I’ve been off the past few days and I’ve had lots of time to do something I’ve been wanting to do for a while: organize. Organizing your house or apartment can seem daunting, and it actually is if you try to tackle all of it at once. Here are some things that help me when I feel inclined to organize.

Having an organization method is very important. It’s not just about where to put things, but how you put them away- Do you use this item frequently? How accessible should it be? Is it breakable or heavy? Do you need to stand on a stool to reach it? Etc. I find that inventing a method for yourself takes time, because it’s about trial and error with what works. I have re-arranged my baking supplies hundreds of times, because I keep finding new ways to organize them as things fall on my head. Also I keep adding to them, or getting rid of things as time goes on.

Another piece of advice I’m finding is that if you haven’t even looked at something for a whole year, then you might consider giving it away. Quick, like ripping off a band-aid, so that you don’t have time to worry about the sentimental or potential usefulness of something. If you’ve got less stuff then it’s so much easier to organize and find homes for it (the only side note to this is things you’ve got for sentimental purposes, which you may not look at often but don’t want to give away).

Finally, don’t try to do your entire place at one time, it’ too much! I put things away hastily after we moved last year because our wedding was coming up in less than two months. And then I promptly forgot about many of our things until they literally came crashing down on my head after having been piled up precariously in a closet (I can’t reinforce how much this happens to me, and what a great motivator it is). I knew where I put things, and I didn’t care that they were messy as long as they were accessible. It’s OK to have certain things in a jumble if you currently aren’t using them. As long as you aren’t tripping on things as you walk down the hallway, then just let them be until you have the time to experiment with an efficient organization method. It’s better to organize well, than to semi-organize and then end up with a mess again.

It’s always best to have helpers!