A Fresh Start for Your Home: Declutter and Organize

Alexandria-area pros helps clients tackle clutter. Here are tips to make the process easier!

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When you look around your home do you feel a bit overwhelmed and weighed down by clutter, feeling frustrated when you can’t find something you need?

It’s a new year and the perfect time for a fresh start for your home. An opportunity to reevaluate all your stuff taking up space and causing unneeded stress. 

We’ve turned to three experts on the best ways to declutter and better organize your rooms and spaces. They promise that you and your family will feel lighter, happier and more calm in your surroundings.

Paula Beck of NowSized, Chinamelum Lavender Menakaya of Lavender Organizes, and Laine Hardman of Tidy Up are all professional organizers in the Alexandria area. With years of experience helping clients tackle clutter, they know what works and what doesn’t, and each has tips that will make the process easier.

Where to Start?

It’s understandable to feel confused about where to start. All three of these professional organizers find it’s more productive to start in one particular room or space rather than to focus on a category like clothes or books spread throughout your entire home.

Choose one place or room that causes the most stress. Determine your home’s “pain areas” as Beck calls them. It’s when you enter a room or see a space that makes your stress levels rise or you get that nagging sensation. By focusing your efforts on one space in your home that causes such emotions, you’ll get an immediate sense of relief and accomplishment when it’s finished. It’s just the boost you need to keep decluttering.

Don’t make it too complicated, says Menakaya. Choose one room at a time, and move on to the next room after that, and so on. If you’re decluttering for a move, your first room should be one that could be a staging area for boxes, such as a garage or basement.

Start small so you complete the job. When you start small, you can see it through to the end and get the satisfaction of a job well done — even if it’s a drawer or a shelf.

“A good goal is to start in the place where you can make the most difference, so when you run out of steam, you’ve still made an impact that you can see,” says Hardman. Such as focusing on spices in the kitchen or pots and pans.

Beck finds that even mini tasks scheduled for 30 minutes each on your calendar can have an impact if done regularly. If the entryway is your pain area, then go through coats, gloves, hats in the closet. Organizing a small space like a book shelf or a junk drawer can feel satisfying since you can finish it and not be disheartened. 

After you find success with these small chunks of time and get more comfortable decluttering, move on to larger chunks of time for bigger projects, recommends Beck.

Focus on one category at a time in that space. Once you choose the room or space, pick one category to sort through first. Then move on to the next category in that room, and keep narrowing down your categories, but stick to one at a time, says Menkaya.

If you’re in the bedroom, sort through clothes first, then shoes and then purses, for example. By focusing on one category, you’ll make better decisions on what you want to keep, donate or toss, says Hardman. She recommends not going over three hours on any project since "decision fatigue" can start to set in. You’ll second guess yourself and not purge stuff that really needs to go.

Decluttering and Organizing 101

Now that you’ve selected your space, it’s time to sort through your items and decide what you want to do with them. 

First, have a plan in place for items you don’t keep. It’s important to know how you’ll get these items — donations, trash, recycling, consignment — out of your home as easily and quickly as possible, says Beck. Have space in your car for donations or recycling for local drop-off centers, schedule a curbside donation service to come to your home or alert your neighborhood listserv. (See sidebar for suggestions.)

Give yourself a deadline of 24 to 48 hours for this to happen, but the project is not complete until your tossed and donated items are gone, says Menakaya. Those bags and boxes are still invading your space and your energy.

Unfortunately, consigning items like china dinnerware or crystal glasses takes more time and effort for not much profit in return. Plus, consignors can be very selective with items, and if it’s clothes, then you need to time it for that particular season. (Or find out if a consignor is looking for clothing for the next season.)

Pull everything out and sort by category. Examine all the items in that space and give yourself enough time to sort through each category. With closets, it can take one hour to pull everything out, one hour to sort, and one hour to put stuff away, points out Hardman. She also suggests using black trash bags for items you’re tossing and white bags for donation items. 

For items that belong in that room, make piles by category to sort through. For a playroom, you’d sort by toy types, such as dolls, Legos, trucks, etc. 

As you go through each category, determine what’s torn, stained, out-dated, broken, you have multiples of or have not used or worn in the last year. 

Do you have any “aspirational clutter” as Beck calls it — the items you bought for a certain hobby or sport you never ended up doing? It’s probably time for them to go! 

For items that belong in another room, create a pile near the door with sticky notes indicating which room, says Hardman. For memorabilia (i.e., special occasions, letters, trophies, ticket stubs), you may want to put in a labeled storage container in the basement or attic so it doesn’t infringe on your living space.

Put away items you want to keep and find a better way to organize. If an item already has a practical home then put it back there. If not, ask yourself where you would look for it, how do you use the item or how often do you use it. 

For example, when you start to put items back in the kitchen, think about how you cook and what placement makes sense when you’re preparing meals. Winter gear doesn't have to be as accessible in the warmer weather, so store it out of the way until needed. Keep first aid ointments and Band-Aids in one container where you’re most likely going to need it, whether it’s the kitchen, downstairs bathroom or mudroom depending on how your family lives.

Everyone has their own idea of what an uncluttered home looks like — either streamlined and bare compared to decorative storage bins and baskets scattered around, explains Beck. Do you want items out and visually seen in your space or do you want them tucked away unseen?

Don’t buy additional storage containers until the space is completely finished. This is one tip all three professional organizers emphasized. Many people rush out and buy pretty baskets or bins, which only adds up to more stuff you don’t need or end up being the wrong size.

Before shopping, determine the amount of items you plan to keep, then measure the space, double check what you already own — and only then should you go out and buy new containers (with a tape measure).

