Alright ladies…I am by no means a neat freak. My toilets and
floors are not immaculate enough to eat off of.....Nor do
I find it stress relieving to bust out my duster or polish my silverware. But
here are the facts. I work a full time job. My full time job is at a five sided
building that sometimes suspends the lapse of time where 12-14 hour days can
seem like five minutes and 5 weeks can feel like 5 days. No kids….or fur kids….but I do have my hobbies.
My husband. Check. Golf and my many overpriced lessons. Check. Trapeze circus
skills and weightlifting routines. Check, check. Oh…and finally my blog with the
shopping trips, fit reviews, and photos that surround it. Big check. Did I forget to tell you I have diagnosed ADHD?
While one might think there is a large amount chaos for
someone who is hyperactive and bounces around up, down, and all around…..they
are absolutely correct. What I have is “controlled” chaos. I am attracted by
the shiny objects, the pretty things, and the new adventures. In order to survive
the madness and disorder, I have to have some sort of organization to my life.
Not organization as in a neat freak, but simple organization that WORKS for me.
Organization that works effortlessly without a thought in the world.
The method of a madman (or hyperactive gym-rat), I'm providing my 8
organizational tips for an active lifestyle:
1. Start one space at a time. It is always overwhelming to think about a move or spring cleaning. During my recent move, I
had a million racing thoughts in my head that were emotionally draining. “I have
to do my closet” “The back ‘junk’ room. OMG….I will never get it done.” “My
bathroom clutter is a disaster. How am I going to ever go through all of that?”
“I only have three more days!?!?!?! WTF?!?!?!?!"
Pick one area to start. Under your
bathroom sink. Your dresser space. Your closet. DO NOT START another project
until that area is finished. If not, you will have a house of nothing but
unfinished projects. Once one area is done, THEN go to your next task. Large
tasks can be overwhelming….things aren't as stressful if you focus on one area
at time.
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2. Clear out the clutter. This is where it gets
hard. It’s always difficult to get rid of things in attempt to downside. There’s always going
to be excuses and justifications to keep an item. Seriously…GET RID OF IT. If
you haven’t used in a few years, you’re not going to use it. Don’t make the
exception an excuse in light of the rule.
I started sorting my junk into different
piles. I had my definite keeper pile. My box of things to my sister. My box of
things to resell. My box of things to donate. And finally, my box of things to
throw away. If I had things with the tags on it and it has been 6-12+ months,
away it went…..despite me really liking the item. If I REALLY liked the item, I
would have instantly ripped off the tags and worn it. Resell it, gift it to a
family member or friend, donate it, or THROW IT AWAY.
(I
just imagine the TV show “Hoarders” and say to myself, “I’m not a hoarder. I’m
not a hoarder. I’m not a hoarder.” It gives me a little more realistic decision-making
ability and strength to part with an item.)
3. It gets worse before it gets better. It was
messy before you started. Now it is going to be a catastrophic as you sort.
When I was moving I told my husband not to even enter the room….he didn't need
to see the chaos. I didn't want him to deter me from the task at hand.
It will always, ALWAYS be worse as
you are sorting….but don’t start your organization until you have that clutter!
Put away your boxes to your family. Throw away the trash and drop off the
leftover clothes to Goodwill or Salvation Army. It will be much easier to
organization now that all the junk and extras are out of the way. There is a
clean canvas for a new start.
4. Every space has a purpose. As you are putting
your freshly organized things away, ensure that every space has a clear
purpose. Put all of your tank tops in one drawer (or more J), your hoodies in one
shelf, your jewelry in one location. By having a meaningful spot for each
thing, it will be MUCH easier to locate when things are in a hurry. It will
also be easier to upkeep. There is no
thinking when this this done (i.e., keys go in dish, tanks go in to top dresser
drawer). A few times makes something
automatic where you’ll be putting things in the right place without even
thinking about it.
5. Organizers, bins, and hooks are your friends. I
have hooks for my headbands, bins for my bathroom, and baskets and shelves in my
closet. There is no point of having a
specific spot for something if you can never get to it! Organizers separate types
of items, keeping like items together. It takes the same time throwing those
hair ties and hairbands in a bin than just in a drawer AND you can easily see
them and find them when you need them.
6. Find something that works for YOU. Everyone has
their own kooky way of doing things. My brain is DEFINITELY kooky, so I know
some of my things may not be the best for others. Find the one thing you need
in regards to organization. For me, I need to see all of my items or I will
forget about them. If I have them stacked they will be lost or forgotten about.
