a ton of shoes, don't do all the shoes at once. Today you do boots, two days from now you do sneakers, you know, two days from then you do sandals, maybe it's purses and handbags, that is something belts, you know, you only are gonna go through the brown belts today. Or you're only gonna go through the black belts, or, you know, it's only backpacks today and it's you know, I'm not a big purse, purse person. But you know what, you know what I'm saying? Right? And like jewelry, it's the same thing. gold jewelry today. In two days, it'll be silver earrings today. In two days, it'll be you know, rings. I was gonna say wristlets it's bracelets, oh my goodness. So you can see how much I wear jewelry. But what I'm saying is no matter what you're doing throughout your entire house, and that's what I tell people who will say I've tried it and now it's you know, my bedrooms tore up and I don't even want to pick that up and and it's a mess, right? And so it's the kitchen like you've torn up the entire kitchen and now you're like I'm done. I'm over this is just, you know, I'm not going to ever do this again. Just go with the silverware. Just go with the plates, you know, it doesn't have to be an all or nothing. Do it in bite sized chunks. So it doesn't be become overwhelming. And then if you can kind of get in some of these habits that I talked about today, I promise you, I promise you, it'll make it so much easier and your home will stay clutter free, it'll stay organized. And I would love that for everybody. I just, it makes such a big difference in our mindset. In our like, it's not just our homes, us physically, mentally, it's, it's a game changer for you as a person, I promise you that. So, okay, I hope these were helpful. It's springtime, it's time to spring clean time to get our homes in order. You know, less stress at home, we want our homes to be a place where we can unwind and just chill at the end of the day, at the end of the day. So once we get through all the organism organizing, the purging, the donating, and then we get in these daily, weekly, monthly kind of systems and
schedules, it's just becomes that much easier. So let me know if this is helpful. Do you guys like these organization hacks and talks? Or it's something as you can tell, I thought this was gonna be a quick and quick podcast, but it's something I'm super passionate about. It's something that I could talk about forever and do forever, like, not kidding. So let me know. Reach out to me, Lindsay at my creative days.com You can always leave me a message as well voice message. You can reach out to me on Instagram at my creative days. I love hearing from you. If there's another topic you want to talk about, or if there's something you're struggling with, let me know. I'd love to discuss it on the podcast. I never share your name or anything or anything. It's just a great way for me to get learn what you're struggling with what I can help you with. And and so yeah, it just it's super fun. So until next time, I hope you start organizing and getting these schedules. And I will talk to you very soon. Hello, friends, thank you so much for listening to the podcast. I am grateful that you tune in every week and that you share the show with your family and friends. I love having created chit chats with you. And my hope is that this podcast will inspire you to try a new project started DIY that you've been putting off and decorate your home exactly how you want it. There are a few ways you can help us with the podcast. Follow the podcast so you don't miss an episode. And if you could take a few minutes to leave the podcast a review that would help us so so much. Again, thank you for being here and I look forward to our chat next week. Bye bye
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