A few weeks back, we chatted about getting organized in the new year RIGHT HERE. Then, I shared decluttering lessons from an expert after discovering an incredible new book examining personality types. In today’s Tidying Up My Home: Late Winter we’ll explore an online organizing course I completed and highly recommend. If you are ready to learn some key lessons for not just tackling home organization but for sustaining an orderly nest, you’ll want to read on!
Tidying Up My Home: Late Winter
Click here for the organizing course which provided more ‘aha’ moments than I can say and equipped me with confidence and structure to address the closets and piles I have been ignoring. Best of all, by using the code HelloLovely50, you can get a 50% discount, bringing the cost down to a friendly $50! That is incredible value for the rich instruction included.
This post contains affiliate links which I hope you will use since they won’t cost you a penny extra yet may earn this blog a small commission.
Organizing Expertise From a Delightful Author With a Sense of Humor!
The organizing guru and instructor, Cassandra Aarssen has a gift for calming fears, demystifying processes, and simplifying everything. Instead of linking to expensive storage systems and products, she continually points to the vast array of options at the dollar store. I so appreciate her authenticity and sense of humor!
Is an Organizing Business For You?
If ever you have considered offering organizational services as a pro, you’ll be happy to know this course will certify you to do just that.
It was Aarssen’s outstanding book that captured my imagination and led to my interest in her organizing expert course (don’t forget to use code HelloLovely50 for 50% off!).
Identify Your Clutterbug
Getting Organized In My Studio
Even though I’m not nearly done decorating or organizing my studio, which is this guest bedroom you’re seeing with my $10 French country settee (I painted it, fabric and all!), I have made great progress.
I sorted and purged everything from the closet and this armoire below, finding all sorts of stuff to donate and sell!
Design Details in the Studio
If you follow me on Instagram (Follow me, pretty please!), you may remember we tackled the flooring in here last July. It’s a super low cost laminate product that matches the white oak hardwood we had installed in the rest of the house. I paint in here so I wanted something I wouldn’t have to baby and I wanted an easy installation with no fumes. Total cost? Shhhhh! Around $125 for the product which we installed in one afternoon, and it is wonderful to live with!
Before/After Story in the Works!
I’ll show you before/after pics of the closet and armoire organization when it’s complete!
Kitchen Organization Has Begun
I have also been taking about 15 minutes per day to chip away at organizing tasks in the kitchen.
I started with organizing the pull-out pantry drawers which hold food, and I was shocked at how little time it took me. One of the wise tips I learned in the course was to set a timer to better understand the actual time a lot of household tasks require. Often, we dread particular organization tasks because we think it will take us too long when in reality, it may be just a few minutes!
Less Clutter = More Work Space
I snapped these for you quickly – no styling as you see! With a small kitchen like ours where there is always something cooking or baking, I need to keep counters relatively free of clutter.
The countertop material is Viatera quartz (Minuet) which you can read about RIGHT HERE. I still love it!
Design Details in Our Kitchen
I wanted to show you some perspectives in the kitchen I haven’t shared in the past. Notice the wall perpendicular to the frig wall? We covered it with wood beadboard, installing it horizontally instead of the traditional vertical.
The wee little vintage industrial cart I topped with quartz gets used more than I can say!
Organization Underway in Dining Room
French doors lead to the dining room. I purged the shelves of my etagere in there since I wanted a change AND they were feeling busy. I’ll share pics when I have them styled.
I like living with original art, even in the kitchen!
The wall of Shaker style cabinetry where the frig and ovens are has a very clean, European, and modern feel. When space is limited, using all of the vertical space like this makes sense.
The Flower Market sign was found years ago at one of my favorite shops, Urban Farmgirl…see inspiration from them HERE.
Updates to the Kitchen
At the moment, I have our old farmhouse dining table in the breakfast area. I moved the small round dining table into my studio, and it’s likely I’ll swap them again!
More Peeks Around the Kitchen
The light was so pretty streaming in this afternoon – and so welcome after all of the dreary grey days!
I recently dished about our white oak hardwood flooring HERE.
Rarely Seen Areas at Home
Our house has a catwalk – people seem to love them or hate them, and I wasn’t crazy about inheriting it.
I do appreciate getting the Southern light upstairs though as a result of this design feature.
More Glimpses Around Our Home
I Can’t Believe I’m Showing You Messy Private Spaces!
Although our home is tidy, behind closet and cupboard doors are a host of messy areas requiring more order. This organization course was just the motivation and help I needed to get started on these spaces below. Stay tuned for the “afters!”
Click here for the organizing course and get 50% off with code HelloLovely50!
Click here to SHOP MY HOME.
I independently selected products in this post—if you buy from one of my links, I may earn a commission.
Peace to you right where you are.
-michele
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At my age it is almost overwhelming to think of what will be involved when we sell our home and downsize. We acquire so much over the years and now I am beginning to realize that less really is more. The challenge will come when I have to make that a reality. This course and book could not have been suggested to me at a better time. Thank you.
Author
You’ll get there, Celia! I remember our downsize all too well. 40 pickup truckloads I made to with donations, selling over half our belongings, and using those dumpster bags to watch a ton of junk hauled away. I like that one in, one out rule where you can’t bring in new stuff without purging the same amount. I hope the links are working now in my post…apparently the ones to the course weren’t! Boo!
