Dear Micro-Organizers,
Micro-organizing can be more of an art than a science, wouldn’t you agree?
Finding just the perfect spots for all of your everyday items… arranging them in a beautiful manner… waking up every day to a fresh, organized home…
Sound too good to be true?
For a Micro-Organizer, this is a daily habit! These daily “resets” are just in our nature.
Why am I prone to Clutter?
Because Micro-Organizers are not often found in cluttered homes, one might think that they don’t even have problems with clutter.
But this is quite the opposite.
Many of us struggle with a strong love-it-or-toss-it mentality. Which sounds like a good thing! But this mentality can be ruthless.
A Micro-Organizer can be caught either hiding out of sight or throwing away others’ items just because they don’t fit with their envisioned “look” of the space, drawer, or shelf.
Another struggle is that you may be prone to organizing your clutter. A great thing to keep in mind is that no matter how organized your clutter may be… at the end of the day, it is still clutter.
Neatly arranging 100 of the same pens in a drawer does not mean it’s organized. Considering we can only use so many pens in a lifetime, does it logically make sense that anyone would really need 100?
These are the little questions you must ask yourself.
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Confronting the Clutter
The key to succeeding with organizing for this style is by doing it in small bits at a time. Try to avoid taking on big projects all at once.
Oftentimes the Micro-Organizer can get overwhelmed by a huge project and fall back into their comfort zone of burying themselves in one drawer for hours.
And that one drawer might end up looking like the most picturesque, #IGWorthy drawer you’ve ever laid eyes on!
…But it did suck away 3 hours for what could have been half of a room completed.
Try to hone in your micro-organizing skills by setting an intention to make visible progress with one thing at a time.
This will create a big difference for you (visually and emotionally) as you will see more progress instead of jumping around from project to project!
We’ve already established that you’re very talented with keeping up on routinely decluttering and daily resets. So once you’ve got the bigger picture into play, these steps will come naturally to you.
The hardest part of organizing is the initial sweep-through.
Once you’ve got all your systems set up, the rest is just maintaining – which is a breeze!
You’ll also find that you’re able to get even more done in a shorter amount of time with these strategies!
Living clutter-free: Is it for me?
“When we focus so hard on the tiny details, we leave ourselves open to miss the bigger picture. Details matter and so does an eagle’s point of view.”
– Rosangel Perez
For a Micro-Organizer, beginning a new project can seem like a big commitment.
This is because you see the million little steps in-between.
To make it seem more approachable, keep your eye on the bigger picture. You could even create a vision board for how you want your space to look using magazine cut outs and printed photos.
Start with one project at a time and focus on fully completing it before moving on to the next one.
A great way to stay motivated is to set a timer (20 or 50 minutes, with 10 minutes following as a break) and challenge yourself to finish what you can within the allotted time.
This forces you to get through things faster so you can get more done overall. Perfecting can always be done after.
Containers with smaller sections are also helpful when organizing, as it allows you to sort items into smaller categories (something Micro-Organizers need to stay sane 😉).
Labeling these will make it quicker for you to find an item right when it is needed.
With enough focus, patience, and dedication, it is possible to achieve a stress-free, organized life!
How to start Clearing the Clutter
One of the best ways to get started with organizing your space is to set a timer, and get to work.
Setting limits on yourself helps to keep distractions at bay so you can focus on the real task at hand.
When it comes to the organizing process, it’s important for a Micro-Organizer to adopt a “good enough” mindset. Instead of trying to achieve perfection, break your project down into manageable tasks and focus on just completing them.
Worry about perfecting them later.
When it comes to items that you need to organize, make sure to use containers with multiple sections.
Labeling each section will help you to remember where items belong when you do your daily or weekly resets.
Plus, the rest of your household can easier maintain your systems when they understand how they work and where things should go!
Keeping everything in its place will help your space look neater for longer.
With this method, you can create a visible result by focusing on the bigger projects first and making your way down to smaller ones.
Though at time it may feel frustrating and long to finish a task… remember to choose joy in the process of decluttering and organizing!
Let’s begin with rating your level of commitment to getting your spaces organized:
On a scale of 1 to 10, how committed are you to edit, declutter, and organize the space? (level 1 is not committed at all, and level 10 is 100%, fully committed)
Download these free organizing assessments to track your progress in all areas!
Ask yourself these questions when deciding what you will keep, donate, or no longer need:
- Do I honestly love it?
- Do I use it weekly, monthly, or yearly?
- When was the last time I thought about this item or used it?
- Do I realistically need this item in my life going forward?
- Did I even remember I owned this?
- How many duplicates of the same item do I have?
- What would be the worst possible scenario if I donated or passed it on?
- In what situation would I realistically need or want this?
- What would I like to have more space for?
- Have my job or hobbies changed and it’s time to let some things go?
- What keeps me awake at night or gives me stress and anxiety?
- Am I committed to scheduling time, effort, and/or money to fix or repair this item?
Invest time into YOU
Micro-Organizer, I know it’s not easy to speed yourself up while making everything exactly how you’d like it to look.
But I believe in you!
I know you can do this. It’s not easy to start, but once you do one shelf or one drawer, you gain momentum.
Keep a post-it note nearby if you must, but focusing on completing the bigger picture will take you to completion faster.
So let me know, does this feel attainable for you?
You will feel so much better after clearing just a couple piles! Remember to start with the biggest piles or the ones that bother you the most in order to create a dramatic, visible result right off the bat.
Comment below and tell me about your next organizing goal as a commitment to yourself!
Set a reminder in your phone to follow up in a week and let me know which strategies worked for you! Or maybe you’ll have a new tip for me?
Excitedly waiting to hear all about your progress!
Need more help with decluttering?
I created the How to Organize Your Household Papers course to help walk you through the decluttering process. It includes sections on foundational organizing skills, setting up filing systems, creating household systems, and more bonus videos to make sure you’ve reached your goals.
For further details on the course and to purchase, go here: