Friday Facebook Live: How to get organized
It’s your girl Esha here. Welcome to our blog Carnivalista Lifestyle, our blog where we help busy, professional women discover new cultures, attract what they want, love themselves and be comfortable in their own skin. And if you’ve been feeling disorganized or haven’t been able to find ANYTHING in your house or would like to improve your stay-at-home vibes, then this week’s How to get organized video is for you!
Watch the video to learn more:
Here’s what I mentioned in the video:
How to get organized step #1: What do you like and what do you need?
- In this step, you’ll take some time to plan your ideal vision for your home/space. I’d really like you to go room by room and really give it some thought.
- I find it helpful to have a physical notebook or use Evernote to make notes about what I want. Evernote is also good to save pictures that you find on Pinterest or other places.
- Here are a few questions for you to consider:
- Do you have a lot of clutter? This means that things need somewhere to go. In this case, it can point to a storage need or it’s decluttering time.
- Are you happy with the colours in your space? If not, think about what colours that make you happy and feel at peace. Add them to your list.
- Is it very dark in your space(s)? Adding lighting to your space can work wonders. It can definitely lift your mood and might also lead to you wanting to spend more time in this space.
- Be sure to complete your ideal vision either for each room or perhaps tackle your entire house.
- Here’s a Pro tip: tackle room by room. This way it won’t feel as overwhelming. Also by focusing, you can get arms around the entire project and actually complete it!
I love artwork, so it’s always a part of any vision for rooms in my home.
I love artwork, so it’s always a part of any vision for rooms in my home.
How to get organized step #2: Take a real look around you
- Now that your ideal vision is set, take a real hard look around you. For example, if starting with your bedroom, the REALLY look at it.
- The reason I say REALLY look at it is because in our day to day, especially these days, we all have some kind of built in blind spot(s). We don’t notice the clutter, or don’t notice the dust, or don’t notice the overstuffed closet and drawers, or don’t notice that it gets really dark in there on day-to-day basis. It’s time to clear away the blind spots and really see your bedroom.
- Take an honest assessment of what it will take to go from what you have right now to your ideal vision for your bedroom. This is called a Gap Analysis.
- Do you need different furniture, do you need to throw out/donate things that are no longer serving you? Perhaps a couple of lamps to add lighting? New coat of paint or wallpaper?
- Add everything in your Gap analysis to your Evernote list or notebook.
How to get organized step #3: Make a plan and do it
- Before I get into this step, here’s a Pro tip: don’t try to do it all at once! Especially if this is in a room where your daily routine will be disrupted e.g. bedroom where you sleep, office where you work.
- In making a plan, I find a 1 month timeline works really well for me to bring a room to where I want it to be. Each weekend, I’ll work on the room. Here’s an example of a timeline:
- On Weekend 1: Decluttering
- Weekend 2: look at furniture of decorative items to add to the room
- During Weekend 3: painting or wallpaper
- Weekend 4: add new items to the room and organize everything
- And here’s another Pro tip now that you’ve given some thought about what needs to be done: be honest with yourself. Do you really have the time to do it? If not, engage help of friends or hire someone.
- For example, I recently engaged an interior designer to help with the decorating of our upstairs bathrooms and den. I knew I wouldn’t have the time to really do justice to the project.
- In any case, make a plan and add it to your planner or whatever else you use to make sure things get done.
Get it done. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
Get it done. It doesn’t have to be perfect!
How to get organized bonus step: maintenance is key!
- Once you’ve implemented your plan, you’ve done all of this work to bring your rooms to what you want them to be, please make sure you keep them that way!
- Do not, I repeat do not, allow the clutter to pile up again. Make sure that you put things in their place after using them.
- One tip that I’ve used for the past 20 years is to touch things once. If I have something in my hands after using it, I try to put it where it needs to go instead of “just” resting it somewhere close by and never putting it away. This one tip will save you so much clutter! Try it!
Now over to you:
Which room in your space would you like to get organized? Leave me a comment below.
Thanks as always for reading!
Til de next lime,
Esha
About Esha: As an event planner and travel curator with over 20 years of experience (whose been to 5 out of the 7 continents), Esha’s helped professional women who don’t have the time, energy, or resources to plan their own vacations so they can travel and enjoy unique, life-changing Caribbean experiences. Click the links below to learn more!