When I had my interior decorating business, several times someone would inquire: “Do you do organizing too?” Well, yes I did 😉
Because I’m also a former teacher I approached the task as an assignment for my clients. I would ask the person what was most important to them about a particular space’s need for organization, then I’d create an assignment and a time frame. Here’s one interesting example…
The lady lived in a very small home, worked as a house cleaner and had a bad back. At day’s end all she really wanted to do was find a place to lie down and rest. There was truly no space to sit, let alone lie down! I asked her where she’d like to sit/lay down and she indicated the sofa, which was literally piled about 3 feet high with mail, laundry, etc. She was understandably overwhelmed with the task (honestly the entire house was piled high with ‘stuff’) so this is what I assigned her: For this project do not think of the entire house. Think only of clearing away and sorting through the things on the sofa. You have 2 weeks to complete this task. Then I showed her how to go about sorting into keep, throw, etc. piles.
Two weeks went by and she excitedly called me to come see! I was amazed at her progress. The entire sofa was cleaned and she was ecstatic she now had a place to rest at day’s end. I said “You get an A! This is wonderful.!” Then I asked “Where did all the things go that were on here?” She took me to the dining table and there it all was— piled high! :'( My teacher-self then said “Sadly you’ve just gone from an A to an D. The idea was to sort through and organzie as I showed you, not just move it from one place to another.” But readers do not despair. 😉 This lady was lovely and our hearts ‘connected’ so we decided to work on this more together.
I took more time with her, helped her with more methods to go through specifics (how to sort through mountains of mail, how to determine whether to keep or throw an item, should things be kept for repair, etc. etc.) She was a fast learner and we both happily saw progress made. Additionally her grown son who lived with her caught on and he too got into organizing his own space in the house. They were very happy to see their tiny little house becoming a home they were proud of again.
Like dieting, organizing works in the long run of you make a choice to live differently. 🙂
P.S. Yes, some of my own closets need decluttering…especially one place where I keep some home decor accessories I use to switch things up from time to time. With our church rummage sale coming up, now’s another good time to “Get ‘er done!” 😀
Author
Love it! I learned so much in this course – and one of the main reasons I can wholeheartedly recommend it is that it’s not one of those one-size-fits-all deals with a bunch of common sense and product links. It truly helps one examine personality, organizing style, and road blocks. Once we calm down and realize there is hope, the clouds can part. It must be tricky as a professional designer/organizer though when a client’s heart is just not in it – since they are the one who will be maintaining the systems in place. There are several times in the course videos where the instructor says ‘I’m not a psychotherapist so…” and I kept shouting BUT I AM – and I realized I have a lot of tools to help others explore the WHYS of those heaps of stuff and the whys of the disconnects. It truly does relate to my desire to address our figurative “peaceful interiors.” 🙂
Ah yes well put Michele 🙂 The reasons why someone does or doesn’t do something ….anything… is certainly a point to be addressed. In the particular case I mentioned, it was actually her physical back pain that was partly due to her totally disorganized home…..and the fact that she was cleaning other’s homes all day long… so coming home to do her own was just one time too many on a daily basis.
But thankfully after she saw some success her mindset changed. For how long? I cannot say since I never was asked to come and do another follow up visit.
Some people find “peace” in what some of us call cluttered surroundings. Some find peace with what some call ‘stark’ or even {gasp!} “boringly plain” —that’s what my family thinks of my home. 😉
You are so right: what makes us “tick” and what makes us feel “peace in our interiors” is a vast and expansive array of possibilities. To find that ‘peace’ for each individual is quite the task indeed. 😉
Author
Sooooo beautifully and thoughtfully articulated! Totally makes sense that your client’s “piles” represented a sort of freedom from work and an invitation to relax, however ironic and dysfunctional the pattern became! WHAT MAKES US FEEL PEACE IN OUR INTERIORS IS A VAST AND EXPANSIVE ARRAY OF POSSIBILITIES. I love this because there is such an open-ness, inclusion, and invitation there. And you know I love the YES!
I may be getting inspired to actually clean out my closets! Love your house – the artwork by the kitchen is lovely- did you paint it? I like the idea of the mirror on the kitchen wall! Brightens the space up so much!
Author
The smaller paintings are by me, and the large one is an original Melissa James. The mirror was supposed to be a place holder until we did the open shelving thing, but I liked it too much to take it down. It’s the sort of thing you’d see at a restaurant and feels sort of like an extra window. Thanks for the kindness!
I miss you doing a video where you dance in high heels, show your house and paint. Do again soon pleeeeeassse:)
Author
Hahahaha – yes, a dance video is long overdue – so many details though…a spray tan for one. Stay tuned. 🙂
It is rewarding to stand back and look at your tidy, organized rooms. I follow the one in, one out rule, excepting my closet. I like a selection when getting dressed. I do purge every change of season though. I love to organize, so I don’t find it a chore. I’m OCD and my mind doesn’t rest with clutter or anything out of place. Drives my hubby crazy at times but he’s stuck around all these years, so it can’t be that bad. 😉
I love the peacefulness of your home, Michele. I think the way the sunlight hits your rooms lends a serenity to the space.
I’m quite intrigued by Heather’s comment. A dance video? How fun would that be!
Author
You’re a champ – come help me organize – i can’t seem to move very fast! A few years back after I had my surgeries and reconstruction, I made a video where i danced with my dog to celebrate the blog’s 3 year anniversary. 🙂