Whether it’s due to a lack of time, energy, ability, or let’s be honest, just not wanting to deal with the mess, getting organized can feel like climbing a mountain in flip-flops. Between work, family responsibilities, errands, and just trying to keep your head above water, the task of decluttering tends to get pushed lower and lower on the to-do list… until it eventually disappears altogether.

But here’s the thing: at some point, the mess catches up with you. It affects your focus, your mood, your ability to rest, and even how you show up in the world. You’ll eventually find yourself standing in the middle of a cluttered room thinking, “Okay, I’ve had enough.” And when that moment arrives, you have two choices: hire a professional or do it yourself.

Hiring a professional organizer is a gift to yourself, one that saves you time, energy, and decision fatigue. But it can also be expensive, with rates ranging from $50–$150 an hour depending on the space and location. If you’re ready to go the DIY route, the good news is, it’s totally doable. All you need is a simple, repeatable process.

Let me introduce you to the Four Basic Steps to Organize Any Space, the same steps I teach in my book, ABCs of Home Organization, and use in every client session.

Step 1: Choose Your Space

To maximize impact, start with a cluttered space you use often.

This is not the time to organize your attic or the garage you only walk through twice a year. Begin with an area that affects your daily rhythm, maybe it’s your kitchen counter, your bathroom drawer, or your bedside table. These are the places where clutter builds up fast and gets under your skin. Choosing one of them helps you feel an immediate shift. It’s a win you can build on.

Step 2: Clear & Categorize

Empty the space completely and group items into categories.

This step will temporarily create more chaos. That’s okay. Take everything out and lay it out where you can see it. Then group like items with like, based on use, room, cabinet, or drawer.

Let’s say you’re working on your bathroom: make piles for skincare, dental, makeup, hair tools, first aid, etc. You’ll also start to notice duplicates or things you forgot you owned. This is the magical moment where decluttering begins.

Ask yourself: What do I really use? What do I love? What feels aligned with the life I want to live?

Decide what to keep (only the useful and the beautiful) and what to discard (trash, recycle, donate, return, or sell). This process doesn’t have to be perfect, but you do have to be honest with yourself about your true wants, needs, and likes.

(And if you realize you have 7 staplers or 12 expired lotions, give yourself a little laugh and permission to let some of them go.)

Step 3: Containerize & Assign Homes

Decide where each ‘keep’ grouping will live and then set it up for ease.

Everything you’re keeping needs an assigned home. That home should make sense for how and when you use the item. 

Think accessibility: store frequently used items in eye-level spaces or closest to the action. Less-used items (like that Thanksgiving roasting pan) can go in higher cabinets or storage bins.

Use containers, drawer dividers, baskets, and labels to keep like items together. This is where your space begins to look organized, but more importantly, it starts to function like a supportive environment.

And don’t overcomplicate it. Label things clearly, but you don’t need fancy fonts or a Cricut machine. You just need clarity and even blue painter’s tape and a Sharpie gets the job done. The goal is to make it easy for everyone in your home (not just you!) to maintain the systems.

Step 4: Reset & Maintain

To maintain your organized spaces and prevent clutter from returning, regularly reset.

This step is the game-changer. The Big Kahuna. The Reason for Existing.

We all have those nights when the suitcase sits unpacked for days, the mail piles up on the counter, or the shoes end up everywhere but the closet. That’s normal. What matters is creating a reset habit.

Think of it like brushing your teeth. You don’t brush once and call it done for the month. You do it daily because it prevents bigger problems later. Same with organizing. Find your reset rhythm: Sunday evenings before the week begins, weekday mornings while coffee brews, or a 10-minute tidy each night before bed.

Bonus tip: Get others involved! Your partner, kids, roommates; they all live in the space too. Teach them where things go. Let them help reset. Create a sense of “taking care of our home”. It isn’t about doing “chores”. It’s about everyone working together to create a space that feels good to live in. These household tasks are acts of care, not burdens, and the caring should be shared equally. When everyone contributes, it lightens the load for that one person, strengthens everyone’s connection to each other, and helps your home truly feel like a place y’all built together.

Getting organized isn’t about perfection. It’s about creating a space that empowers you and makes your life easier. It’s about living intentionally in a space that supports who you are and where you want to go in life. We want our homes to feel like a sanctuary, never a storage unit. And these four steps (Choose Your Space, Clear & Categorize, Containerize & Assign Homes, Reset & Maintain) can help you create that feeling, one drawer at a time.

Don’t try to overhaul your whole house this weekend. Just start small. Pick one space. Follow the steps. Celebrate your progress. And repeat when you’re ready.

Your future self will thank you. 😉

Hugs! <3

Steph

Looking for a little more detail in organization methods? check out this blog post: Organize for You, Not for Aesthethics