As founder of Essential Organizing LLC, a professional organizing company in Seattle, WA., I’ve completed hundreds of home organizing projects and Loved. Every. Minute.

While home organizing is my personal happy place, I know it can be difficult to organize on your own. Clients tell me:
I started to sort before you got here. . . I’d pick something up only to put it back down again.
I walk in the room but I don’t know where to start. I just walk back out.
I had every intention of organizing the kitchen over the weekend and… I didn’t.
If any of the above sounds familiar to you, read on. Whether I’m improving someone’s garage organization system or organizing a home office, I follow the same process with every home organizing client. So here’s the not-so-secret way I organize anything, step-by-step, so you can start your own organization project today.
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Step 4. Now decide if you need that home organization bin or basket.
Step 1. Before starting your home organization project, decide what matters to you.
When I work with home organizing clients, my goal isn’t to help them throw things away or give things up (yes, that happens, but it’s not the primary goal).
Instead, I help people organize their homes to make space for what matters in their lives.
So, what matters to you right now? As you’re staring at your disorganized playroom and imagining the toy organization system of your dreams, what’s your bigger picture goal? I spend the first hour with each client understanding what matters to them. You can do the same. Ask yourself:
What matters to you about this space?
Do you want a quiet area to read? A playroom for tweens instead of little kids? A guest-ready living room? Are you tired of looking at your unfinished storage area and seeing things that make you feel guilty? (That last one is mine… and is a story for a different Confessions of a Professional Organizer). Give yourself some time to consider why it’s worthwhile to you to organize this space and what you want out of it.
What isn’t working for you?
Does your guest room take hours to prepare for guests? Does your art studio feel too cluttered to allow for creativity? Does it take you too long to find things in your pantry? Identify what isn’t working and make a plan to address it. If there are things that shouldn’t change, identify those too.
How will you decide on items to keep, donate or relocate?
Now that you’ve decided what really matters to you about this space, you can set criteria about what stays and what goes. For example, if what matters is to turn your garage into a home gym, it may be time to let go of the camping equipment that you haven’t used since you had kids.
This is also the time to get really practical. Not every home - especially not older homes in Seattle - has tons of storage. Do you have too much stuff, not enough storage, or both? Take this into account and be realistic. If you have live in a 1920s tudor, there may not be enough space for everyone’s shoes in the entryway closet.
What will organized look and feel like to you?
Take a step back and imagine how you’re going to feel as you walk into your freshly organized room. Does it feel spacious? Cozy? Is the organization system so obvious that even a guest (or your child!) could put something away? Your vision is another filter to decide what to keep. If you’re going for spacious, let go of the extra chair that no one sits in. If you’re going for cozy, keep the basket of throw blankets and candles.

Step 2. Sort items into categories, deciding what to keep based on what matters.
Let’s say you’re ready to start a kitchen organizing project. Empty every cabinet and drawer. (Yes, really.) Then find all the other kitchen items that live elsewhere in your home. Do you have extra pots and pans in the garage? Infrequently used kitchen appliances in a guest room closet? You’ll want to gather them all. I know, this can feel daunting. I’ll break it down for you:
Open a drawer or cabinet.
Remove all items, ideally relocating them to another area of the home. This gives you a fresh perspective on the decisions you’re about to make.
Sort the items into categories that make sense to you.
You may only have one or two categories at this point. That’s okay. Now, do it again - the next drawer, the next cabinet, the backup items in the garage - adding to and creating new categories as you go.
Now, edit by category.
Refer back to your vision for the space and your criteria about what to keep, donate or relocate. If you’re looking for tips on where to donate items, I’m a believer in eco-organizing; check out my round up of recycling and donation partners. Several are local to the Seattle area but many are national programs.
Feeling stuck? A professional organizer can help in the moment by asking questions to help facilitate decision-making about what stays and goes. I’ve put together the questions I ask in my free sorting tips.

Step 3. Identify locations for items based on how they support your daily activities.
When people ask me where something should go, I respond with: tell me about how and when you use it.
What daily activities happen here? What activities do you want to happen here?
Really think about the flow of your daily life. If you’re organizing your kitchen, chances are your daily kitchen activities include more than “cook and prepare food.” Do you pay bills in the kitchen? Process mail? Do your kids do homework there? Do you wish they could?
Instead of asking “does this fit here?” Ask “do I use this frequently?”
Look back at your list of activities. What happens daily or weekly? Dedicate the most valuable space to the items that support frequent activities.
How much space is left for the remaining items? For items that support less frequent activities, like entertaining guests or decorating for the holidays, it may make sense to relocate these items if you're tight on space.
Leave room for growth.
Leave about 20% of the space empty in any given drawer or cabinet. This will make it easier to see what you have and your new kitchen organization system won’t break if you get the seasonal mugs out of storage for the holidays.
Step 4. Now decide if you need that new home organizing bin or basket.
I completely understand the desire to buy organization containers at the beginning of a project. Trust me, it will save you time if you save that trip to HomeGoods or The Container Store until the end. Knowing exactly what you have and where you are going to store it before you shop means your bins and baskets will actually fit. Plus, you may discover that you have enough containers on hand and don’t need anything new.

Ready to hire a professional organizer near you?
If there’s anything I’ve learned during my experiences as a professional organizer it’s this: I’m the odd one. Most people don’t delight in organizing their kids’ room or spend their birthday optimizing their closet organization system (I’ve done this an embarrassing number of birthdays).
If you’re in the Seattle area and have tried to get organized on your own but would like some support, reach out to Essential Organizing today. Every home organizing project starts with a free, no-obligation video call to discuss your organizing needs.