Overwhelmed by Clutter?Where Do You Start?

If you made a decision that it’s time to be more organized, but you’re not sure where to start then you are at the right place. When you are overwhelmed by clutter and not sure where to start you need to break it down into steps. This list of 7 day by day steps when you’re overwhelmed by the clutter and mess is exactly what you need!

  In this post, we’ll cover some basic steps you can take to start chipping away at your to-do list and getting things more organized around your house. I think it can difficult to figure out where to start when you are overwhelmed by clutter.

This is a quick list as I find it to be disheartening when you are ready to begin a challenge and you are discouraged by just reading about all the things you need to do!!

I am breaking things down by day. That way each day you can tackle one thing. 

Family life, taking care of kids, sports, work , making meals, etc are all things that can get in the way of us staying organized and keeping ahead of the clutter.

This is a good exercise to do whether you’re new to getting organized or maybe you just fell behind recently due to the everyday busyness of life in general.

Overwhelmed by the Clutter| Where Do I Start?

Becoming organized has so many benefits that  can change your life for the better .

If you are overwhelmed by the clutter and mess and feel like you can’t see the end to it all then you have everything to gain by starting today.

The number one thing it will do is create less stress.

When you’re not organized you can miss important things, be wasteful because you don’t know what you have, overspend, stress more because you are overwhelmed by the clutter and mess and so many more reasons!

Our main goals in becoming organized are to eliminate clutter, create more space and have a home for everything. 

By eliminating the clutter you create more space and you will also have less to clean. This reduces stress and frees up your time!

Overwhelmed by Clutter and Mess| Where Do I Start?

1. Acknowledge it
2. Come up with a plan
3. Take baby steps to accomplish your goals

It truly is that simple.

Sometimes when we are overwhelmed we can make simple things seem a lot worse than they truly are and overcomplicate things.

You really just need to start.

Stop staring at the piles, the mess and just begin.

So that’s what we’re doing today.

Simplifying things.

This is not going to get your whole house and life decluttered in a week. These are baby steps to get the ball rolling …

Overwhelmed By Clutter and Mess- Plan For The Week

Monday- Purge your closets

• Go through your closet and get rid of things you haven’t worn in a year or more. Then go through and pick things out that you just don’t like anymore.
• Donate your clothes to goodwill and then rearrange your closets. You will feel so much better the next day. It’s hard to do at first, but once the clothes are gone I promise you will forget about them. After you do this once, it will get easier and easier to do every year/season.
• Try building a capsule wardrobe. Too many choices actually cause us more stress. If your closet is packed and you can’t even see what you have then it’s time to thin it out and only keep what you really love and will actually wear. Less is more!!
  

Tuesday- Organize your Paperwork and Mail

If you have been piling your paperwork on your kitchen counter, living room table, or just anywhere there is open space then it’s time to stop. Not only does it make your home look cluttered and will make you feel that way, but you may be missing important mail or a bill you need to pay.

I feel that this is the most important step if you are overwhelmed by the clutter and mess. This is the one thing that we can really let pile up and get out of control. It happens to all of us!

It’s really tough keeping track of kids’ school work, bills, mail, coupons, flyers, etc when they just keep piling up. 

After a while, the separate piles start to look overwhelming and the thought of going through them alone creates anxiety!

If doing this task seems too much and gives you stress just thinking about it then start by tackling one or two pieces of paperwork.

You just need to start making a dent in that pile.

So for today, your job is to make sure everything has a home.

• The kid’s schoolwork has a bin that it goes into immediately after school so you know where you can find it.

• The bills have a folder on your desk or a slot that they can be placed so you can easily find them when it’s time to pay the bills. 

• Your coupons have a special envelope to go in tucked inside your purse or maybe it goes in your junk drawer. The point is to make sure it’s labeled so that you know where to go when you’re ready to go shopping.

After you’ve created a space for everything, go to that pile on your kitchen counter and start putting stuff away!

Here is what I use for storing my kid’s school work… A binder.

I love using the binder system because we can pull it out at any time and look through it together. I didn’t want to put everything in a box in the attic and never see it again.

Using a binder makes it fun to page through their artwork, schoolwork, cards they’ve made over the years and it’s easily accessible. I highly recommend this way of organizing.

When they are little they have a ton of school and artwork to keep so I get the 3 inch binder. As they get older the 2 inch binder will do because there is less to keep.

Wednesday -Time To Start Organizing The Kids Toys

Are the legos in the wrong bin?

Are the puzzles in disarray?

Is the game closet a wreck from the kids shoving stuff in?

Are the baseball and football cards laying on your kitchen counter, stairs, etc?

Time to make sure all the kid’s stuff is in the proper place.

