Caroline, I would love to see where you suggest we women store our makeup and brushes when we share our bathroom with our spouse. I have single, mirrored medicine cabinets above our double sinks as well as an area to my left (right inside the bathroom) where I have an open 4-shelf unit and that's about it. Currently, I have a bamboo makeup organizer on my sink to the left edge which isn't enough space. 🤔 It's time to toss things perhaps.
@@lindajohnson2149 I have a dressing table, it has 3 drawers and a cupboard with two shelves, I have the Ikea cloth organisers in the drawers and fridge baskets in the cupboard. I have far too much make up that I am now going to purge as soon as my visitors have left x x x
My degree is in Interior Design, yet the small things were always the things that were not my forte. Large furniture placement, drafting the layout..I excelled at. The small things, baffled. I look forward to watching this video!
1. corral your crap place things on a tray, group objects in groups of three 2. velvet hangers uniform, clothes don't fall off 3. drop zones -> ease of maintenance intentional drop zones, where are you naturally dropping stuff? 4. tiered lazy susan -> ease of access toiletries and cosmetics 5. active zones vs. passive zones entrance vs. guest bedroom, spare light bulbs go in the passive zone melon bowler in the back of the cabinet everyday products in arm's reach 6. maximize weirdo spaces designed vignette or storage space hang up purses between wall and closet (valet rod) ((magic eraser is magic)) 7. closed storage open storage usually more for decor than actual storage, glassware, books 8. subdivide especially junkdrawers, use shoes boxes or similar 9. p u r g e - remove clutter 1. 15 min declutter 2. if it takes longer than 5 min to tidy a room, p u r g e 3. designate a day of the week 10. let go of the guilt of letting go how much work would it take to revive this? couldn't find a summary so i figured i'd post my own
A friend told me recently, "holding onto things that you don't really want doesn't reduce the amount of trash in the world, it just turns your home into the garbage can." It was that kick in the butt that got me to get rid of a free rug I could NOT get the stink out of. Thanks for the extra motivation to get things purged from my home. :)
This works for weight loss, too!! It changed so much for me when I realized that eating all the food on my plate or finishing leftovers from the fridge when I wasn’t hungry, all in the name of avoiding waste wasn’t accomplishing anything except making and keeping me overweight. Same concept.
Tip: those “weirdo” spaces may have been necessary to run plumbing or electric so always use a stud finder and MAKE SURE you know what you are drilling into.
@@Its.Just.Savy2.0 a stud finder should have a setting that warns you when it detects electrical wiring (mine beeps super obnoxiously) For plumbing i have no idea if a stud finder would help, you'd have to judge based on where your taps and water heater are located probably.
That is important! But maybe first learn how to grip the drill and position your self for that gentle push - And look where your drilling before you start to drilL
For 50 years I lived in the same marvelous, coveted 4 b/r apt. in NYC until I took a trip to L.A. to visit family. I never saw my apt. again or any of the things in it I'd accumulated over a lifetime. In L.A. I was diagnosed w/cancer, had a successful surgery and adult kids did an 'intervention" questioning the wisdom of my remaining in NYC when all my kids, grandkids were in L.A. I never went back. Gave everything away. I just moved to an unfurnished studio apt. in L.A. and am deliberate in my choices, acquiring only things I love and need. Cannot tell you how freeing it is to start over, fresh. Helpful video, in deciding what priorities are, how to create and maintain a sane and comfortable home. Thank you.
Wish you the best with your illness. I have downsized from 4 bedrooms on 1.4 acres to 1 bedroom duplex. Extremely freeing and satisfying! Spoken from 7 years down the road.
Hoping for a complete recovery for you. In 2009, we had a development-wide fire that destroyed many homes. Ours was spared and at the time I was happy, but then realized if it had taken our house, all of the clutter and "stuff" would have been gone without me having to decide. Something to be said for wiping the slate clean.
I swear this is the best, most practical, useful, and not to mention aesthetically beautiful home organization video on the internet. Loved every second! Well done Caroline!
the aesthetic organization always drives me insane because half the tiktoks I see, they fill a container, but it doesn't hold everything so now you have to store the pretty container AND the original container too
find containers that fit! i have containers that fit exactly what is in a box of cereal or pasta that i bought. but now i can also stack them and prevent bugs.
@@laurenstewart5707 it’s SUPER EASY to set up an maintain, i swear 🤷♀️ okay we are just 3 adults, no kids, but we have to wash maybe 2 containers a week and restock/decant around 3-5. i don’t need to wash the rice container everytime, i just put the new rice in the empty rice container… and i am happy that i found containers of the perfect sizes in my local supermarket.
@@BlondeQtie I see. I guess the big part for me is that it looks too perfect, like a well-stocked grocery aisle, not a home for me. Also, something that looks that perfect stresses me out thinking about all the ways it can get ruined. Good on you that you’re able to maintain it though, especially w/ more people than just yourself! My household… impossible. I can’t wait to leave 🫠
Adding to that, by emptying the original package of food (or whatever) into a separate container, we now have none of the label information or date stamps. But, our pantry can look like a bulk foods candy store! 😂
In my mid teens (40 years ago) my Uncle Ray a very calm and organized man, told me " a place for everything and everything in its place." It took me 40 years to start to understand what he meant. Thank you uncle Ray.
"It's not about making people adhere to the system, it's about making the system adhere to the habits of people." That's maybe the best piece of advice I've ever heard. I always have this kind of discussions with my husband, when we're about to organize things differently. "But it's not that difficult. We surely can do it that way!" "If it requires just a little bit more work, we just won't do it that way!"
I think it’s a bit of both. With a child you need to teach them how to put there crap away in organized way. And sometimes you need to retrain how you put away your stuff to keep the whole family to run smoothly.
@@creativemindshomeschooling1576 Yes, of course. But if you start from how you would like it to work, it usually doesn't last for long. First, you have to observe why it's so hard to put your stuff away, and then find a way to organize it to avoid those problems. One example from our family life: The shopping list. You can hang up a list and a pen and tell everyone in your family to write down when they notice we have run out of an item. That's not very difficult. And yet, it never worked accurately. Obviuosl, the little extra task of having to write something down was too much to compete with people's laziness, it was always: "I'll do it later." Which of course never happened. Then I came up with the idea to make little magnet labels of all the items we regularly need in stock. If someone notices an item missing, they just have to push the label slightly to the side. So, when I have to run my errands and have to make a list of fresh items anyway, I just look at the labels and can see at first glance what I have to buy.
This is basically James Clear's approach in his brilliant book Atomic Habits. Reducing friction - making it easy to do the right thing , by reducing the number of hoops we have to jump through.
ClutterBug's system follows a similar mindset - 4 different styles of organizing/storage, based on what you like + works. Hidden v visual, detailed categories v general. Can work well when there's different people sharing space - you find a compromise or agree to spaces/zones that are done in the way the main user "thinks"
I've been trying to explain that to my mom for 15 years. As a teen, when she wasn't hone I'd just re-arrange things sometimes to make it work better, but she just didn't get it and would move it back because that's where it "should" be. There's a few things I have succeeded with. But it took a lot of complaining before she relented and embraced the changes. She still doesn't seem to understand it conceptually though and make those changes herself.
I was hesitant to click because I thought it’d be condescending, but WOW her delivery is educational and funny at the same time. Glad she’s getting back to the basics and has the interior design background too. Happy to subscribe to this refreshing channel!
