One of the most interesting things I learned while recording the first season of What Are You Making Space For? was just how many people were trying to organize their homes without having a place to actually DO the organizing.
I realized that this was a big part of what was keeping them stuck.
When you’re getting organized, you need room to spread things out, sort through the chaos, and decide what to do with it all.
But what happens when you’re using your dining room table to organize paperwork and suddenly it’s time for dinner? Or you’ve got everything spread across your bed and now it’s time to go to sleep?
You either have to put everything away before you’re finished or move the mess somewhere else.
Neither is particularly helpful!
This is why I love having an organizing station.
An organizing station is a dedicated space where you can work on clutter without disrupting the rest of your life.
And if you’re working on organizing your entire home (rather than just one little closet), I think it’s one of the most important things you can create.
We explored this in two very different episodes on the podcast. In Chelsey & Eric’s episode, we talked about reclaiming an entire room for organizing. In Shelby’s episode, we created an organizing station out of an existing desk because she didn’t have any extra space to spare.
You don’t need a lot of space. You just need a place where you do the work.
Here’s how to set one up:
- Find a space you can leave in progress. This might be a spare room, a desk, or even a small folding table tucked into a corner. It doesn’t need to be big or beautiful. It just needs to be available when you need it.
- Create a clear work surface. Give yourself enough room to spread things out, sort, and make decisions without having to clear the space every time you want to work.
- Set up your organizing supplies. Keep trash, recycling, shredding, and donation bags or bins nearby (under the table works great!). Have a few basics on hand, like scissors, tape, Sharpies, Post-its. And consider keeping a box for collecting things that belong in other rooms so you can put them away later without interrupting your organizing.
- Making it easy to walk away and come back. The whole point is that you can organize for 15 minutes or three hours, stop when life calls, and pick up where you left off.
Most of us don’t have hours of uninterrupted time to organize. We need to be able to work on things for a little while, step away when life calls, and pick up where we left off.
An organizing station gives you a place to be in process without your whole home feeling like a project.
You need somewhere to do the work that doesn’t require you to finish the work every time you start.
And sometimes, creating that space is the very thing that makes the rest of your organizing possible.