The ideal scenario is to do this with your kids(if they are able to help), but for the sake of this challenge to get things done I say just start! Then moving forward the kids can be accountable for putting things in the proper place.

Get rid of the old toys while you’re at it to create more space.

Here is what I did for my boy’s baseball cards.

We have specific binders for cards, but there are too many miscellaneous cards that they want separate or we find laying around. I got these cute bins from Target, similar small fabric storage bins, and the boys organized their cards and these sit in their closet. That way when those miscellaneous cards are laying out they can quickly put them away in these bins.

Thursday-  Organize your Makeup/Vanity

Go through your makeup and get rid of anything that is old or that you haven’t worn in a long time. Either that or create a separate space for the makeup that you don’t wear daily and only use for special occasions. The point of this is to have your drawers looking organized.

Break things down into groups and go from there.

Try to keep lipstick together, blush, lip liner, eye makeup, etc. Group your skincare and lotions separately.

Your hair dryer, curling iron, and hairbrushes should also have a place. It may be just laying them out with a divider in a drawer, a basket under your bathroom vanity or you can buy some organizers for on top of your dresser or vanity.

Here are some ideas for you….

Makeup Tutorials For Beginners

Friday…. Kon Mari Your Drawers

We’ve been doing this for over 10 years and I can say that it’s created so much space and really has made things easier to find.

Here you can see what it looks like to fold the shirts and sit them upright.

We fold the kid’s T-shirts and stand them upright in the drawer. They can easily see what they have. When you fold them and leave them stacked in a drawer it’s not as easy to see what you have.

This keeps things neat and tidy looking. We have them doing this on their own now and it’s working great!

I’m a big fan of this method.

While you’re rearranging drawers, again, try to get rid of 5 pieces of clothing. Either donate, sell or trash depending on the item. Do this as you go through each drawer for every family member. 

Now this will take a good bit of time if you plan on doing this for everyone in your family. You can get each family member to help or if you prefer to do it at first on your own you can do one family member per week.

Saturday- Clean Out Your Purse, Wallet and/or Diaper Bag.

Declutter that bag! It’s amazing what you can find in your purse if you don’t keep up with it.

My kids shove everything in my bag and I have no idea what I am actually carrying half the time! So start digging and make your purse nice and clean!

A purse organizer is a great way to keep your purse organized at all times. I love that my diaper bag has lots of compartments, but my own purse does not. These organizers make finding your phone and keys easy.

Sunday- Clean The Fridge, Meal Plan and Prep

Clean the Fridge

• Wipe down the fridge and clean any spills or debris from veggies that are caught in the drawers.
• Throw away leftovers that are no longer edible or freeze your leftovers so that you don’t have to cook next week! Don’t let those leftovers spoil. Deodorize the fridge continuously by leaving baking soda in there.
• Organized your storage containers so they look nice and neat. 
• Make sure your produce and fruit are stored properly for longevity.

Meal Plan/Prep

This is part of getting organized. You may not see anything tangible when doing this step, but it will help keep you organized if you do an inventory of what you have in your fridge and pantry and then plan your meals.

You will save money and your week will be so much less hectic. No more running to the grocery store all the time last minute. 

So plan your meals for the week. Think about all you have going on with activities, sports etc. Plan your meals based on your week.

Write a list and go shopping!

Then when you get home, cut up some of the veggies and store them in a nice container so that you are likely to make healthy choices when you’re hungry!

If you are feeling extra motivated marinate a bunch of chicken ahead of time for the week. You can bake/grill it right then or freeze it to cook later in the week.

You will be so happy you did when it’s time to cook dinner that week. It’s one less thing to worry about!

Here’s what I use for glass storage containers……

…… and here is my meal planner.

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The Secret to Saving Money On Groceries

Overwhelmed by the Clutter and Mess- Takeaway Tips

Some of these steps may take you longer than others.

Don’t get discouraged if your weekdays are packed and you can’t find time to tackle one of these projects. Save it for a weekend if that fits your schedule better.

This is just a suggestion on how to start and get things accomplished quickly.

If you don’t have time to purge your closet in one day then just spread it out over a few days or for the week.

If you have too much paperwork then only go through 10 papers today. 

It all depends on where you are starting from and how much you have. So don’t push off starting because you don’t have time to do it all in one day.

Just do one little thing and it will have a snowball effect… 

The point is to start!

Overwhelmed By The Clutter and Mess|Where To Start

• Purge Your Closet
• Organize Your Paperwork
• Organize the Kids Toys
• Makeup Drawer/Vanity
• Kon Mari Those Drawers
• Clean your Purse/Diaper Bag
• Clean The Fridge and Meal Prep

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