I actually stopped the video and I placed some objects in groups of three. (Velvet hangers I already have, replaced them once for uniformity and clothes don't fall off, also space and lightness, love them) Then I stopped the video and created some intentional drop zones. And I went on watching the video bit by bit for three hours. Now it's late and I need to get up early, but my home is much cleaner and better organised and I'm happy. Thank you 🥰
“AND THAT’S NOT WHY I GOT PRETENDED MARRIED!” 😂 I’m rewatching this years later because I find your communication style refreshing: succinct, inspiring, accessible, and encouraging! I feel equipped without having to buy other products! Many thanks, Caroline!
My favourite organisation strategy is to have a basket in my wardrobe for clothes I've worn but don't yet need washing, so I don't end up with a huge doom pile on a chair. It's ridiculously simple, I honestly don't know how it took me so long to learn that this was a thing!
no joke, i was googling solutions to the doom chair issue not even half an hour ago. i'm gonna go buy a basket now, i don't know how i never thought of that
Same here. I actually hang clothes that can be worn again without washing in a spot on the clothes hanging rod designated for that. And pj's go on a hook inside the closet door during the day and my bra hangs on it at night.
one tip I learned from somewhere was put all your clothes on hangers and hang them backwards. Like the opening of the hanging hook is facing you rather than away from you. Then take the stuff you only use once in a great while but still need to keep (like the dress I wear only to weddings and funerals) and face the hanger the correct way around. Then as you wear the clothing, wash it, and hang it back up, hang them up the correct way. Then after a set time, either a season or a year, you take whatever is still facing the wrong way and put it in the donate pile. Don't look at the stuff. Just toss it.
I love velvet hangers! The best advice I got as a young mom was from a slightly older mom: pick up stuff in the living room and dining room every night before bed. Stack magazines and books, throw toys in a basket or toy box, return plates and glasses to the kitchen. Even if the rooms are a little dusty or need vacuuming, they appear clean to anyone who drops by, and make mornings more pleasant for yourself.
YES!! Just grouping things helps with visual clutter so much! Loveee this tip. I feel like I learned the importance of this as a kid - my mom was supperrrr tidy and when she’d come home we’d frantically get up to try and organize things (put things in piles lol) as best as we could in 15 seconds before she saw us. Life skill
That's a great tip. I have one really bad knee. So I end up dropping stuff right by my front door. Guess where they stay.... RIGHT BY THE FRONT DOOR until I need it from spinach to deodorant!!!! I'm going to commit to your mom's great wisdom! Even if nothing else. Thanks.
Brenda, most people don't realize how important this plan is!!! No matter how tired you are in the evening, be sure to put things back where they belong instead of waiting until morning. You never know what might happen overnight!!! I almost always put everything back in place before I go to sleep, but I was too tired one night. I was rushed to the ER during the night and was in the hospital and then rehab for a month. I did send my son to put things away for me, but it wasn't the way I would have. The worst part is that I live in an apartment and the security team came in and so did the weekly cleaning lady and several other people while I was hospitalized!!! That will never happen to me again!!!
Remember to include the kiddos in this game...we would have an alarm at 6pm every evening and we'd scramble to Tudy the rooms up before daddy came in the door ..he'd have a surprised face and act like it was done for him only ...lol which it was lol ❤
You had me at the introduction. Thank you for not making things long and drawn-out. Thank you for getting to the point. Thank You For Being fun. Thank you for doing this for people who don't want to sit around and wallpaper cardboard and create shapes with cute scissors.
I felt a pit in my stomach when clicking on this video, preparing to feel shame about my disorganization. Felt the exact opposite of that 5 minutes into watching. I love your humor and approachability. Subscribed!
I cannot even begin to put words to how helpful this video is. I’ve been crying to my boyfriend and my therapist about how much of a failure I am at organizing my home for weeks now. And all of these tips just make me feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. Thank you so much for making this.
I can recommend the take your house back course. Otherwise on RUclips watch cluttering and find out what kind of clutter bug you are. It helped me so much! And a slob comes clean! Good luck!!
I would add, for the decluttering tip, have a basket or a box in your house that is specifically for decluttering! If you come across a shirt, or a kitchen utensil, or some linens etc that you know you don't want, just put it in the box! It reduces the need to do it intentionally and I swear it fills up quick and then you can just take it to Goodwill and it's done. Great video Caroline and awesome edits by Paige!
I do that, except with a large black rubbish bag. I hang it on the back of a particular door in my house, where it won't be seen, yet is still handy to get to from all rooms. Once it's full, into the boot (or trunk, I'm Aussie, so we call it the boot) of the car it goes! It makes life just that little bit easier.
I really think I'll need to study this video. You're the first You Tube organizing guru that makes any kind of sense to this ADHD/OCD musician/artist/preschool teacher who needs serious help.
Same here, for all cept music teacher and not preschool. First video that was actually helpful that I've ever seen in my life as far as home organization goes.
The drop zone tip worked INSTANTLY with my ADHD husband! Haha, thank you! The second I put a little table by the door, it has become his bag spot ❤️🙏 the funniest thing is he hasn't even noticed the table.
The drop zone is actually an known ADHD trick too lol! Works for everyone too. But ESPECIALLY for us- we have require a bit more drop zones though- like one in each hang out room…cause we are very forgetful when it comes to items in the house. Outside- i hold onto my things very well after loosing one too many things forced me to learn. But the house is where I’m relaxed- I tell my friends- you can tell I’m relaxed and trusting in a place when I start loosing things. 😭 that ping on my Apple Watch and air tag on my keys is MY LIFELINE.
I’m not sure how I found you…..but you just gave the most amazing, solid advice in my entire 42 years of existing. “Not Getting rid of things out of guilt or fear……how hard would I work to save this if it got covered in red wine?…” Literally this is going to change my life
Here here!!! You took the words right out of my mouth also and we r the same age too! ;) Not sure how I ended up here but dang happy I did and found her, cuz this advice and lots of the little tips she mentioned are so majorly helpful!!! ❤❤❤
If I had found this lady 10 years ago I could have saved a lot of stress and money. This is the most sensible, practical, straightforward video on you tube. Totally love it. Well done.
Holy wow. I have ADHD and trying to maintain an organised home has been a lifelong struggle for me, one associated with a lot of shame and upset. Making the system adhere to my nature and not visa versa has been so liberating and useful. Instead of shaming myself for dumping my crap on the counter, I just put a beautiful bowl there. Why on earth have I never heard this advice before. Everyone needs to see this video!! This is actual, practical advice which works for everyday humans, and improves quality of life. Urgh, a million thank yous for this video!!
metoo! tell me something, if you would... and I hate to say or ask this so publically.... do you also feel that ADHD is a kind of intelligence thing? for example, i really liked the way she used the first 30 seconds of the video: she understands the problem. i wonder if we use different types of abstractions than 'they' do.
Also have ADHD. If you want to be extra. I bought a leather catch all tray from Amazon for $15. I don’t know if a bowl is more aesthetically pleasing. I like leather so that was cool to me. And yeah, it’s been amazing. Used to lose my wallet, keys, and AirPods literally on a daily basis. Sometimes within minutes. So this is just a must for me.
As someone with ADHD I personally found it very helpful to write an inventory of my stuff and their general location while reorganising so I could just search a text document and know roughly where to look for something, this was particularly helpful for things like tools and art supplies which aren’t used very frequently but are expensive to replace and you know you will definitely need them sometime in the future. While doing this I discovered that I had wasted money on buying duplicates of things I already owned but previously couldn’t find or didn’t remember buying, and there were plenty of things I thought I still owned but had been gotten rid of during previous moves. In the past I have tried to organise and store things by specific categories, but in my experience this fails because inevitably there are plenty of things which don’t fit in any category, so will be impossible to intuit where they were stored when it comes time to retrieve them, and unless you have unlimited storage space and money for ‘storage solutions’ there is no way to segregate everything into categories that are even remotely meaningful.
@@payasoinfeliz 😆👏 I cannot seem to get myself to do any cleaning or organizing - it gets really bad- but if someone is waiting for me or I have to be somewhere I'm somehow a le to get all kinds of work done. 🥴😩🥺 wish I could trick myself. (Also ADHD+Autism+OCD but not the organized kind- the kind where u can't stop changing clothes or putting the same things on over and over til u feel right about it. Pretty sure I'm agoraphobic. I can be needing to get out and be around ppl until I find someone to chill with and it's time to go I'm suddenly needing to play a game on my phone to self sooth.. f takes me a week to get out the door.
So many of these tips are super ADHD friendly as well, especially the ones about making your organisation fit your habits with drop zones (rather than the other way around) and making sure whatever you implement is easy to maintain!
Jillybot she means OCPD. Everyone gets it wrong, I knew exactly what she meant and agreed but yeah must be terrible for people with OCD, it would wind me up if I had it and that label that’s totally wrong.
Hi guys 👋🙂I appreciate your thoughtful discussion. And yes I would definitely watch the clip again. There is clinically diagnosed OCD as well as OCDP within my nuclear family so I am aware of the reality of what those diagnoses entail - as well as what distinguishes them, and how they are misconstrued in popular culture. In most cases, OCD has very little to do with organizing at all. Which is why I would not - and did not - associate it with the topic of organization. I think that’s an assumption you may made on your own, Jillybot. Words matter, I hope you get to re-listen to them. Thanks!
This is so not my RUclips lane, but wanted to pop in to say that I loved the video and your sparkling personality. The coral your crap tip blew me away when I realized the parts of my home I like are ones in which I subconsciously did this! Keep it up ♥️
The thing my wife and I, and I'm sure many others, struggle with is understanding that it doesn't have to be done in a day. It's easy to get overwhelmed looking at the mess around you and not do anything because you know it's going to "take forever". The trick is to focus on one small thing, get it under control. Habits tend to snowball whether good or bad. A really easy starting point is your mail. When you get the mail out of the box, make the first stop the recycling bin or trash can. Throw away all the junk before you even take it in the house, if you can. We have a dedicated basket to drop the mail that does come in so we both see it regardless who gets it. It's a small step, but it does help create a more organized mindset.
Yep, THAT's exactly HOW I DO what you describe, about the mail and about HOW TO CLEAN UP, ... It's just that 'taking the time to visually focus on a sheet of paper', or on something you need to study, makes most people suddenly feel lazy enough in the brain NOT to take that COGNITIVE CHARGE and initiate a cognitive action. -- That, the cognitive laziness, is the reason why people on welfare, living in gov't funded housing, 99% of the time will have a ROYAL MESS IN THEIR HOME, not as bad as Russian soldiers though, but that's another story. -- The royal mess in one's home has its source in cognitive laziness, and .. believe it or not, that cognitive laziness is fully fixed when I do a round of yoga ... woooaa. -- You wanna fix your messy home? Go, and stay at a Buddhist monastery for as little as 24 Hrs, and man(/other woman readers), does it ever propel you to clean up your home when you return to it!! -- Yep, try it and tell me your experience, please.
@@vkrgfanI recently got a sticker for my mailbox that says sth like "no ads, flyers, free magazines" etc. It is so nice, works very well for all that unaddressed mail.
I appreciate that this is more structural advice than can be applied to different styles rather than just trend based stuff that'll be dated within a season
Love this video. My favorite part was the "if red wine spilled on this item, would you feel relieved or distressed?" method of letting go. Genius! Thank you!
I'm a professional organizer and appreciate you advocating for these practical, livable solutions. I'm so tired of clients referring to Pinterest, etc for the perfect look and getting caught up in not doing the actual work. Thank you!
Yes!!! More often than not, references from pinterest are either unrealistic, expensive, and/or hard to maintain 😅 we gotta be practical!!! People focus too much on aesthetics.
I thank my mother for this. She was the most organized person I’ve met and yet she never had a pantry full of matching containers - she would have laughed at the idea of spending endless amounts of time pouring things from one container into another. The only things she kept in containers were things that needed to be kept airtight. She never felt the need to minimize by removing 30% of her home - she just kept on top of things daily. She had s place for everything and put things away after using them. If they didn’t have a place, she found a place if it was important. If not, she got rid of it. It drives me crazy to see how many women have “organized” their pantries so strictly that if they buy a product they don’t have a matchy-matchy container or basket to transfer it into, they feel like failures. All they’ve done is become so rigid that they spend their time on minutiae while the giant problem behind them grows ever larger.
So annoying when my pretend husband and pretend kids don’t put their stuff in the designated drop zones. ☺️ I think I just found my new favorite RUclipsr 🥰
Out of all the decluttering/organisational things I've read or watched, this actually sounds the most logical. I have no idea why it got recommended to me, but thank you RUclips gods for suggesting it. Solid advice. Also, I absolutely agree with the velvet hangers. I converted to them before I even watched this, and have been avid advocate for them since. They just hold the clothes so well!
I haven't bit the bullet on buying velvet hangers because my husband hangs all his t-shirts and I'm concerned their thinness will leave shoulder marks on his shirts... Has anyone with velvet hangers had that issue?
@@lbatemon1158 No, not at all. Velvet hangars have caused no marks on the shoulders, even on thin fabrics including thin knits. I love the velvet hangars, too. That is the one thing I'm doing right!
She spoke more truth in the first 30 seconds than anyone I’ve watched in a long while …. And she continued to speak truth reign in on all the influencers garbage advice supporting more consumerism. 👏 👍🏻 well done!
I love your presence in this vid!! The authority!! The expertise!! The clarity!! So fun to see your style develop - I’m so happy to be following along on your RUclips adventure!
An important tip for decluttering things you have an emotional reaction to. Digitize it. I had an old metal pail that was tarnished in places and the handle was broken, but I was sentimental about it because my family had it for a long time. I put it on a table next to a nice clean white wall and I took a photo of it. Then I tossed it. It really helps, at least for me, because it's not the physical object I need, it's the memories that it evokes. So whenever you're torn about whether to get rid of something or not, just take a good picture of it and ask yourself "Is this enough?" Digital Hoarding as a way to have your cake and eat it too
Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me. Even my daughter has noticed that I tell many more stories when I am holding and showing the actual item than I do for photographs. The sensory cues of the actual items (such as my Grandmother's sewing machine) trigger way more memories.
@@trishsoren3445 Agreed. I had all my old console and computer games purely digital, incl. photos of the boxes and contents but it simply wasn't the same. Now I got back what was left in my parents' house and I actually got the PC Big Box games with all their contents like manuals, product catalogues, cloth maps and others "feelies" back and on display. Yeah, it's mainly because of nostalgia but it gives me warm, fuzzy feelings and the worth of them is actually increasing. Still have my grandfather's old mechanical typewriter he was writing his letters on until the end, his old binoculars (have seen these being sold for quite a pretty penny on Ebay) and so on. In my parents house is still my grandmothers (might be even my great grandmother's) sewing machine inside a wooden table which it is sinking into so you can use it as a normal little table. Also old irons, cameras and so on.
