The best place to start when organizing your home

If you’re overwhelmed by mess and clutter and don’t know where to begin organizing your home, this post has all the details you need.

There have been times in my life – many times – when I’ve looked around my home and thought ‘Ugh! I can’t stand this mess!’ and in the same breath, I’ve felt so overwhelmed at the sheer size of the job and the thought of beginning.

That sense of overwhelm can lead you to do nothing.

Maybe it’s because the myriad of decisions you need to make just paralyses you. Or because you don’t know where to start – and so you don’t. Or even – and I’m guilty of this the most – you only want to start when you can do it properly, top to bottom, the whole shebang!

Well today, the procrastination stops!

One thing I’ve learnt over the years of being a busy mother, entrpreneur and homemaker, is that

This is going to be a process. And the sooner you accept that, the sooner you’ll get to the end. So are you ready?

The best place to start when organizing your home

There are different theories about the best place to start. And in truth, whenever I do a big top-down organize of my entire home, I usually start in one of these three places; my kitchen, my bedroom or the front door.

I walk you through the thinking behind starting in each of these places.

Start oganizing in your kitchen for your family

This is my favourite place to start when organizing my home. The reason is that the kitchen is the heart of your home. It’s the place where everyone comes to be nourished. It’s used multiple times a day and it’s general tidiness or untidiness affects everyone in your household.

Starting in your kitchen does a number of things because it:

let’s you feel the immediate and regular benefits of your efforts because you’re using it so frequently throughout the day
reduces the time it takes for you to prep, cook and get meals on the table when this space is clean and organized – giving you the knock-on effect of allowing you more time to get going with other projects in your home
can get your family on board with helping to organize the house when they see the benefits of an improved space. Organizing can be contagious!

So, this is a good place to start if you want to give an immediate benefit to your entire household or you want to spark other family members into action too.

Start organizing in your bedroom for yourself

I normally start organizing in this space when I’m in a place of mental exhaustion. It’s the first space you see at night before you close your eyes and the first place you see when you wake up. It’s no wonder getting this space organized can be an immediate mood lifter! Your bedroom should be a space where you can relax, unwind and destress.

And so, starting to organize in your bedroom can:

give you an immediate boost in your mental and emotional state. This is because it’s the first and last place you see each day.
allow you to prep for the day ahead when your clothes, accessories and grooming items are decluttered and organized.

So this is a good place to start if you need an emotional pick-up. When your mood is lifted, you’ll soon find that you’ll have more energy. This will, in turn, allow you to take on other tasks and tackle other projects.

Start organizing at your front door if you want to leave no stone unturned

For the perfectionists out there, this might be your jam. The idea behind starting to organize at your front door is that you’ll start there and move methodically through each section of your home.

For example, you’ll start with what’s outside your front door, then move on to tackling your entrance hall. Next you’ll work on your living room or the first door that leads off your entrance. I’m sure you get the gist of this method. It’s logical and thorough.

What’s also great about this method is that for most people, there isn’t a lot to organize around their front doors. So starting here gives many people a quick win. That’s because they can get it done quite quickly and start the organizing snowball rolling!

Thus, organizing at your front door first can: