A home organizing expert has recently shared five common mistakes people often make when trying to get organized at home. Caroline Solomon, a New York City-based professional is known for her home organization hacks and frequently shares her insights with a large online audience. In one of her latest posts, she outlined the top five organizational missteps to avoid when decluttering your home.
Right at the top of her list: Trying to declutter all in one day. Caroline likened the organizing process to the construction of Rome, emphasizing it was not built in a day, and your home will not be, either. Her advice is not to rush the process. Instead, start small by focusing on one drawer, one cabinet or one closet at a time. She suggested setting a timer for a quarter of an hour to help manage the time and keep the task achievable.
The second common mistake that Caroline shed light on was the false illusion of progress created when people simply move piles of stuff around without actually organizing or decluttering. She highlighted that decluttering needs to be the first step; only after there has been a thorough cleaning can organization start. She stressed decluttering before organizing as it gives way to a more systematic arrangement of items.
In her third tip, she emphasized the importance of having a big bag or box at hand while getting organized. These large receptacles can serve several purposes; a box can be used to collect clothes for selling, and a bag can accumulate items for donations, for instance. According to Solomon, having these containers close by when sorting through items can facilitate the decluttering process.
The final tips from Caroline focused on the more subtle aspects of the cleaning process. The tendency to subscribe to trending aesthetics when organizing has been seen to do more harm than good. She urged people not to rely too much on popular Instagram themes and instead adopt a method that suits their personal space and needs.
Moreover, she suggested the use of broad categories instead of overly specific ones when it comes to labeling and organizing areas in the home. This is because broader categories have the tendencies to encompass a wider range of items, hence making it easier to store and retrieve items. She demonstrated this tip by showing how she labeled bins in her bathroom using wide categories.
The video from Solomon has been well received, with views exceeding 16,000. Solomon is not the only source of impactful home organization tips. The previous year, professional celebrity organizer Lisa S. Jacobs, founder and CEO of Imagine It Done, shared her signature ‘5 step process’, which included edit, categorize, contain, curate, and personalize steps, in an endeavor to help people dramatically improve their home organization even further.
By avoiding these five common mistakes and adopting suitable organization methods, one can enjoy a tidier home. The aim is not just to make homes look clean and organized, but also to turn the process of decluttering and organizing into a manageable, successful, and even enjoyable task..