Exactly and if shopping is your other bad habit then take it one step further. If you go shopping later before they close then take photos of what you used to buy, feel regret about and took back. Sleep on it. Wake up and if you still just HAVE to Get it go to the store when they open and it should still be there. No muss no fuss and if you look at the photo and think nahh, I just like the inspiration then you have that photo to remind you and if nope then delete. I learned this when phones came out with decent cameras and it changed my way of thinking as well as the idea that it can be someone else's blessing if I leave it for them to find. Also you could ask them to put it on hold if you can't get back to the store the next morning if it is during the week and they usually will since it is about to be closing and want to not have to put things back on the racks last minute. Just ideas to outsmart your own bad habits if you are someone who becomes sort of sentimental about items. Easier to change the behavior than the mechanism in you that has some deeper more prime root like the gatherer in each woman from early humanity, right?
I think the decluttering/purging advice should definitely be followed by "ask yourself if you absolutely need this thing you want to buy" because unless you shop responsibly you're always gonna have to declutter. Don't buy another mug if you already have 10, or don't own 5 different black dresses or things like that.
On this: I always wait a few days (if you can) before buying something! If I keep thinking about it/noticing moments I'd use it, then I tend to go back and buy it. If not and you find you've mostly forgotton about it - was probably an impulse purchase!
I agree 100%. I've been going through all my clothes recently and I tossed out so many things that still had the tags on them. It's a combo of "what was I thinking" and I have a stupid moral objection to returning things. Probably because so many people abuse it.
@Janelle... As I was reading through comments your pic caught my attention...Obviously because it's a very pretty picture, but I also notice a striking resemblance to Julia Garner...Either way keep smiling, it looks good on you!!!!
I last watched this video two years ago and I can't get over how I still remember most of the tips and even the little anecdotes???? You did well, Caroline!
As a person with ADHD in a relatively small living space with perpetual hunger for being in a visually pleasing and organized space while sabotaging myself every three seconds this was so incredibly helpful, just for its great practicality without sacrificing form really. Thank you so much. Honestly, thank you so, so much. I mean it. This was a real eye opener for me.
Dana K White's No Mess declutter and organizing method was the game changer for me!! She wrote, A Slob Comes Clean. I've never read the book but her RUclips videos are so helpful!!
Finally, somebody actually addressing the real issues behind the universal problem that we all face in our homes. No matter how much i organize, things always manage to go back to their chaotic state. Love this no-nonsense, very real video, just subbed! :)
I'm not even halfway through and I just need to say. These are the best no-bull-hands-on REAL tips that I have ever heard in my 55 years. Thank you. You are actually satisfying the psychology behind our behavior.
For people that are inspired to declutter & throw away lots of things from this video, please remember that donating anything salvagable will be a huge help. & If you plan on throwing out furniture, place it by the curb a few days BEFORE trash day, that way stoopers might come pick it up instead & it can be repurposed & less waiste in the landfills, and the peices you loved for so long can maybe find a new home instead of dying forever.
Thank you for saying this! I'm one of those folks that will snag furniture from the curb to refresh or repurpose & save it from death at the dump. Some of the stuff I save has craftsmanship that just isn't done anymore & can withstand a lot more wear & tear than more modern pieces. If folks are inclined, a quick curb alert on Craigslist, Nextdoor or FB is really helpful as well. Happy organizing everyone.
Every Sunday I drive around looking for baby stuff, my sons almost 2 now n his whole life I've found SOOOOOO MANY great things on the curb, and when I was done with watever I found I was able to give it to friends who could use the things with their kids, or put it on the curb for someone else as well. I'm so grateful ppl leave stuff on the curb like this, cus I never could've been able to buy all these things, even used, as a single mom and with how expensive baby stuff is!! 🙏🙏🙏💖💖🥰
If you're having trouble mentally, I highly recommend the book, "How To Keep House While Drowning." I got the kindle version because, one less thing, ya know? The book is relatively short, but it talks about real changes: physical, mental, and emotional that you can make as you're able. It also talks about forgiving yourself for not being orderly and organized, which is important. I had a good cathartic cry at one point and felt better and more ready to tackle my situation. One step at a time.
I've watched hundreds of videos about organization, cleaning, decluttering, decorating, minimalism, etc. over the years, and this is one of my favorites I've ever come across by thus far. Absolutely loved this video! I'll be taking the tips about corralling, zones, closed storage and the red wine rule to every home and space I'll ever live in till I'm in the grave. Maybe an extreme way to say it but thank you so much for this! (Also massive props for the lovely editing and cinematography in this.)
Your ideas are GREAT, I’ve just reorganized my room by just differentiating where are the active and passive zones, and by only doing this one I felt my life has changed A LOT and I honestly can’t wait to apply all what I’ve learned from you(I’ve to wait cuz I’m hungry and need to eat dinner LOL), THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Being a chronic procrastinator, 1 thing that has worked for me when it comes to keeping relatively tidy or organised is to just put away stuff the moment I get them. Like coming back home from a grocery run and immediately putting them into their relative spots. Or coming back from a trip with a bunch of clothes and immediately unpacking the things to separate for laundry or further wear, etc. I know if those things were not put away right after I come back, when I'm still in the 'actively moving' state of mind, I'd never get myself to go back to putting them away after winding down or just sitting down in general. It's just not gonna happen, that energy will be impossible to summon back and by the time the energy does come back, I won't even know where to put them anymore and stuff would be left scattered about for a while. But whether every item has a 'spot' is usually the bigger problem, especially with those odd items that are not in your everyday roster of things that sit, they usually just end up on the floor leaning against a wall or something. Living in a small apartment really requires a lot of creativity to maximise space utilisation, not my strong suit 🥲
@@DG-EditsYT Yes that's totally what I'm doing :) I'm just saying it sounds like it cause it could be useful to look into it, not saying that's necessarily the case!
This is what I've found helps too. Stuff needs to go away straight away or it will have a new home in the temporary holding place. What also helps is I have a jute bag which I use for my shopping. When I'm not shopping, it's the recycling bag. All the recycling goes in that bag and the recycling bin is by the front door, so I just empty the bag contents into the bin when I leave the house to go shopping. That way, the recycling now ends up regularly being put in the bin, rather than me having to try to find the motivation to go outside to put the recycling out. It really helps.
Holy crap, I was so shook that everything you said in this video I already do. People have always asked me how I keep everything so neat and tidy. They dont believe me when I say I barely do anything to keep it that way, even with 3 cats and an XL dog going crazy in the house lol. The biggest thing is definitely letting go of stuff and limiting things you bring into the house, itll help your wallet too.. Going crazy on plastic bins and organizers and decor never really helps, adds to the clutter, and makes keeping stuff tidy even more difficult.
Preventing clutter and mess is better than cleaning after. Unfortunately this changes when kids come along. Then closed storage and toy rotation may help but don't solve all issues until they learn to put things back
This randomly showed up in my feed. I've got ADHD, my place is currently a mess. This would have been so useful growing up vs everyone just expecting me to know how to innately organize everything. Tip 1 in particular is a game changer, I can use this right away because visual clutter is immediately over stimulating to me because I can't filter it out. I just see everything and anything all at once. Please do more of this, my organization skills are non-existent lol
Literally SAME! I actually paused this video half way to implement some of the stuff coz I only implement things when I’m inspired in the moment 😂 Already got that dopamine hit 💪🏼
@Karl with a K People with ADHD do care. It's more debilitating because of caring so much but not having the skills or time management to do it without a structured plan.
I've struggled to keep my house clean for years. I would just get overwhelmed and things would pile up. What has been the biggest game changer for me is focusing on 3 tasks before doing anything else. Dishes/wiping down my kitchen counters, laundry, and then room by room tidying up. No deep cleaning. Just putting things away. If I've really let things go, this may take several days. So every day I start with dishes and make sure those are caught up. Then I move on to throwing in a load of laundry, and after that, I always start in the rooms I've already tidied and get them back to 100% before moving on to a new room. It only takes a couple of minutes, and this ensures that I keep making progress through the house instead of by the time I get to the last room my first room is completely messy again lol. Once I'm completely caught up on dishes, laundry, and my house is completely tidy, I then move on to the dusting/scrubbing/vacuuming/mopping etc. I just find focusing on these 3 things is sooo much easier, and it gives me a place to start when I'm feeling overwhelmed. And the key is to do your best to do these 3 things every day.
A warning with magic erasers (Melamine Foam) it works because it is like fine sandpaper, so if you use it on emulsion-painted walls, make sure you know what colour is under there because the eraser will remove the top layer of paint.
Honestly this video feels like a game changer for me. I have ADHD so I am constantly reorganized and rearranging and trying to make things more efficient and basically everything you mentioned just makes SO MUCH SENSE. You've really like, concisely defined organizational problems that have been plaguing me forever (like the active and passive zones) but I didn't really know how to clearly express the issue. Anyways. Thank you.
It might MAKE SENSE! BUT DOES IT WORK? DID IT WORK FOR YOU? CAN YOU KEEP UP WITH IT? OR DOES IT FALL AWAY AFTER A BIT? --------------- Rather than part with stuff I just kept buying bigger houses. Until I had a 7 bedroom, 5 story, 4 bath place, front and back stairways, 3 fireplaces, etc. A bit over 5200+ square feet. And it was full! I had the modern/mid-century modern floor, the antique floor, the contemporary floor, a storage floor, etc. And I lived---- alone! And I loved it! A bit of a jumble but not too bad. I knew where stuff was and just knew that if I wanted to have a dinner party (remember those?) I needed to start about 2 weeks before the event to clean, organize, plan a menu to know what dishes, glasses, and linens I wanted and to start to round it all up, polish as needed, and have things at the ready! If going out of town I started to gather cloths, and other stuff 2-3 weeks early so I had everything I needed on departure day. And it worked well enough. I was never running around like my hair was on fire. I gave myself plenty of runway in order to take off. NO HELICOPTER LAUNCHES FOR ME! SOME PROPLE LIKE CLUTTER! I LIKE A CLEAN BUT LIVED IN, USED FULLY, MULTIPLE PROJECTS GOING ON SIMULTANEOUSLY LOOK/FEEL/HOUSE! EASY, NOT ARTIFICIALLY ORGANIZED PLACE! I OBCE LEFT MY CHRISTMAS TREE UP FOR 3 YEARS, FOR 3 CHRISTMASES! I JUST never hot around to taking it down becsuse I was out of town for 3 or 4 months after Christmas and when I got home I was busy. And by the time I got to it--- hmmm..... I'll just be putting it back up again in 2 months---- might as well just leave it up. So I did. And I would turn it on at night in June, July. August and I thought I looked nice. What did the neighbors think??? WHO CARES!!!!!! I WAS HAPPY! Didn't need the approbation! And since they weren't paying my bills, so yeah, I didn't care, AT ALL, WHAT THEY THOUGHT!!! And I didn't take any polls either!
"I am constantly reorganizing and rearranging" I resonate with that's much!! I moved into an apartment a few months ago andy boyfriend said to me "everytime I come over the place looks different it's always changing" and it's not because of mess but because I clean so often and when I do I change the layout because I'm never satisfied with how organized it is when in my brain I know there's a better way to do something
I usually don’t comment on videos but to whoever is watching and can’t consistently put their clean clothes away once they’ve done their laundry- it’s okay! I have two laundry baskets in my room that I shove the clothes into when I don’t have time. It prevents the dreaded clothes pile on the bed and makes my room feel less messy till I have to fold them. Hope this helps someone!
Here’s a test for decluttering: if I saw this item in a thrift store, would I buy it? It even works on sentimental items sometimes. Like your shredded old blanket that your dear departed dog used to sleep on for example. It helps you see the item through different eyes.
Wash 'em and toss them to the nearest humane society. Like also love old towels and rags. Vets take them, too. (I might be a little pickier with the Vet pile I take)
@@vilmabock478 I actually think that most people would benefit from thinking of it this way "Would I pay full price for this?" Even at the thrift store, you can bargain with yourself and say, "well, its not THAAT expensive...what the hey, ill buy it!" So when I go thrifting I find myself asking, "would I buy this in-store brand new, full price?" Often times, I will leave things at the thrift store instead of lugging more and more "cute" stuff home.
Yes! For me if it’s still there since the last time I did a deep cluttering, then it has go! I’m at the point that I can throw almost anything away lol
Her red wine idea at 20:00 is genius. I keep so much stuff for emotional reasons, remembering when I wore it, associating it with someone, etc. I find it so hard to cull that!! And it's overwhelming. This idea made so much sense - if it's covered in red wine, would I fight to save it or be relieved that it's ruined so I have no excuse but to trash it (or better, donate if possible).
For some reason, this video was recommended to me out of the blue - and I'm glad it was! Excellent video with very practical tips. Lol, I had to laugh about kids helping with cleaning. Here's the thing - when they're really little, they absolutely love helping to clean. The only trouble is, it takes far more time to show them how to do it, than it takes to do it yourself! Then, when they finally reach around 9-10 years of age and are actually capable of cleaning well on their own, they lose all interest in helping to clean. Then it takes more time to get them to do it, than it does to do it yourself! 😂 Nonetheless, very good video!
I also had to laugh. If all the time you spend with kids is being the fun aunt or babysitter, it probably seems like getting them psyched about cleaning is easy peasy. Not so much when you're a "fun spoiler" mom... I liked a lot of these tips but kids complicate them significantly. The idea of vacuuming once a week or only needing 5 minutes to clean a room...? Not relevant to most families.
my 11 year old is my go to guy. He knows where everything is. I'll ask one of my other kids what they did with the cinnamon for example, and from another room I hear, "I'll get it". He swoops in and just knows, hands it to me with look like, really mom, it was right here. My teens though 🙄 On their phones constantly but when I text go clean their bathroom, no response. Oh I didn't know you texted me. uh huh. But it's true that little ones always want to help and think they can. My 12 yo was just telling me they used to be so jealous of the older kids being allowed to vacuum when they were little because it seemed so fun and how they must have been dumb because it turns out it's no fun at all. HA! Just keep at it with the older lazy kids. I never had chores as a kid and when I moved out I didn't know how to do anything for myself. What a struggle. I didn't even drive! I'm determined my kids will all know how to do their laundry, clean their homes, dishes, etc, have good hygeine, pay their bills, and know how to cook and bake. I don't want them living off cereal when they grow up.
SOOO true!! I have a 20 y/o and he's obviously VERY capable of doing almost anything but it can be like pulling teeth to get him to help. And then he'll turn around & offer Big Help out of the blue. 😄
The tip about making the systems adhere to the habits people already have really made me re-evaluate my many many attempts at organising my house. Most specifically the laundry, the laundry is in the hallway that leads to the garden door and has the toilet and bathroom coming off it- I have been battling for YEARS! with my (non imaginary) husband and daughter just throwing their clothes on the laundry floor or not in the specific lidded hampers (separated work/school clothes, towels, etc). But this tip made me realise that I'm trying to get them adhere to a system for me but if my main desire is not to have clothes on the floor then maybe what we need is an open topped basket they can throw the clothes in to. Sorting through a big basket will take me a little more time but probably piss me off significantly less than having clothes strewn across the floor that is the access to the bathroom and outside. So thanks for that Caroline!
I know you recently hired a video editor but it doesn't change the fact that you put soooooo much effort into planning and executing content this good. Same goes for your vlogs, which really feel like a story narrated cleverly with bits of laughs, bits of somber introspection, some heartwarming moments sprinkled in. Please know that we see all the hard work you put in and love it!