When purchasing containers, decide if you want clear plastic ones to see what’s inside or decorative baskets or bins, says Hardman. It’s a personal choice, she explains, so know what will work best for you to stay organized. To save money and confusion, consider buying the same type of containers for consistency and the ability to reuse in another space, advises Menakaya. 

Even though Hardman shops for good deals at T.J. Maxx, HomeGoods and Target, you might find only one matching basket or bin rather than the three you need. Menakaya loves the quality and simple designs found at West Elm, World Market and Crate & Barrel. Beck finds The Container Store a fantastic resource since they stock so many options.

Another personal choice is whether to use labels, but they remove the guesswork on where to put things, which might encourage your family to comply, says Beck.

Come up with a plan to reduce paper clutter. Now is the time to go paperless or electronic for many things, such as bills or even kids’ artwork. Get rid of that clunky metal file cabinet and purchase a small portable file system that you can easily carry around, says Menakaya. 

To keep paper from coming into your home in the first place, have a handy recycle bin nearby to go through the mail. Shred sensitive paperwork you don’t need — if it’s a large amount you can hire a mobile shredding company or take batches to stores such as Staples or United Parcel Service. For the paperwork you need to keep, sort by category and color coordinate in your portable file system — bills in a pink file, medical in a purple one, school in yellow, pets in orange, etc. 

The Benefits for You

Living in a decluttered and organized home provides many benefits, some practical and others for your own well-being.

Save money since you won’t buy what you already own. You’ll spend less money not buying multiple items since you can check an organized pantry or closet before heading to the store, explains Hardman. Getting into this habit can turn you into a more conscious buyer, thinking before you purchase an item and limiting what you buy. You also could earn some money by selling items on platforms such as Facebook Marketplace.

Feel less stress overall when everything has a home. Your family is less harried as they go about their day since they spend less time looking for items and know where to put things. Menakaya has found having an organized home brings families together since they argue less over clutter and feel calm in their surroundings. She refers to this as “Happier Home, Happier Life.”

Boost your energy and focus. You’re no longer surrounded by things in limbo that compete for your energy and your attention, says Beck. She likes this quote by Barbara Hemphill that “Clutter is postponed decisions.” With the visual noise of clutter gone, you’ll focus more and embrace the calm confidence of being organized.

Maintain Your Organized Home

You don’t want to return to a cycle of clutter, so take the time to prevent this from happening or to keep it to a minimum. 

Life changes and your home needs to reflect your life today. It’s important to remember that your stuff will change as your life changes, whether you’re a young couple, empty nesters, retirees or a family with small children or teenagers. Stay on top of purging items you no longer need and don’t feel compelled to hold on to things. Retirees shouldn’t burden their grown children with all their stuff — rather hold on to the stories behind these items and share those memories with your family. 

Be ruthless with what’s allowed in your home. Beck strongly encourages you to ask yourself, “What is this for? Is it helpful? Do I need it?” Hardman shares one simple rule with clients, “one in, one out.” If you have five black sweaters and want to buy another one, then one goes out. Menakaya goes a bit further with her “buy one item, then three items must go.” And it doesn’t matter what three items go — walk around your home and find them.

Mark your calendar and declutter as you transition to new seasons. That means decluttering at least four times a year — winter, spring, summer, fall. It’ll keep you on task to purge seasonal items, such as winter boots or jackets your kids have outgrown or holiday decor you no longer want. Menakaya also suggests adding small tasks such as “drop off shoes”  or “shred paper” to your calendar each week to help you stay accountable and create a routine. Plus have an accessible bin or two in your home for items you want to donate so it’s all in one place for easy drop-off or pickup.

Come up with a functional plan that works for your family. Be realistic about what will work for them. Can they handle a detailed system with labeled bins or a general system with more flexibility in where things are stored? Think individual cubbies or one large basket for shoes. Do they mind taking more time to put something away but less time to find OR taking less time to put away but more time to find?

Call in the Experts

If you feel too overwhelmed with your home’s clutter or perhaps you don’t have the time to declutter, then you might want to consider expert help. Professional organizers can provide encouragement, hands-on assistance, accountability and even maintenance programs.

An organizer can evaluate your space, go over its needs and uses, and create a vision for this space. They can help you make decisions while sorting, find places to rehome items, and even purchase storage containers for you. Plus they’ll take away all the donated and tossed items so your home is completely organized when they leave.

An added bonus when working with a professional is their relationships with other experts, such as estate sale vendors, auction houses, junk removal services, digitizers, book buyers, mobile shredders and even an expert on military regalia, according to Beck. 

Hardman, Beck and Menakaya understand that their clients are letting them into their homes and trusting them in their personal space. They’re there to help and not judge, and try to make their clients feel comfortable.

When Hardman first started Tidy Up, many of her clients were mothers with young children and rooms cluttered with toys. Just having someone working side by side gave these moms the relief they needed.

@tidyuplaine; www.tidyupnow.com

Beck, owner of NowSized, sees many clients with busy careers and lives so showing them how to set up an organizing system for their life right

now is the core of her business. www.NowSized.com

Menakaya of Lavender Organizes believes her services are an investment in her clients’ mental health and in the upkeep of their homes. She also tries to emphasize the fun in organizing and with her signature color. @lavenderorganizes; www.lavenderorganizes.com

There's more!

Donations — consider local charitable organizations that align with your interests. Check websites for specific needs, locations, and if they provide curbside pickup.

Recycling: CDs, DVDs, Electronics 

  • Best Buy
  • Staples
  • Alexandria City’s Hazardous Waste and Electronics Center

Books

Consigner: Furniture, household goods

Buy Nothing Group

  • Join the local Facebook group to give stuff away for free so others can reuse your items. 

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