Friend, I know decluttering and organizing can seem like the most daunting task ever... but, it’s actually simple formula to declutter and organize any space!

Plus it can be adapted and implemented in any space in your home (and on limited time!). Shelves, cabinets, clothing, anything!

This process doesn’t change! Which means as soon as you learn it, you’ll be able to work through your entire home and organize your house!!

Holla!! 

But first...a few things to remember about decluttering and organizing when you organize your house (shelves, drawers, cabinets, etc...):

Now that you've determined just where you're going to start, let's get down to business - time to organize your house friend!

Here are five simple steps to declutter and organize ANY Space in your house!

 1. Empty it out!

Now I know this isn't fun, and may even seem super daunting. But completely emptying the space out that your working in will give you a clean slate & a fresh start to getting that space organized and functional!

This step is also really important because you can actually see ALL.THE.THINGS.

Which for many people, can be a bit overwhelming!! But it does help you realize how much stuff you have tucked away that maybe you hadn’t realized before. 

ACTION STEP: Pull EVERY single item off the shelf, out of the cabinet or from the space you are working in.

2. Clean it up!

Once you have everything off the shelves, or out of the drawers, do a quick wipe down of the space.

When I'm any area of my home, I like to keep a canister of wipes handy. It makes this step a breeze! 

A small handheld vacuum is great to have handy as well! 

The reason you want to clean each space you're decluttering is this: if you are taking the time & energy to declutter and organize, you’ll want to be able to put everything back into a nice fresh and clean space!

ACTION STEP: Pull out some wipes and get to cleaning (It’s worth the work to do this step)!

3. Sort, Sort, Sort!!!

Once the shelves, drawers or space is empty of all the items, you'll really be able to see everything you have.

This is where you'll understand why it's important to empty the space out completely.

I want you to sort, or group, all the like items together. So if you are working in your kitchen pantry, put all of the dry baking items in one area, the baking seasonings together, and so on like that.

Work through all of your items until they are completely sorted. 

ACTION STEP: Sort until you have every last item grouped (unless it's a lone ranger, of course!)

4. Purge the excess!

Now that you can easily see everything you have, grouped and sorted together, you'll need to start paring items down.

For example, if you have 5 spatulas in a kitchen drawer, you may want to think about if you really NEED all five to stay in your home (HINT: you don't!).

My guess is, you'll have some "go to" items that are a must stay.

But if you haven't used something for a really long time, if at all, don't keep it!

You can donate it or give it to someone who could actually use it, instead of letting it sit in a drawer and not be useful.

Think about the space you are working with - will you be able to fit everything back in? Will it overflow out, or will you be able to easily find - and see! - everything you are looking for?

It's okay to keep things too! Don't feel like you have to get rid of every little thing.

At this point, you've narrowed items down pretty well, and need to make decisions regarding the remaining items.  

Consider how often it's used, if there's space for it, and how much it would cost to replace.

Don't overthink every little item, make your decisions quickly and ruthlessly if possible (that's the short & sweet of making decisions while decluttering).

ACTION STEP: Remove ALL of the extra stuff you just don't need, use, or love! 

5. Organize it!

This is my most favorite part of the organizing process!

Grab your bins, baskets, or any other storage type items you can round up around the house to organize all the remaining "keep" items.

I personally LOVE to use labels, especially chalkboard labels, but it's technically not necessary to get your spaces decluttered and organized! 

Arrange your items in their storage containers back on shelves or into drawers. No worries if you don't have storage baskets or bins!

As long as you can arrange your items in an orderly way that makes sense to you, you will be so much better off after decluttering than you were before!

You may have to arrange, take it down, and arrange again until all of your items work in the space and make sense to you.

Work it around until you get all of your items put away in an organized and functional way!

ORGANIZING ACTION STEP: Place everything back on your shelves in their assigned bins or spaces. 

Why should I declutter and organize my house?

You don't have to, really. If you are good with your house - then yay! Some of us (me, it's me...) struggle with all the "stuff". Toys, dishes piling up, and laundry all over.

Here are some reasons that make me want to have an organized house:

• easier to clean the house - I honestly don't know if there's a better reason than this!
• everyone knows where things go - when you can give clear expectations of where things go, you can easily train your kids (and hubby!) on what goes where.
• you can relax in the evening - friends, this is so so hard for me to do when there is stuff all around the house. I have certain tasks that are important to get done each and every day, and help me to feel like my house will function and not implode. Then I can relax in the evening...

Where do I start organizing my house?

Here are a few areas that can give you a quick win in a short amount of time:

• bathrooms (under sinks & in drawers/cabinets)
• kitchen (under sinks & in drawers/cabinets)
• clothing
• shoes
• decor

What areas are nagging at you?? Start there!! Or Grab your own copy of the 4 Week Decluttering Schedule Below!!

Having littles can make organizing your house extremely hard. Don't feel like you have to do it all in one day or weekend. Learn these five steps that you can use to declutter and organize any space in your home and just.get.started. Even if you only have a few minutes at a time!