organize Archives - Tidy Lifestyle

Single Family Home Organization Before & After

May 17, 2023May 17, 2023Leave a comment

Before & After Portfolio of a single family home organization project!

Rooms include: Family, Office, Laundry, Kitchen, Dining, Garage

before photo disorganized clutter living room — before family room

after photo organization living room family room — before family room

YOUR PRIVACY IS IMPORTANT! ALL PHOTOS IN THIS PORTFOLIO HAVE BEEN APPROVED BY THE CLIENT!

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Clients recieve discounts of up to 20% OFF on products and installations!

How to Organize Duplicates Guide

November 17, 2022November 8, 2022Leave a comment

Learn how to declutter, organize, and maintain duplicates with our step by step guide!

What are the pain points?

Having too much of the same thing
Buying items and then realizing you already have them
Wasting money by buying what you don’t need
Losing time by searching for items and then rebuying when you can’t find them

What are the causes?

Items do not have a designated home (place of belonging)
Like-items are stored in multiple places
Items are stored in inconvenient places – too high, far back, or out of sight

What is the solution?

Step 1: Joy Check Duplicates

Learn How to Joy Check

Step 2: 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 3: Pick a place to Store and Display

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

Step 4: How to Store and Display

Organize items horizontally instead of vertically
The goal is to see everything instantly
The location and way it is placed is easy to get, put back, and maintain

Step 5: Practice and Repeat Habits

Try finding and putting items back regularly for 7 days
When you shop, be mindful of what have.

With a functional and organized system it is easy to take inventory and buy only what you need and truly want.

Step 5: Adjust and Evaluate

You know you need to readjust your system if:

You start to accumulate more of the same things
Your storage space can’t accommodate the amount you have
You buy more than what you use and need

Do you want help with how to organize duplicates?

Connect with Nicole

Tidy Lifestyle Process

November 3, 2022November 4, 2022

See how organizing works with this visual of the tidy lifestyle process!

tidy lifestyle process infographic from start to finish

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Less is More! A Unique Approach to Moving

January 13, 2022March 23, 2022Leave a comment

Less is More! Especially when it comes to prepare for moving!

Moving is the perfect opportunity to Joy Check each and every item we own. After-all, the less we have, the less we have to move! This not only allows us to have less items but also frees space for new items – perhaps more tasteful furniture, updated appliances, in style clothing, and more.

My partner and I have always dreamed of living abroad. We’ve made so many memories traveling to various countries meeting locals, eating street food, exploring cities and adventuring outdoors. However, due to the COVID-19 pandemic we put off traveling and moving all together to stay safe.

Over the past few years we slowly began to prepare for a big move abroad. When we envisioned moving, we identified with the concept of getting rid of most of our things. Instead of going through the headache of packing and shipping items to another country, we decided to take a different approach. Most of our possessions – furniture, appliances, etc. were given to us by family and friends over time. This was VERY ideal for us, as we valued:

Functional things with no emotional attachments
Utilizing furniture passed down while also not purchasing new/expensive items
No hassle to move anything or pay for a moving service and truck
Sparking joy in others lives by donating/selling/discarding possessions.
Having the freedom to move with less responsibilities

This situation may sound a bit extreme to most. You may be asking yourself – but why do you have to get rid of most of the things you own? Honestly, I don’t HAVE to. I WANT to!

Sparking Joy to me personally is less about the things and possessions I own and more about the experiences and memories I create. By letting go of almost all the material items in my life, there is a sense of freedom. Freedom to have only what I love. Freedom to not have many objects to be responsible for. Freedom to Spark Joy in the ways that mean the most to me. Plus having less is ultimately less to organize and maintain! Win, Win!

What is the process to discard possessions?

