Anyone Can Organize! 3 Easy Exercises to Declutter Your Life

I wish I had learned this sooner myself, instead of just assuming that I didn’t have the knack for organizing, and I had to accept that my home would always be messy and disorganized. If you believe that some people just have the knack for organizing, and some people–like you–just don’t… then no wonder your sporadic cleaning efforts have never lasted. 

Because the real reason that some people make it look easy, is that… Being organized is a skill.

And skills are something that anyone can learn! Those people who just easily, breezily keep a tidy, uncluttered home, are just flexing those organizational skills that you can learn from our Decluttering: A Transformation that will Change Your Life blog.

If we can agree that being organized is a skill, then we can realize that… it’s okay not to be an expert right away. No piano player dives right into Chopin, you start with Chopsticks. There is a path you can follow towards mastery. And different people will be at different levels.

Their parents taught them these skills at a young age, and they internalized them so that it didn’t even feel like something they ever had to learn. Not all parents and families pass these skills along, but you can still learn these skills later in life.

And I can hear you saying, “Alright, I can learn these skills, but I actually like some of my stuff. I don’t want to have to get rid of my entire wardrobe when I don my minimalist robe.” Well, you don’t have to be a fanatical minimalist to learn a couple of things from the “own less stuff” movement.

Emilio and I both developed our organizing skills through our parents and numerous life experiences. For example, did you know that before the age of 26 I had been employed as a housekeeper, a provincial park maintenance worker, a bartender, a server, a sheep farmer, a kitchen manager, a tour guide, a nanny, an ice cream attendant, a landscaper, a University student, a varsity rugby captain, and the list goes on and on. All of these job opportunities helped me develop my organizing skills across the span of my life. Organizing is a skill and we want you to help you strengthen it with some simple exercises.

Discover your organizing style – it’s true, there is an organizing style that probably speaks to you. Even if you don’t consider yourself an organized person – that’s a style of its own! Once you discover the organizing style that feels right for you, you will be more confident in your ability to stay organized. Because here’s the secret, there is no one way to be organized. It’s about finding out what works for you and your family and owning it!

Write in one place – we are personally big fans of Bullet Journaling, but no matter what system you use to write down your ideas, lists, or thoughts; keeping everything in one place is the key for keeping your thoughts organized. I used to use scrap pieces of paper to make my to-do lists and things to remember, but in the end I just had missing pieces of paper everywhere. When I switched to one journal over 5 years ago I stopped losing things, I could reference my ideas better, and generally I was a lot less stressed.

Use a calendar – you can use analog or digital, but start inputting your commitments. You will find yourself becoming better aware of how to manage your time, which is an excellent organizing skill. This is especially beneficial if you find yourself over committing, showing up late or missing appointments.