Ahh friend!😍🥲this means so much to me. Thank you for taking the time to say it❤️❤️I love working on these videos and saying what I feel to be true. So many more to come
This video gets 5 start. Bravo. Helpful, but also entertaining and aesthetically pleasing?! Sign me up! P.s. I literally bought like three of the things you suggested Before I even finish the video
It’s 👏🏾 ABOUT👏🏾 TIME 👏🏾somebody kept it real on this topic!! Good grief. I was sick and tired, to DEATH, of the unrealistic “advice” of RUclips design people pontificating about organization and design trends. I literally screamed at one video out of frustration: “Some of us actually use our open shelves for books we ACTUALLY read!!!” Ugh. Two words: THANK. YOU. You’re a real one Caroline✊🏾💕…if you’re ever in DC, you got a cocktail, on me 💁🏽♀️😌
Totally agree. I have an extremely messy room and have trouble keeping it clean partially because of depression and this was the first video I saw where I thought I could actually do most of the things.
I recently switched over all of my expensive wooden hangers for velvet hangers. I now have more room in my closet and you’re right things don’t fall off. It’s a game changer.
As someone who feels frozen unorganization, living in complete chaos where I can't even think... This was absolutely amazing and so helpful. Thank you thank you thank you
I used to be frozen by the overwhelming task of decluttering. Dana K White's you tube videos changed everything for me! Her, No Mess decluttering method was the key I had been missing. Now I declutter easily, as she says, "at the speed of life" and never panic over getting organized or decluttering again. My best wishes to you!
Love this video. It strangely appeals to my ADHD brain. It had just the right amount of side notes of distraction and humor without being too much. It was to the point and well organized. Well done!
Love your lighthearted, almost flippant approach, it's catching! I actually laughed... The biggest problem I face with cleaning and organizing is me... I take it so freakin seriously, you'd think someone died. Maybe if I lighten up a little instead of the requiem I always put myself through, I'd have more success. More videos, PLEEEEZE!!!
Same and there’s the psychology of feeling tired where the bigger you make the something the mor your brain is going to see this as too big and therefore less likely to actually be achieved. The psychology theory is that our brains will subconsciously make us feel tired from activities it seems too hard to prevent us from wasting time on impossible tasks- doing something over and over again with the same (or no) result is the definition of crazy- and tiredness is the thing supposed to prevent us from doing that. The less likely you subconsciously think something is to going to be done, the more it will make you tired. That’s why believing you can is such a fundamental principle in life. Tricking your mind into doing that is something perfectionists have to learn. I make a big deal out of the small things too because I hold those things dear in the details- and I’m a bit of a perfectionist- but that leads to me burning out so much. It got to the point showering felt exhausting where I had to start reanalyzing my approach to things. Chunks. I’m a big planner. But that’s exhausting to your brain to think about. So I save my most energetic times to plan- JUST plan. And when it’s time to actually do the plan- that plan is really on the back burner from now on- my only focus and goal is to get one small task done. Because that’s easy- of course I can get that done! And if I don’t get to more so what? At least I’m taking action and making progress! That’s the big deal! My family is having to sell our grandparents/parents house and I’m one of the leads on getting things logged and up online to be sold. We have told everyone- each of us needs to do one task- one corner or cleaning thing done- for each day- and it has helped so much.
@@tiffariff You are a sweetheart with your reply! It's actually an obvious solution, but what I found is that in order to keep my home in some sort of order, I have to entertain. None of this covid hermit stuff. That's when I got so overwhelmed. I retired 10 months into the pandemic and took boxes that had been stored in a bedroom into the living room to sort...THAT was a disaster. I did donate, rehome and recycle boxes and boxes of items, and consigned a few. But I reached a point where I couldn't think or function any more. The only thing that saved me was my son coming home for Christmas LOL everything that was left went back in the room. I learned two good lessons: sort one box at a time, and keep entertaining friends, that way the counters don't become overwhelmed with clutter and downsizing/organizing attempts stay manageable. There are also so many various reasons we each struggle, which is why a trusted clutter buddy or two, motivational tapes and zoom declutter marathons are so important! We're all at different stages of our lives and have different life circumstances to confront. Fight or flight is a great concept, but I would add in a third factor: freeze. When you are powerless to change your life circumstances for whatever reasons, illness, divorce, death, recessions (and the real fear of being unemployed and not able to find another job), potential bankruptcy or losing your life's savings from any of the above, or any combo... I think it is a human quality to freeze, much as you would in the presence of a large animal. This negates progress and organization. Some people say a messy house is a sign of a messy mind. I also believe it can be a sign of indecision or turmoil. Much success to all in this New Year! Let's make 2023 the best ever!
@@agenthayek Thnx for the idea, I am probably more than a little ADD; when I listen to most music I can't keep my mind on what I'm doing. I either want to dance, sing along (or both), star in a musical, sit down and listen intently, or if it's classical, fall asleep. I'm toying with instrumental jazz and Golden Salt (2 talented young female Italian musicians, electric classical rock, check out their cover of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters); upbeat with no lyrics to distract me. Deva Premal's Gayatri Mantra is encouraging and focusing. I interpret it as a prayer for every creature on Earth. At one time, motivational tapes helped but don't seem to now.
@@calisongbird Yes, you are correct! Scientific basis and well documented in multiple species. We are all just animals with 3 basic responses. Today I pick "flight," LOL, running errands (so don't have to clean 🤣 😂 🤣).
I just watched it for 7 minutes and I have the urge to tell you how much I love the way you are! All the stuff you say is very useful but your personality is what really grab my attention. Hugs, Justyna
So true, you’re just a delight! Love your personality and delivery. “I’m not an organizational freak…*yet” My goal too. RUclips is so smart; I’ve made getting decluttering and organization one of my missions lately and you popped into my life. ☺️ I’m trying to climb out of a “situation” that happened over the last few years and I need a jolt and a kick in the pants to keep the momentum going. I know we aren’t supposed to let pictures of highly organized and decorated spaces be our end all, but I really want that. 😫 it’s sooo hard though and I don’t know why. Baby steps…. Great video 👏🤍🌺
💯 we are in agreement also love the name Justyna! The spelling is perfectly unique. (I admittedly dated a Justin whom I called Yustina, to his dismay.)
I love this video so much that I shared it with my team. As a professional organizer, I appreciate your tips and terms. “Active/Passive space” and “weirdo zone” were standouts 😄
"that's not why I got pretend married" 🤣🤣🤣 brilliant video, excellent tips, so well put together!! Will be sending this one to friends and family for sure. Thanks for the recommendations, algorithm!
One of my cleaning tips is turn all the lights in the area on when you usually wouldn't, throw on some incense or specific scents that get you into the headspace of a shift that's like "oh I recognize this scent, it's cleaning mode time, I'm motivated now" as well as music or a podcast or an audio book that you won't get distracted by, you will be able to listen to it and shift your attention to what you are doing and back. Like it will smooth out the boring parts of cleaning and make it less tedious, but you wont get so focused on it that you forget to keep cleaning.
Yeah, that's a common mental trick. You create an placebo/behavioral association between two things. It's like Pavlov and ringing the bell for the dogs. It can be a physical trigger like you're doing, or even a mental one. Like, if you pick a word or thought you can focus on when you're calm; when you're stressed, you can actually use that positive association to calm you down. So it has almost indefinite uses.
yes!!! I have this one book I only listen to when I'm cleaning. makes the work way less tedious, and motivates me to actually clean so I can find out what happens next. I use this trick for exercising too.