Photograph & post items for sale online: this can be done through craigslist, facebook marketplace, or other apps/websites. Luckily for me, I love to sell things online! I love giving away things that people could use and that hopefully Spark Joy. I typically begin this process 2-3 months prior to the set move out date. This allows me to take my time and not compromise sales prices. It also gives me time to emotionally prepare myself to let go slowly, rather than feeling rushed.
Joy Check every item that is considered to keep for the move. Yes, even as a professional organizer I go through my own tidying festival by category! I want to be 100% confident with every item I will take with me.
Donate left over items to Salvation Army, local thrift stores, or Good Will. Another option could be to schedule a pick-up day with the local municipal.
Begin the packing process. I intend to have just a few boxes and/or luggages to take with me. It’s always smart to organize boxes by categories and to label, label, label everything! This makes it easier to access things and to have everything organized when I arrive to my new home.
Load the car and thank my home for all its given me – warmth, shelter, and memories. HELLO WORLD!

Less is More Final Thoughts

In our consumer society and high tech world we literally don’t have to leave our home to survive! With amazon, food delivery, grocery delivery, and the many other services and applications we can not only survive but buy anything at the click of a button! As amazing as technology is, it also encourages us to spend. Anywhere you go on the internet markets specifically tailored ads to you – companies learn your interests, habits, desires, and take full advantage to get us to buy buy buy! Some buy for comfort, necessity, or for status symbols of wealth or luxury. Think about your spending habits – What items are worth fixing, moving, and saving? What items are meaningful to you? Why?

It is not things that give us true joy. When we grow old what will we remember? What will we say? “I have no regrets because I’m happy I did…” What will resonate with us most are the memories we have of experiences throughout life. Be sure to create your own, each and every day.

Have nice things and also keep in mind there is so much more out there in the world than possessions. No one is holding you back from picking up and moving or traveling and seeing the world. The world is your oyster.

What sparks joy for you?

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The Art of How to Let Go & Discard

December 29, 2021November 8, 2022

What is the key to being able to let go and discard, for good?

Visualize your Ideal lifestyle

“When you imagine your ideal lifestyle, you are actually clarifying why you want to tidy and identifying the kind of life you want to live once you have finished.”
The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, Marie Kondo

Step 1: Visualize in detail the ideal lifestyle you dream of
Step 2: Identify why you want to live that lifestyle
Step 3: Dive into the specifics of how you want to live day by day.
When we skip this step it-
- delays the whole tidying process
- puts you at higher risk for rebound

Focus on What Sparks Joy, not what to Discard

What adds value to your life? When you touch something that brings you joy-

A feeling of thrill, often a full body experience
A pleasing design/look that makes you feel peaceful
An item with a high degree of functionality that makes life easier
A sense of rightness
An items thats useful in daily life

When faced with something that does not spark joy-

you feel heavy
your hands pause
you tilt your head slightly and frown
you have to think
you feel guilty
for essential items that don’t spark joy, think about the purpose

The Joy Checking Process

Step 1: Pick up one item at a time
Step 2: Hold it.
- If you’re unsure if it Sparks Joy hug it close to your heart!
- Gaze at it.
- If it is clothing, please try it on!
Step 3: Pay attention to how your body reacts- how do you feel?
Step 4: If you do not know if it Sparks Joy, pick 2-3 similar items and compare
Step 5: Show gratitude for each item you keep or discard.

Try not to focus on-

reducing
efficient storage methods
feeling wasteful
giving items away

Instead focus on-

choosing belongings that inspire joy
enjoying life according to your own standards
appreciate how the items you discard supported you in your life
what role each item has in your life

Reframe Letting Go

When we let go of our belongings a weight is lifted. We keep items that truly Spark Joy®. We also allow the items we give to spark joy in other peoples lives. There’s an opportunity to learn from every material possession we own, even ones we discard.

If you let go of something you’ve used until it’s broken and worn out: appreciate how its helped to enhance your life
If you let go of something you never used: it taught you a lesson in how you shop, that it did not have a purpose in your life
Think consciously about each item you discard: how will you choose to live moving forward? how you will acquire new things?

Keep items with Confidence

If you keep it then…

Use and appreciate it.
Create a forever home for every item: find it and know exactly what you have.
It’s natural to not put away everything all the time. No one is perfect. Make it a priority to create positive habits. Maybe you won’t put belongings back all the time, every day, but commit to putting things away.