I love living in New York. I love living in New York. I love living in New York. I sometimes have to repeat this to myself as a gentle reminder that small space living is perfectly normal and completely doable, despite feeling like our walls are slowing caving in on us at times. It hasn’t been the easiest year to live in the city, and I think we are all feeling the squeeze of being home so much, regardless of how much space we have.
I have had this Monica closet of shame in my hallway that used to be somewhat organized, but got incredibly out of hand over the last year. So much stuff was accumulated, and if I didn’t know where to put something, I just shoved it in on a shelf somewhere. It looked like a bomb had gone off, and it was making me feel incredibly stressed whenever I had to get something from it.
I am not a minimalist, but I do appreciate having less stuff, an organized home, and don’t feel the need to hold onto things. This has come from a combination of both moving so many times over the last 12 years and having lived my entire adult life in an apartment. We really don’t need half the things we think we do! It can be hard to get started on decluttering, and there is often a lot of regret when we decide that an item no longer serves us, or “brings us joy.”
But there is so much freedom in letting go. Reducing physical clutter can bring about mental clarity and keeping an organized home can often garner a more relaxed life. This isn’t the case for everyone, but I feel such a weight lifted off my shoulders after a good purge.
I’ve got a few tips that I keep in mind for myself whenever I go through a good declutter that might help you clear up a little space in your own home!
TIPS FOR PURGING
- WHEN DID YOU LAST USE IT? – Depending on how much storage space you have in your home, your timeline for this might be different. But I generally think if I haven’t used something within a twelve-month period, it has to go. This leaves wiggle room for seasonal items, holiday bits and bobs, and those once in a while tools that you don’t want to be repurchasing later down the road. But that learn to crochet kit you got that has been sitting on a shelf for two years? Probably time to say goodbye.
- REMOVE EVERYTHING FROM THE SPACE – Whether you are just decluttering a shelf or drawer or you are doing an entire closet, take every single thing out. Touch the things you are organizing, check to see if they are working, and physically see everything at once. It was a little shocking to me to pull out all of my beauty stash!
- ORGANIZE AS YOU GO – Start making piles right from the start as you go through your things. Before you start putting things away, sort your stuff into categories that make sense for YOUR daily life. I knew that I wanted to have my beauty bits separated to make it easy to find things. I had to have a way to keep everything from craft supplies to toilet paper to face masks organized in one closet.
- TOSS THE GUILT – I understand the feelings that come along with getting rid of things. We feel obligated to make use of things we were gifted or that we spent our hard-earned money on. But if something isn’t useful to you anymore, there is no reason to hold onto it. Even if it served a purpose at one point, it is ok to let it go.
- DON’T GET RID OF EVERYTHING – I have made some mistakes in what I have tossed while purging in moments of stress or sadness. I have a few regrets of things I wish I had kept, and I am not very sentimental about “stuff” or objects. Obviously, physical or material objects are just that. Things. We keep memories in our hearts and heads first and foremost. But if you are having second thoughts about donating or tossing something, find it space and hold onto it. You may be glad you made a spot in your home for it down the road.
There are tons of great ways to organize and plenty of places to get inspiration. Pinterest has so many great ideas for closet organization and there are now countless shows, like The Home Edit and Tidying Up With Marie Kondo (though these are a little overwhelming and intense for me!). I knew I wanted a storage system to make the deep shelves in my closet more functional and to help me STAY organized, one of the hardest things for me!
I needed to be able to pull the trigger quick before tiredness kicked in and I gave up and lost all motivation. The Container Store definitely isn’t the cheapest place to get storage solutions, but it made it the easiest! Ikea, The Dollar Store, Amazon, and Target are also great places to find storage solutions that will work for you, your space, and your budget.
Before I left the house, I measured all of my shelves and went online to see what options I had. I filled up my cart and knew I was going to walk out with more than what I actually needed. I didn’t want to lose steam or end up needing to pause to go back out. I got multiples sizes, lids, tags, baskets, and bins to have options depending on how much space I actually needed for each category. I loved doing it this way, as it was like having The Container Store in my house.
WHAT I USED FOR MY CLOSET ORGANIZATION
I hope this helps you on your own closet organization journey! It feels good to be able to open the closet and not feel like it is all going to topple out! I am sure there will be another corner, drawer, or closet to refresh soon!
