Want to know the step-by-step process for organizing any area? I’m sharing the exact steps to organize the top of your dresser, or any other space that you want to organize, in 15 minutes.
One of my students was listening to a weekly call while she was waking up one morning.
She looked over at her dresser and felt a sinking feeling in her stomach.
Everywhere she looked there were piles of clutter. The dresser was piled with junk. It all seemed so overwhelming. There were 1000 things that didn’t have homes. How could she organize it when she didn’t know where to put things?
But, then she heard me say some encouraging words.
She felt a twinge of hope.
Here are the exact steps to organize the top of your dresser, or any other space you need to organize.
These five steps spell the word SPACE. You are literally creating space. Let’s begin.
1. SORT
As you take things off the dresser, sort them into piles. You can make whatever piles you want. They could be:
- Paper to go through
- Stuff to go to the kitchen
- Money you find
- Jewelry
- Makeup
- Etc.
Sort as fast as you can. Don’t make decisions other than what pile each thing goes in. Don’t reminisce about how special something is. Set your timer for 5 minutes. GO FAST.
These are the piles she made. She laid them on a towel on her bed because she knew she’d have to put them all away before bedtime.
(Clutter does attract dust.)
BONUS: Finding $$$ while organizing!
2. PURGE
Go back through each pile and purge.
Sometimes this requires another mini sort. For example, if you had a pile of jewelry, you might now sort it into bracelets, necklaces, rings, etc.
Sometimes it works best to pick your favorite things out of the pile that you know for sure you wear, love, and use. Then, make decisions on the remaining items in the pile. Try to simplify and eliminate as many items as possible.
3. ASSIGN HOMES
If you know the item has a home already, put it away now as fast as you can! Run all the kitchen items to their homes. Take the makeup to the bathroom. Take the fishing stuff to the tackle box. (Who else has fishing stuff on their dresser?)
If you’re unsure where something belongs, assign it a home.
Don’t get stuck in indecision. Just decide on a home and put it there. You can always change it later.
An excellent question to ask yourself is, “Where would I look for this item if I needed it?”
Here are some ideas:
- The flashlights – One goes in the nightstand drawer, the rest go in a small bin on the garage shelf labeled FLASHLIGHTS.
- Candy – eat it immediately so you don’t have to find a home for it!
- Hand warmers – Put them wherever you have your hats and mittens.
- Walkie Talkies – Where do you use these? Who uses them? How often do you use them? Could they live in the camping bin? Consider making an outdoor bin with flashlights, walkie-talkies, ponchos, hand warmers, etc.
- Money and gift cards – Put them in your purse. It’s the only way I remember to use gift cards.
- Jewelry – Could you use 3M hooks on a wall in your closet? Or, in your bedroom, is there a wall that would work? Could you add a divider in a drawer?
Don’t stop. Just keeping assigning homes to things.
4. CONTAIN
Contain like items. If you don’t have the correct bin, use a box with a piece of masking tape and a Sharpie to label it. Or, place the item where you assign it and add the correct size bin to your errands list on the Weekly Planning Sheet.
Use plastic baggies or something temporarily until you find the container you need.
5. ENERGIZE
Finally, stay energized by maintaining a clean and organized space.
First, revel in it. Enjoy it. Go back to look at it often. Celebrate.
Tie maintenance to something you already do.
If you make your bed most mornings, consider adding “clear the dresser” to your routine. After making your bed, grab the items from the dresser and put them away.
Boom! You are done.
Don’t stop if you aren’t done. Exert that extra energy and finish strong. (That’s what I’m telling my high school senior right now, “Finish strong!”)
Warning: It may take longer than 15 minutes, especially when you get distracted and do what this student did – cleaned out her bathroom drawer while she was putting away her makeup!
That’s okay. Organizing feels good and is fun and energizing, especially when you see the results every day!
Keep practicing these steps. Keep setting your timer and following the steps until you are an expert and have organized every area of your home.
“But finishing is hard.” (whine, whine)
No!
“Finishing is hard” is JUST A THOUGHT.
It’s a story we tell ourselves that doesn’t serve us.
It makes us shut down and feel overwhelmed.
Instead, think,
“Finishing feels amazing!”
“I’m a woman who finishes things!”
When you practice thinking thoughts like those, you’ll feel empowered.
And feeling empowered drives actions that help energize you to finish.
Testimony from the course member
“I was listening to the Q&A replay in Organized Life Academy one morning when I woke up. I heard Tracy say, “I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I will get through all of this at just the right time.” Hearing those phrases took me from fear-based and overwhelmed to peaceful and hopeful.
I looked over at my dresser and thought, ‘I could clean that off in 15 minutes’. I was telling Tracy that (and how listening to the replay inspired me). She told me, ‘You should clean off your dresser right now. GO!’ So, being competitive, I ran into my room. I organized everything into piles on a towel laid out on my bed. By the time I was done with that, I really wanted to BE DONE. I put it all on my bed, because I knew that I would have to clean it off before I was able to go to sleep that night.
I told my brain, and Tracy, ‘I want to be done. I’m sick of this.’ She encouraged me to keep going and finish strong. I took a break, worked, went to lunch with my husband, took a kid to the doctor, served at church, and by the time I was getting ready for bed, at 10:30 PM, I realized my piles were still on the bed. Ugh, I decided I am a finisher. I put it all away. I took a picture, texted it to Tracy, and went to sleep.
Now, when I look at my dresser, I’m SO happy. My kids were amazed! I’m glad that I challenged myself to do it and, even though it was hard, so glad that I finished strong. I’m going to use these new ways of thinking every day.
Thank you, Tracy, for helping me through this. I’m planning to tackle two small areas every week.”
~Kris, student
Stop procrastinating. Join me in the course today!
I am so energized myself with the process from Chaos to Order right now. The before pictures show my frustration with “spill over” of life, especially with kids moving in and out. Have learned that taking pictures helps me release things that I really don’t need so I can buy or trade for the perfect thing later on. Thank you Tracy and Kris for sharing your success story!
I am so glad taking pictures is helping and that you are motivated and making progress. Keep up the great work!