Getting organized – should I do it myself?
Reading time – 3 minutes
Do you enjoy watching all the TV shows about people getting their homes and lives organized? Some of those shows make it look so easy. So you start thinking about doing it yourself.
Do it yourself?
This is a good answer if you are healthy and can lift and move things around your home to other spaces and out to your vehicle to take away to be donated. If you can schedule time for your project and are motivated to make your home work well for you, set the time up now to begin your project. There will be a lot of decisions to be made about what to keep and what to give away. If making those types of decisions come quickly and easily you will be successful in organizing your home. You will need a system for sorting, parting with items and organizing things well. If you have that plan or want to research how to get organized you are ready to start.
Need some instruction and guidance?
If you enjoy the physical labour of working around your home and creating a space that suits your lifestyle and personality but you’re not sure of the steps try purchasing an online course. They can give you the guidance you need when you’re not sure what comes next or how to set up zones in a room. Once you learn the process you can repeat it until your entire home is organized.
Need some motivation and accountability?
You may have good intentions about organizing your home. Getting started and continuing the work is the hard part of the job for you. Make sure to book appointments in your schedule to do some organizing work. The appointments may be shorter ones every day or longer ones once a week. Be consistent, working daily or weekly so you will see progress and that will motivate you to keep going. Find an accountability partner. That is someone you tell about your project, when you will be working on organizing your home and exactly what you will do that day. They will contact you to see if you did the work. Try working virtually with a Professional Organizer. They can help you with the initial planning, you meet with them to discuss how the project is moving forward and if you are stuck, together you can come up with solutions. They will keep you motivated and accountable. Here are the virtual services I offer.
Need some help letting go of things?
Do you find it difficult to decide what to let go of and pass on to other people to use and enjoy? You may be very sentimental and want to keep everything. Try thinking about keeping only the best of the best instead of everything. If you have the best quilt, the best teacup, the best photos in one album, the best painting you will still have all the memories and less possessions to clean, pack, move or display. Other people will be able to enjoy using the items. It is important to remember that not everything that comes into your life is meant to stay forever. Develop some questions you can ask yourself to help you decide if you are going to keep something or let it go. Decide if you need to touch an item one last time to be able to let it go or if holding and touching the item makes you want to keep it. In this second case, you may need a friend to help you. If you’re having trouble letting go of things from your past and moving forward I have a 9-week one on one coaching program.
Need some company?
Do you really dislike working alone? Do you like having someone to discuss things with? Ask a friend to help you. Put on some motivating music and make it fun. Make sure you know what you want to do so you can tell your friend what to do. Have a plan. You want to make good use of the time and not let it become a conversation, coffee or consoling time. Working with a Professional Organizer is a great way to have help with your project. Two people working at it will get it done twice as fast.
Here are the in-person professional organizing services I offer.
Need some help maintaining your organization?
Do you have a beautifully organized home and bit by bit the place starts to become messy again? There may be 2 reasons. First, you may need to adapt your plan so it can work better. Wherever the piles are forming it is a sign that the place you have chosen to store those items is too far away or too hard to access. Try storing those items in a new place so it is easy to get them out and put them away. The second reason for the mess developing is you need a maintenance schedule. Each evening take 15 minutes to put things away and get ready for the next day. Once each week use an hour to make sure your system is working, everyone is putting things away and declutter some items you may not need. As time goes on you may find small tasks and situations occur that you need help developing a solution for. Sign up for my Laser Coaching Program. They are quick 15-minute appointments to discuss one (at a time) specific organizing dilemma and decide on a solution to implement. 
Everyone has different organizing skills. No matter what part of getting organized is a stumbling block for you there are resources to help. Share on X Let me know in the comments what is the hardest part of getting or staying organized for you.
Julie Stobbe is a Trained Professional Organizer and Lifestyle Organizing Coach who brings happiness to homes and organization to offices, coaching you virtually using Zoom. She has been working with clients since 2006 to provide customized organizing solutions to suit their individual needs and situations. She uses her love of teaching to reduce clutter, in your home and office. She guides and supports you in managing your time. If you’re in a difficult transition Julie can coach you to break-free of emotional clutter constraining you from living life on your terms. Online courses are available to help instruct, coach and support your organizing projects. Get started by downloading Tips for Reorganizing 9 Rooms.
Contact her at julie@mindoverclutter.ca
Twitter – Facebook – Facebook group Organizing Mind and Space
Julie, I really like the way you took the task of getting organized and presented the potential roadblocks as well as the variety of solutions available to someone. In point of fact, there is everything from side-by-side in-person help to written out guidebooks and television shows to watch. No matter your preference for assistance, if you want help it’s available.
You’re right. There is help for every learning style available. Perhaps too much help and it can be hard to find the exact way that is best. Google and YouTube can become very overwhelming.
My biggest challenge is finishing an organizing project once I’ve got things to a more manageable level.
For example, earlier this year I was unhappy with the way my spices were organized and stored. Someone suggested moving them to a drawer, which involved finding new homes for the items that were in the drawer. Altogether that meant organizing three drawers and several cabinets. I’m not happy with some of the remaining areas, but they don’t bother me enough to just do it.
Everyone has a different level of finished. Doing the last 10 percent maybe important or it might not. If things are working well and don’t bother you that is a good measure of success. As an organizer, I used to always want to get my clients to the 100% finished level. I had to learn that not everyone needs 100%.
These are some great suggestions. I love the various options that you have for help from a professional organizer.
Every Professional Organizer has many ways of helping clients to complete their organizing project. All you need to do is ask and we ar ready to help.
“Julie, you did a great job of looking at all the ways someone might be challenged by the organizing process, from lacking blocked time for DIY to getting the emotional, intellectual, and physical support needed (whether that’s virtually or in person), but the best thing is that this will be useful to readers in your service area and beyond. Smart cookie!”
It is nice to let people know that Professional Organizers can help in so many ways. We do more than only remove declutter, we do that too.
I like how you describe the range of ways to get organized based on your motivation and specific needs- from DIY to virtual organizing. I love what you said, “Not everything in your life is meant to stay forever.” As we help our clients edit, sort, and organize, that is exactly what they are doing. They are letting go of those things that had their time and are ready to move on.
You are so right and it is good that there are so many different ways to help people let go of the things that have had their time in their lives from physically removing them to donation, to a better understanding of what they use and need, to supporting them with decision making skills.