I vertically stack mine so I can see all of my colors, patterns, and styles at
once. It brings visibility to all of my items and helps me put together some
awesome color combinations I wouldn't have thought of.
7. Make it easy to keep up. This is where my ADHD
kicks in. It doesn't matter if is the most AWESOME organization method known to
man. If your body doesn't not like doing it, you will not keep doing it. I find things that really simple and works
for me. If I know it will be a lot of
work to upkeep it, I won’t even bother. I've seen some amazing makeup and closet organization on Pinterest, but
honestly I could never realistically keep it up if I implemented it. If you are
real busy body, find the things that work for you and are easy for you. There is a bit of trial and error with this,
but over time you’ll figure out what works and what doesn't.
8. Leave room to grow. This last tip is the MOST IMPORTANT. If you
don’t have free space after organizing, you won’t be able to grow and keep up
with it. It doesn't matter if all of your socks are neatly stacked up or your
underwear is expertly folded to perfection if the box is overflowing. This lack
of space causes excuses (i.e., “Oh I’ll put it up later”) and you may or may
not get around to actually putting things away.
When I was in my previous
apartment, the vertical organization was working really well for me….until I
ran out of drawer space. It was such an effort to fold and then try to physically
squish everything thing, things got folded and then never put it….which lead to
piles in my bedroom. (I’m being brutally honest here, so be easy on the judgment
J.) When I moved a few
weeks ago, I ensured I wouldn't repeat old habits. Knowing most of my items are
folded and not on hangers, I went to Ikea and got a second dresser for my
closet. Best $100 ever spent. Now I don’t have any issues putting things away
again. It is just as easy to put them away as folding them.
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The Tour:
Bathroom
The final view of my bathroom! I totally forgot to take photos inside of the wicker baskets. One of the baskets have bath and hand towels and the other has a set of hot rollers, brushes, and my toiletry bag. I got them at Target for $13 each on clearance!
(Husband has his own bathroom so this one is my domain!)
I keep all of my skin care I products I use but don't have in my toiletry bag on the top shelf. Perfumes on the shelf below. I also have face towels, cotton rounds and makeup remover (not pictured) on the bottom shelf.
Deodorant and lady things up on top, skin/body care on the next shelf, then make up brushes and grooming (i.e., tweezers, clippers, etc). I got these great wire baskets at Target for $1.99. On the bottom shelf I have a two level pull out drawer from Target. I keep my chapstick on top, lip gloss in top drawer, mascara/eyeliner in bottom, and my contacts and eye stuff to the right of it.
I used little bins to organize my hair ties, clips, and bobby pins. I got a set of plastic bins at Marshall's for like $5-6 for the whole set. The little square ones have been perfect for my hair ties and bobby pins. I use another Target wire basket for my hair clips.
Nothing fancy here...put all of my hot tools in one drawer.
I have all of my makeup pallets in one drawer. I tried to part with some of them...but I really can't get rid of my Urban Decay Naked Pallets....looove them.
This cabinet was tricky because it was so deep and narrow. I didn't want to waste the space so I used some drawer organizers from Ikea. I think they were also like $6-7 for the set. I like that they have diagonal zippers on the bottom so I can fold them flat if I don't need them anymore (which is doubtful).
I know it is hard to tell, but I sectioned off my products. I have my hair dryer in an over the door hook. I have my makeup sponges and brush cleaners in one basket and my nail polish items in another. My hair products are in a longer rectangular basket. I like using the bins because if I just had bottles in there I wouldn't be able to see them and would be constantly knocking them over. This allows me to pull out the stuff I need an place it on the sink. I know if I need hair stuff, I grab one basket. If I need nail stuff, I grab the other. It makes it really simple.
My tub is odd because it has absolutely no lip at all. I can only fit a razor on it. I got an over the shower organizer at Target to keep all of my shower things organized. (I actually will be downsizing soon since most of the bottles are at the end of their life!)
Bedroom
Don't judge, but my bedroom is really bleak right now! We had a King size set in the previous bedroom and it took up waaay too much room for a downtown apartment. We moved the King set into the guest room (my husband's lair) and got a new queen set. We got the mattress and chest it, but still waiting on Havertys to deliver the bed frame and media stand....then I need to hang something up....I'm thinking something old Charleston related since we just moved from there.
In my bottom drawer I have, from left to right, my pants/sweats, shorts, and golf skorts. I use vertical organization in all of my drawers so I can see everything. If you would like to know how I fold things, you can visit my earlier post here.
