Welcome to the ORGANISING HUB

The Organising Hub is where we take a look at the different ways to organise your home, belongings and even your life!

First things first! - YOU CAN'T ORGANISE CLUTTER! Please, if you have an issue with an overwhelming amount of belongings, head to the DECLUTTER HUB first and see how to start your process of DECLUTTERING, ORGANISING, CLEARING AND CREATING a wonderful home and life!

What does 'BEING ORGANISED' mean?

More organising hub illustrations_edited.jpg

More organising hub illustrations (2)_edited.jpg

More organising hub illustrations (1)_edited.jpg

It means starting your day knowing you are ready to face the world. You have clean clothes, you are fresh and awake and you already know where everything is that you need before you leave the house.

It means spending your days 'mindfully'. Whether you have decided to do nothing but relax or if you have appointments and errands to do you know that you are more than capable of fitting what YOU want and need to do into your days.

It means that you have homes and zones for your belongings. Whether it is hidden behind closed doors, thrown into a basket or placed in a set of pretty storage boxes, you know where things are and can retrieve them whenever you need them.

It means that you know when your appointments are, you know that you can arrange to meet your friends and won't let them down because you forgot or double booked.

It means that you have routines in place which you can rely on when things get tough but equally they make life a breeze on the good days!

And it means that you can set your own boundries. You won't take on too much, you can say 'yes' to the committments you want to keep whilst, politely, declining those which will overwhelm you and cause you to be rushing around trying to please everybody but yourself. On the other hand you could find yourself saying 'yes' to so much more, now you have more time!!!

Does this all sound too good to be true? Well, it's a journey I have been on, a journey I am still on! Being organised, in your own style, can open up so many possibilities!

Let's look at some benifits you will gain by embracing your own style of organisation.....

The benefits of being Organised..

Whatever style of organisation you have, more of this below, there are clear benefits to being organised.

Being organised reduces stress in your life. You cannot eliminate stress but by having habits and routines in place which streamline and organise your days you can certainly reduce the stresses affecting you on a daily basis.
Being organised and reducing the clutter in your bedroom can improve your sleep. We've already seen in the declutter hub that decluttering significantly improved my sleep pattern. Being organised can also help. By being organised you will reduce the number of random thoughts and worries popping into your head at all hours of the night!
Being organised can save you money! Once you have saved money by decluttering (see the declutter hub) you will be able to save even more by being more organised when it comes to your weekly grocery shop. Once you know what is in your food cupboards, fridge and freezer you can plan your meals accordingly and stop overspending on things you already have and stop buying things you don't need.
Being organised can also have health benefits! As well as saving you money, having a good idea of your food inventory and doing a meal plan before you shop means you can make healthier choices when it comes to the food you are bringing into your home.
Being organised will add hours onto your weeks! By having homes and zones for your belongings you will know where your belongings live and be able to retrieve them exactly when you need them. You may even find, as I did that you spend less time actively procrastinating and actually get things done!!
Being organised can improve relationships and your social life! Just as decluttering can lead to more harmony in the home, being organised can improve relationships outside the home as you have more time to socialise and may even begin to invite people around!

I am sure there are more benefits to being organised which are unique to you too!

How do I Find My Organising Style?

Take a look around your home. Where do you feel most comfortable? Which spaces work for you and which spaces make you feel stressed and uneasy?

Chances are you already know which of the styles of organising you suit best but you've never been shown how to work with your natural strengths!

You may also realise that you organise different spaces in different styles! This is not unusual, don't worry!

Organising Styles...

I owe a great deal to Cas Aarssen at https://clutterbug.me/

She has defined four different 'Clutterbug' types and through my training with her I have the good fortune to be able to call myself a Certified Organizational Specialist.

She separates people into visual and non-visual organisers and macro or micro organisers.

To summarise you will fall into at least one of the following organising types:

Butterfly - Do you have countertops covered in things? Are your most used drawers full of things thrown in there with no planning? If you’ve used something and finished with it, do you stuff it into the closest drawer or cupboard. Is out of sight out of mind for you so you need to be able to see things so they aren’t forgotten?

Bee - If I opened your everyday drawers and cupboards would I see some sort of order? Maybe not strictly defined but are all your pens together? Is your cutlery drawer divided so you know where the spoons and forks should go? Do you keep your calendar out where you can see it and your appointment slips or invites are on the fridge, or somewhere where you can see them?

Ladybug - When somebody is coming around do you stuff things into cupboards, drawers, under the bed? Does your main living space LOOK relatively tidy? Are your drawers stuffed full with no real rhyme or reason? Would you rather hide things than let somebody see your random belongings out in your home?

Cricket- Are the drawers and cupboards you use the most in some sort of order? Does your junk drawer have some logic to how you put things in it - pens together, batteries on the right and maybe take out menus on the left? Do you prefer your surfaces to be clear of clutter and would rather have a specific place for receipts, and paperwork but you will keep them in an organised pile until they are organised properly?

More organising hub illustrations (3)_edited.jpg

Still unsure of your style.....?

First of all you may find that you come under different styles in different areas of your home. I know that in my bathroom I am the ultimate Ladybug! I keep my products in a toilet bag with skincare, dental and bodycare all together. In my office, however I am a Cricket! My stationery is all together and clearly sorted into zones.

There is no right or wrong.

Ask yourself the following questions?
Does having your belongings where you can see them energise you and stimulate your creativity?

Do clear empty surfaces make you feel calm and ready to get on with business?

Are you willing, once your new organising system is in place, to take the time to put things away in their designated homes and zones?

Do you need your system to be as simple and easy as tossing all your t-shirts into the t-shirt tote, no folding or rolling required?!

If you are still unsure, organise to the most visual, macro type - the Butterfly and you can refine from there.

Organise to your strengths!

Hopefully, you now have some insight into how your mind works when it comes to organisation. But how does this help you?!

If you are a 'visual' organiser ( Bee or Butterfly) you need to see your belongings. So use clear totes or cubes that don't have lids. Make use of open storage like shelving. Use pegboards and big easy to read labels.

If you are a 'non-visual' organiser (Cricket or Ladybug) use opaque storage, matching if possible to create simplicity. You feel stressed by the visual abundance of full, open shelves or notices displayed on fridges or pegboards so create storage which contains your belongings.

If you are a'macro' organiser (Ladybug or Butterfly) you need your systems to be easy to use, quick to access and uncomplicated. A Ladybug will want to be able to pull out a tote and throw things into it without having to fold, match or sort. So have clearly labelled baskets - SOCKS, T-SHIRTS etc and literally just throw them in! A Butterfly wants similar ease, storage needs to be very easy to access and use so no lids! Labels are everybodies friend!

A 'micro' organiser( Cricket and Bee) . Micro organisers need more specific categories to feel organised. All their stationery, for example will be sorted into type, colour, size etc. A Bee will enjoy seeing this, the bright rainbow colours of all their pens for example stored in clear containers on a shelf will give them joy! A Cricket on the other hand will prefer to have the same ordered stationery but in a beautifully organised drawer. Again labels are a good friend when setting up new systems!!

Go to my pinterest page and the Clutterbug pinterest page for brilliant ideas for storage for all of the different bug types!!

https://www.pinterest.co.uk/ClutterBug_Me/_saved/