'Making the system adhere to the habits ppl already have'.....this is golden. Thanks for this video, the way my home is right now I just feel like just throwing everything out. It's stressful to see the place in chaos lol
Phenomenal video and tips that aren't just "buy a cute container" and I love your personality. You made me feel sm better about trying to have a nice home on a budget😭
I'm an industrial engineer and a lot of your tips remind me of the 5S system (sort, set in order, sanitize, standardize, sustain). This helps me keep things organized and extra things out of the house (at least for now as me and my husband are expecting). One other habit I've developed is that if I'm not certain of what I want to do with something I put it in a specific bin in the guest room closet and about once a year I go through the bin and usually end up getting rid of most things.
I do the same! I have a kind of "out box" where I put clothes I'm fairly certain I'm not going to wear but am not ready to give up yet. 3 months later I've forgotten all about them and it's easy to let them go.
*Pro Tip for purging:* If there's something you're having difficulty throwing away for nostalgia purposes, organize a photo shoot. Take pictures of the item and put them in a photo gallery labeled "nostalgia", then toss the original item. Make sure the pictures reflect whatever was special about the item. Eg: An old dress that is really tiny, take a picture of it next to measuring tape so you remember how tiny your waistline was. Or a sculpture that looked pretty from multiple angles? Take a panoramic photo or video.
@@bellagreen6660 I had that problem and now I am 138lbs and they fit! Don't let others discourage you, keep fighting and know the turtle 🐢 wins the race 🤣
@@bellagreen6660 keep a positive attitude. My uncle is cheif of police and has dealt with a lot on the job. He is always striving for more even though he deals with plenty of people who are off there rocker and always remain humble 💓🤗
@@bellagreen6660 I bet someone like you has a hundred different ways to be beautiful and I hope the focus on thinness doesn't get in the way of you exploring all of them. Just focus on living healthy & active so you can live forever.
With regard to the open shelving thing, I heard another youtuber say that "open shelves are for display, not for storage" and this rings very true to me. It looks good in magazines and on pinterest because the contents are carefully curated beautiful pieces, not your packaged food, and cheaper daily use dishes. They only really belong in more sizeable kitchens where you have plenty of space for both storage and display.
I disagree. I have open shelves and it actually forces me to get rid of things. Everything on the open shelves are things we need like our pots and the plates and bowls we eat on. I do have a rule though, they have to be silver, white or clear. All the plates and white from the same set. In our deep drawers we keep the plastic bowls and plates, and cups. If there's not enough room, we have too many. My house is 1200sq feet and 4 of us live here. My kitchen is probably the most organized room in my house
@@gggthsb *THIS* is what makes me mind-boggle about open storage in a kitchen. I am not the best or most active cook (I hate cooking, frankly). But even I know that in most kitchens GREASE MIGRATES IN THE AIR & will cover other things. Heck, depending on if you have a true hood vent vs a waste vent that blows it up & over your head aka *into* the room, things the next room over (dining room or bfast nook) will get coated.
I appreciate how (mostly) ADHD friendly this video is. The struggle is REAL, people- and keeping a home (or *cough* anything) tidy is a constant struggle. Other than the closed storage (which is visually much more pleasing, but things will rarely get put back away even with one added step of doors on something… 😳 and also the very literal ‘out of sight, out of mind’ issue…), these are great tips. Thanks for sharing.
My significant other has serious ADHD and yes, I think this video is going to help me a lot. I know i have to work with him instead of just getting upset, and these tips are good and helpful for everyone not just people with ADHD. Hopefully this video will help keep my home cleaner, between spouse and kids and myself.
Oh GOODNESS yes. I swear, I'll get a bug up my bum and just have to clean and declutter. And I love it! And then 2 months later it's a shithole again because I haven't done any upkeep for just a "lack of time", procrastination, out of sight, out of mind issue, OR wanting to do so much that I get decision/action paralysis. Terrible. But keep working on it!
In terms of mental health, I think it's important to stay away from monolithic thinking, because I've been seeing this argument a lot and it does not hold true for many of my clients. For some folks with ADHD, yes, open storage is absolutely more helpful. But for lots of folks with ADHD, the clutter of open storage is part of the struggle and amplifies symptoms rather than relieves them. Open storage theoretically means you'll see everything more easily, but in reality, unless that individual ensures it is tidy all of the time and remains in it's exact place always, everything inevitably piles up because stuff moves around in spur of the moments. Just because it's all out in the open, doesn't mean the person sees each item - they likely see the piles on all the shelves, but they'll have difficulty in differentiating the items. As the environment gets more visually chaotic, the individual will continue having a harder time differentiating items, thus amplifying their stress, which will in turn create a cycle of being unable to differentiate items due to heightened stress of being unable to focus on individual items in the forming piles. In fact, there's significant evidence based research in the last few years that environmental stress increases ADHD symptoms - to decrease symptoms, and increase attention, we need the body and brain to feel at ease (whatever "ease" feels like - for some people, that's watching an action movie or listening to metal). For these folks, it's not "out of sight, out of mind," it's about using the tip she mentioned and creating storage that is naturally intuitive for their needs rather than what is conventional (someone else wrote about placing underwear in the bathroom, for example, which works for their needs, and therefore helps them keep track). Signed, a therapist, behavioral health researcher and ADHD diagnosed person :)
FINALLY a home organization video that actually teaches me something! i've been on an organization kick the past week because i just can't handle the chaos anymore. i remarked to my mom at the beginning of the week that i realized other times we've tried to "get organized" haven't worked because they didn't align with how we naturally live. you're very right that human behavior is the hardest part to change. so now i'm trying to figure out ways to implement solutions that work with the natural way we function and live in our house. there were so many mind blowing tips in this video, i'm going to try them all!!
Side note: LOVE magic erasers too!!! One tip though, If you use them on granite or marble be sure to be gentle and only apply very light pressure as it can ruin the protective shiny coating unfortunately if you apply too much pressure ( former experienced housekeeper who saw this a lot where clients had tried to clean areas themselves and regretted it)
I just watched this, as a lifelong organizer, Caroline’s tips all resonated with me. Organizing is a lifestyle to allow life to happen, not to spend your life doing. Also, her delivery is entertaining. Well done Caroline 😊
Addressing our emotional attachment in a positive way is such an important process. The “spark joy” method doesn’t really work for me. My non-imaginary husband and child don’t always “spark joy”. The items I can’t emotionally/psychologically let go - I pack and put them “on hold”. Often I am ready to let them go by the next round of decluttering. Letting go happens in stages for me😅 This process takes the items out of circulation so I give myself some space to get over my attachment to them. By the next decluttering I am able to make a more rational choice. There are times when I am still attached to one of the items, I just continue to keep it on hold until my emotions are resolved. Often with such items, it’s about finding a more responsible/respectful way of letting go - such as passing it to an individual or group that will appreciate it as I did.
I recommend reading or listening to the audio book by Marie Kondo. At times she recommends exactly what you say here (setting aside emotional items until later). I think the Netflix show had to sort of summarize the method and Americanize it a bit. I was surprised by the practicality she offers.
I do the same. I have a hard time getting rid of clothes so I have to put them in a donation box and keep them around for a while. If I'm still too attached to donate an item a couple months later, I just set it aside for later.
Sometimes taking photos of the items is enough to keep our memories alive, while the items themselves can be carefully passed on to their next appreciative owner.