Next drawer is my leggings....and what a fun drawer this is! The front row is all yoga crops. I put the prints on the left side and all of my solids are organized by color. The back row is all of my pant leggings and are also organized by color.
(By the way I'm loving all of my extra space now!) From Left to Right, I have all of my long sleeves, short sleeves, and golf polos. I might put something on the end to keep them from falling over...but I need to find the right object. Maybe there is an expandable drawer divider I can use....
My tank tops have their own drawer space. I have all of my Lululemon/Ivivva Cool Racerbacks in the front organized by color. In the back, I have my looser bra-less tanks on the left and tanks with shelf bras on the right.
The small drawer on the top right has all of my bikinis but I forgot to take a photo. The left drawer on the top right have all of my sports bras...which are also organized by color.
Closet
My closet was the trickest and the most time consuming because I had to carefully plan out where everything went. I had way too much crap, but I didn't want it to be a junk closet where I couldn't even step into it!
The left side of the wall already had some great built in shelves. I used those for my shoes. Like my activewear, I love seeing my things so I don't forget about them! I used to have these terrible cheap particle board shoe shelves and they sucked big time. Not only were they really flimsy, but I couldn't even see or fit all of my shoes! On shelves I have my boots, heels, leather shoes, and athletic shoes. On the right I have a hanging organizer for my flip flops, flats, and canvas shoes. I have a hanger for my belts on the left side of the organizer and a hanger on the right for my scarves.
Since my under the bathroom sink organizers don't fit my bathroom anymore...I put one underneath my hanging shoe organizer. I took out the middle insert and put all of my bras on the bottom shelf. On the top shelf I have my types of underwear in the first two sections and my bra inserts in the back section. (I got the wire organizers at Bed, Bath, and Beyond a few years ago.)
Overhead, I have some cloth collapsible bins from Ikea for my seasonal items. I have my jeans in one bin, summer sweaters in another, and heavy sweaters in another. I also keep my travel and yoga bags up on top.
It's a little hard to see, but I have my dresses on the right side followed by my jackets and coats. I have my dresses sorted by occasion (i.e., beach causal, dressy casual, business, night). I put all of my really heavy winter coats in the back corner.
On the right side of my closet...its hard to see, but I have my tops hung. My closet has a diagonal like corner, so it has been great for hiding larger items on the floor like my air mattress for guests and my travel golf bag. I also bought a dresser at Ikea for all of my other folded clothes...tank tops, tee shirts, linen shorts, etc. It helped separate my athletic clothes from my casual....they are no longer competing for space anymore.
Over top of my spare dresser, I have a set of hooks for my headbands. This is something new that I have done and I freakin' love it! I used to have them in a shoebox and it was so hard to know what I had. Now I can see which colors and patterns I have for my outfits. I have my Sweaty Bands on the left, followed by my Pistil Headbands, Lululemon Fly Away Tamers, Lululemon Bang Busters, and some generic Goodies skinny bands. My beach towels and yoga towels are up on top, along with my foam roller, yoga block, and some uniform items.
On the top of my spare dresser, I have my jewelry organizer, some journals, and my extra wire organizer (that didn't fit in my new bathroom)
I have a jewelry organizer from Urban Outfitters. I got it a few years ago and I'm still no where close to filling it up! By the way....I looove stud earrings...especially Kate Spade! I get a lot of great deals in their sale section!
I use my other wire organizer for my sunglasses, passport, winter headbands/beanies, and wallets.
For now, all of my activewear jackets and pullovers are going on my shelves. They'll go in my TV Stand drawers in my bedroom once my last pieces from Havertys finally arrive :-/. I'll probably get some more cloth bins from Ikea for this space once its cleared.
Under the pullovers I have a few boxes utilized as storage bins. Nicer shoe brands have amazing boxes that really sturdy. I keep my socked in one of the boxes (knee socks in back, ankle in front), golf caps in another, and golf belt/accessories in a smaller box.
Under the shoe boxes I have all of my purses. I am soooooo glad I have an addiction to activewear and not purses....it would be MUCH worse on my wallet! I have a few classics, but I can go years without buying a new bag. I try to stick to neutrals that get a lot of use and won't date as much.
So final view of my closet! Whew....that was a lot of photos! I'm am SOO glad to get that done. I'm working on my living room this weekend...but I has been so nice to have a relaxing bedroom, closet, and bathroom! I can deal with forgotten DVDs, cookbooks, and old remotes....I will spaz out if I can't find my favorite pair of shoes or hoodie!
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So that’s my crazy organization from a
non-tidy ADHD person! I hope some of these tips work for you and help you control the chaos!
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