Category: Declutter Resources

What can you do today to stop losing & searching for things?

What are the pain points?

• Misplacing items on a regular basis
• Spending time and energy to find items
• Feeling frustrated/annoyed by repeating the same tasks
• Feeling out of control in your environment
• Panicking when you’re in a rush

What are the causes?

• Items do not have a designated home (place of belonging)
• Stress, fatigue
• Multitasking

What is the solution?

Step 1: Designate a Home for the item(s)

When picking a location, pick a place that is:

• Easy
• Convenient
• Flows with your daily routine and lifestyle

Step 2: Pick a place to Store and Display

• Bin/Basket/Bowl on a counter
• Basket on a shelf
• Hook on the wall
• Rack on the wall
• Designate a drawer
• Box under bottom shelf

Step 3: Practice and Repeat Habits

• Try finding and putting items back regularly for 7 days

Step 4: Adjust and Evaluate

You know you need to readjust your system if:

• You place items in random places
• You place items outside of the designated home
• You have to search for items

Try to move the location to an easy and more convenient place that makes sense around your habits.

Example: “I always lose my keys, wallet, and glasses.”

Step 1: Designate a home

• Near the entryway so I can drop and pick up items easily at the door.

Step 2: Store and Display Options

• The right drawer in the entryway console.

Step 3: Practice and Repeat Habits

• For 7 days I will put my keys, wallet and glasses in the drawer when I come home.
• For 7 days I will retrieve my keys, wallet, and glasses from the drawer when I leave.

Step 4: Adjust and Evaluate

• After 2 weeks, I started to put items on the surface of the entryway console.
• I placed a beautiful glass dish on the entryway console to place my keys, wallet, and glasses.
• I find it’s much easier to empty my pockets and pick up my stuff easily off the counter rather than open a drawer.

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Q & A: Tidy Lifestyle Organizing

What triggers cause people to want to organize?

• Feelings of frustration, stress, and distraction regularly when at home or in the office.
• Life events like expecting a baby, a recent break up, or the passing of a relative or friend.
• Special Occasions such as upcoming holidays, weddings, and birthday celebrations.
• Situations involving a big move or trip abroad where organizing and preparation are a must.

What are the signs to start organizing now?

Physical:

• Visual clutter from surfacing being covered and piles of stuff
• Hidden chaos when you open drawers and closets
• Duplicates of the same items

Behavioral

• Losing track of items
• Spending time searching for items
• Consistently buying items at the store only to come home and realize you already have it.
• Buying items only for them to be left unused with tags on or sitting around in original packaging
• Organizing day by day, yet nothing changes

Emotional

• Distraction
• Frustration
• Overwhelmed
• Hopeless
• Out of control

What can I do today?

Start with a category. Clothing is the easiest category to get started with. Clothes are something we touch and use daily. It is much easier to decide what to keep and discard because you know what you wear and what you don’t. Before you organize your clothes, first sort through them one by one.

Begin with a super simple subcategory like socks. Pick out the socks you use often and are prone to grab; use these as a basis for what to keep. Try to compare your favorite socks with the others. Is the band loose and fall down when you walk? Are there holes on the bottom? How old are these socks? If socks are 3-5 years old I recommend purchasing new socks. Once you know what socks you are keeping, check out your storage space – will all of your socks fit nicely? Should they be folded in half or in thirds so they can be lined up horizontally? Learn how to display and fold your sock with Tidy Lifestyle’s How-To Videos.

What can help me stay motivated to tidy?

Take a moment and think about why you want to tidy. If everything in your life was completely organized and seemingly perfect, what would that look like? What is your ideal lifestyle? Describe the physical space, how you feel in the space, and what you would do. Why do you want that lifestyle? Why do you want to tidy? Create a detailed image of this ideal lifestyle.

Before you begin to organize, transport yourself into this vision. This long-term goal is a great motivator and reminder of why you are organizing. Remember that the journey is just as important as the destination. Have fun and take breaks if you’re feeling burned out.

Find a nice space to fold or do a short meditation before you get started. Try your best to reframe your mindset to see organizing as a positive habit that helps make your life easier.

What does Tidy Lifestyle offer that I can’t do on my own?

A personal guide who will support you with solutions that are tailored to your specific habits and lifestyle.

Nicole’s coaching lessons can be compared to a life coach or personal trainer. Nicole teaches clients how to maintain organization through folding lessons, how to categorize, store, and to utilize spaces efficiently. She asks questions to understand habits and behaviors so she can strategically know where and how to place items. She creates an organizing solution personalized for each client and every client.

Too busy to organize? Want to save time and just get the job done? For those busy with work and other commitments, Nicole also offers traditional organizing services where she organizes for you. From organizing, to beautiful displays, to donation drop offs, and shopping – Take advantage of this all inclusive service.

Why should you pick Tidy Lifestyle?

Meet Nicole Sachiko – Organizing means so much more to me than tidying physical spaces. It is a vehicle to help clients learn about themselves, how to maintain organization, and to live their ideal tidy lifestyle.

During my childhood I grew up in a hoarder home. It was typical to walk through “alley ways” of piles upon piles of stuff, a tradition to clear clutter off the table before meals, and a struggle to find items when needed. I can empathize personally with what it feels like to be physically cluttered and mentally stressed. How items naturally accumulate over time and hold us back instead of enhancing our daily lives. In college I studied Psychology, Child Development, and Health Education to ease my insatiable curiosity to help and understand people. After organizing my parents hoarder home I realized how the magic of tidying up can change lives physically and mentally. I went on to get certified with Marie Kondo as a KonMari® Organizing Consultant.

It is my joy in life to help guide you to rediscover what truly sparks joy for you – not only with your possessions but with your life in San Diego!

What are the core benefits of working with Tidy Lifestyle?

Nicole –

• genuinely cares about you
• is committed to starting and finishing your project completely
• carefully considers how to set up your custom organizing systems to make your life easier
• creates a safe and judgment free zone where you can feel fully self expressed

Q & A: Tidy Lifestyle Organizing