Organize + Energize: 10 Tips For Organizing Your Spare Room
Tuesday, January 20, 2015
It’s the room you hate to go into. You get stressed every time you walk by it. You continue to quickly throw items in there and get out as fast as you can. How many times have you tried to make a plan to clear it out and organize it, but have failed? The door always stays shut to that room and is a drop spot for anything that doesn’t have a home. It’s the spare room!
Now is the time to tackle your project! You have an extra room in your home that could be used as an office, a craft room, a guest room, an at home gym, or a quiet retreat. Why are you wasting this room as a clutter drop spot where the door is always kept shut? It’s not going to be as daunting a task as you think and may take no longer than 4 hours to tackle. Get in the right mindset, be positive, and tackle this project and get your room back!
Here are 10 tips to get you on your way:
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTCreate a plan. You can’t start an organizing project until you first create a plan to tackle the project. Set a date on your calendar and block off 3 hours of time.
Limit distractions. If you have kids or pets that need attention, make a plan to get a babysitter so you are free of distractions. You want to stay focused during this process. Turn off the TV, don’t check your emails or social media and don’t answer your phone unless it’s an emergency. Most organizing projects fail because people get distracted and lose focus.
Mentally prepare. Most people never tackle a difficult project because it’s too stressful and overwhelming. Mentally prepare yourself to tackle this project. Don’t go into the project thinking you are going to get stressed and fail. Be positive and think about how great your room is going to be when you are finished.
Clear the clutter. Before you get organized, you have to clear the clutter. You can’t set up working organized systems if there is clutter in the way.
Sort. As you begin to clear the clutter, create piles of toss, keep, donate and move to another room. Do not leave the room you are working in. Then minute you leave the room, you will get distracted, lose focus, tire easily and your project will take twice as long or nothing will get accomplished. Don’t worry about where items will go when you are sorting, just create piles and then when you are finished, those items will get incorporated into the organizing process. Just focus on sorting during this time.
Evaluate. So what did you find in this spare room? It’s probably a mixture of items that will find a home with other items in your home. Remember to keep like things categorized and itemized in your home. You may find that there are items you have been searching for or items you forgot you had.
Take a break if you need to. It’s ok to take small breaks, but stay focused and continue to limit your distractions. If you have hit the 3 hour mark, stop and take a short break. If you are tackling this project alone, I would suggest you take a break before you begin to organize.
Organize. If you are tackling a large project by yourself, you will want to take a break before you begin to organize. You want your mind to be fresh and open. This process tends to be overwhelming if you allow it to be so you want your mind to be clear before you begin to create working organized systems.
Refresh. Now that the clutter is gone and you are organized, you can step back and think about how you want to re-decorate and refresh this room. Do you have items in the home that you can repurpose into this room? Did you promise yourself that once you got this room cleared you would treat yourself to new furnishings? Now is the time to refresh this room.
Enjoy. You have a brand new room! Whether you decide to have a home office, a craft room, a gym or a quiet retreat, it’s a new beginning for you. Because there is a home for everything and you are organized, this room will never become a clutter drop spot again.
Take note as to how you feel once this project is completed. I guarantee you will be motivated and energized to continue on with more organizing projects.
Kristin Carcieri-MacRae, the founder and owner of Organizing in RI, has always enjoyed finding creative ways to streamline the environment around her. She has appeared on air on Patricia Raskin's Positive Business Radio and her articles have been published in the Rhode Island Small Business Journal and New England Home Life. Kristin's CD, Organizing Basics, is a 1-hour guide for the person who wants to get organized but doesn't know where to start. She is also available for organizing workshops. Tune into her weekly radio show, Organize, Energize! on Mondays at 8:30 a.m. on http://www.talkstreamradio.com.
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