I talk a lot about the deeper side of organizing.
About why clutter shows up. About how to advocate for yourself…and how to take up space in your home and life.
But after a recent speaking event, someone shared some unexpected feedback… “I wish you’d given more practical organizing tips.”
Look, I get it. People want tips. They want the hacks. The “5 steps to never having paper piles again.”
And honestly? I could give you tips.
But unfortunately, the things that actually work aren’t flashy.
They’re simple. Often common sense. They may even seem a little boring.
I get why you would want something more earth shattering. But if you want organizing that lasts, you’ve got to go deeper.
Here’s the biggest tips I can give you…
Stop looking outside of yourself for the perfect system…and look inside of your clutter instead.
Most people already have the seeds of the system that will work for them, right there in their clutter.
Take a look at this video to explore this concept more deeply with me…
Look around at the clutter in your life…
- The stack of papers on your dining table?
- The bin of “I’ll deal with this later” stuff in your closet.
- The way your clothes pile up on that chair in your bedroom.
These aren’t failures. They’re clues.
They’re showing you how your brain already wants to sort, store, and retrieve your stuff.
Your piles and patterns hold the blueprint to your most organized life.
Your systems aren’t wrong or missing. They’re just unfinished.
And your job isn’t to copy someone else’s system, but to create your own.
Try this…
Go over to a cluttered space in your home (start with something on the easy side. It never helps to burn yourself out by trying to face the hardest stuff first).
Look for a system that you started but has never fully worked for you. And then brainstorm 3-5 ways you can update it to make it work even better for you.
Then, live with it for a bit… Adjust it… Test it… Play with it… Adjust it again.
Keep going until you’ve fine-tuned the system so it works for you. It may take several tries before it really clicks (it does for me too).
This “trial and error” process is what helps you understand yourself better.
It helps you learn what you need and how your brain works.
Not everyone needs the same cookie-cutter system. And it takes a hot minute to figure out what will work for you.
You’re not failing if it takes more than one attempt to nail down your final system. In fact, multiple attempts are evidence of a successful system in the making.
You’re learning, exploring, and creating what works for your life and mind. Because clutter isn’t a problem to be fixed, it’s an experiment in progress. 🔬
Let your clutter be a science project.
Let your home teach you what you need.
Let your brain show you what actually works for you.
That’s how you get organized in a way that sticks.
You’ve got this!