Omg the red wine trick!!! I immediately thought of multiple things I’ve thought about getting rid of but haven’t been able too and the second you mentioned if you would work hard to get red wine out of it my immediate answer was no!!! I would be relieved to have a reason to finally toss it!!! MIND BLOWN 🤯 🤩🤩🤩❤️❤️❤️❤️
As a preschool teacher- THE MAGIC ERASER IS SO GOOD. Also I love how shame free these suggestions are. The emphasis on personalizing things to you is so refreshing from many other interior design and organization tip videos 🖤
Tip num. 3 is so important. When I was the most depressed, one problem I'd face is clothes being spread everywhere. Clean, dirty, didn't matter. And because I wasn't strong enough to carefully fold them everyday I decided to buy a cute basket and leave it in my bedroom. Having the room visually decluttered and not stepping on clothes everywhere motivated me to keep it tidier and that played a big role on my mood. Sometimes when we're too weak to act we just have to make everything else easier.
This video just vacuumed a ton of mental fatigue I've been feeling looking at the perfect decor spaces of influencers.. so THANK YOU!! OMG. Love this. Subscribing
I clicked cuz she is hot. Lol Zooey deschanel vibes. She looks and sounds like her… but I gotta admit the universe is listening or (fbi cia big brother lol ) bcuz I was thinking lately about reorganizing my man cave.
On my 2 kitchen sink cabinet doors I hang my systems for trash and recycling. On outside of one is an attractive removable rubber lined burlap bag with a handle. I line it with a plastic grocery bag that hooks onto each side. I take out the trash every day or two. It isnt heavy or a big deal. I store a handful of new bags in the bottom. My friends love giving me their grocery bags. I never buy trash bags. Its right there under my counter making it ultra convenient. Total game changer.
Download the FREE Upside App at upside.app.link/caroline to get $5 or more cash back on your first purchase of $10 or more
Caroline, I would love to see where you suggest we women store our makeup and brushes when we share our bathroom with our spouse. I have single, mirrored medicine cabinets above our double sinks as well as an area to my left (right inside the bathroom) where I have an open 4-shelf unit and that's about it. Currently, I have a bamboo makeup organizer on my sink to the left edge which isn't enough space. 🤔 It's time to toss things perhaps.
Of course not available in Canada. Sigh…
@@lindajohnson2149 I have a dressing table, it has 3 drawers and a cupboard with two shelves, I have the Ikea cloth organisers in the drawers and fridge baskets in the cupboard. I have far too much make up that I am now going to purge as soon as my visitors have left x x x
My degree is in Interior Design, yet the small things were always the things that were not my forte. Large furniture placement, drafting the layout..I excelled at. The small things, baffled. I look forward to watching this video!
Loved the video! Those tips were great!
1. corral your crap
place things on a tray, group objects in groups of three
2. velvet hangers
uniform, clothes don't fall off
3. drop zones -> ease of maintenance
intentional drop zones, where are you naturally dropping stuff?
4. tiered lazy susan -> ease of access
toiletries and cosmetics
5. active zones vs. passive zones
entrance vs. guest bedroom,
spare light bulbs go in the passive zone
melon bowler in the back of the cabinet
everyday products in arm's reach
6. maximize weirdo spaces
designed vignette or storage space
hang up purses between wall and closet (valet rod)
((magic eraser is magic))
7. closed storage
open storage usually more for decor than actual storage,
glassware, books
8. subdivide
especially junkdrawers, use shoes boxes or similar
9. p u r g e - remove clutter
1. 15 min declutter
2. if it takes longer than 5 min to tidy a room, p u r g e
3. designate a day of the week
10. let go of the guilt of letting go
how much work would it take to revive this?
couldn't find a summary so i figured i'd post my own
Thanks😊
Thanks 🙂
Thank you! 💕
Thank you!
God’s work. Thank you.
A friend told me recently, "holding onto things that you don't really want doesn't reduce the amount of trash in the world, it just turns your home into the garbage can." It was that kick in the butt that got me to get rid of a free rug I could NOT get the stink out of.
Thanks for the extra motivation to get things purged from my home. :)
This works for weight loss, too!! It changed so much for me when I realized that eating all the food on my plate or finishing leftovers from the fridge when I wasn’t hungry, all in the name of avoiding waste wasn’t accomplishing anything except making and keeping me overweight. Same concept.
Why did you buy 'trash' in the first place?
@@OfWavesAndWinds
Yuk-yuk! 🙄
That is amazing advice that I need to take.
@@Lucinda_Jackson I was replying to the original post, not to your reply, lol 😆
Tip: those “weirdo” spaces may have been necessary to run plumbing or electric so always use a stud finder and MAKE SURE you know what you are drilling into.
This advice, NOT to be ignored.
How can you tell the difference with a stud finder?
@@Its.Just.Savy2.0 a stud finder should have a setting that warns you when it detects electrical wiring (mine beeps super obnoxiously)
For plumbing i have no idea if a stud finder would help, you'd have to judge based on where your taps and water heater are located probably.
That is important! But maybe first learn how to grip the drill and position your self for that gentle push - And look where your drilling before you start to drilL
Yes! One time I was mailing and hit a wire, quick shock and lucky for me it was a quick one 😮
For 50 years I lived in the same marvelous, coveted 4 b/r apt. in NYC until I took a trip to L.A. to visit family. I never saw my apt. again or any of the things in it I'd accumulated over a lifetime. In L.A. I was diagnosed w/cancer, had a successful surgery and adult kids did an 'intervention" questioning the wisdom of my remaining in NYC when all my kids, grandkids were in L.A. I never went back. Gave everything away. I just moved to an unfurnished studio apt. in L.A. and am deliberate in my choices, acquiring only things I love and need. Cannot tell you how freeing it is to start over, fresh. Helpful video, in deciding what priorities are, how to create and maintain a sane and comfortable home. Thank you.
Wish you the best with your illness. I have downsized from 4 bedrooms on 1.4 acres to 1 bedroom duplex. Extremely freeing and satisfying! Spoken from 7 years down the road.
You choose to soar. I am in awe of your strength. Thank you for posting this.
Hoping for a complete recovery for you. In 2009, we had a development-wide fire that destroyed many homes. Ours was spared and at the time I was happy, but then realized if it had taken our house, all of the clutter and "stuff" would have been gone without me having to decide. Something to be said for wiping the slate clean.
Thank you so much for sharing your story and I hope this message finds you well and on the road to recovery
Matt Neil and Nina must love having you so close
I swear this is the best, most practical, useful, and not to mention aesthetically beautiful home organization video on the internet. Loved every second! Well done Caroline!
❤️❤️🥲youre makin me cry girl
I 100% agree! Real advice for real homes!
Agree! Beautiful shots!
Agreed. A completely new and fresh way of looking at things. Gives a perspective I never thought of to tackle organization.
Finally, someone is telling the truth!! And she’s funny!
"Let go of the guilt of letting go"
Best advice for decluttering.
the aesthetic organization always drives me insane because half the tiktoks I see, they fill a container, but it doesn't hold everything so now you have to store the pretty container AND the original container too
find containers that fit! i have containers that fit exactly what is in a box of cereal or pasta that i bought. but now i can also stack them and prevent bugs.
It also just looks overwhelming and exhausting. Imagine having to maintain all that constantly. Pushes me into fight or flight mode when I see it.
@@laurenstewart5707 it’s SUPER EASY to set up an maintain, i swear 🤷♀️ okay we are just 3 adults, no kids, but we have to wash maybe 2 containers a week and restock/decant around 3-5. i don’t need to wash the rice container everytime, i just put the new rice in the empty rice container… and i am happy that i found containers of the perfect sizes in my local supermarket.
@@BlondeQtie I see. I guess the big part for me is that it looks too perfect, like a well-stocked grocery aisle, not a home for me. Also, something that looks that perfect stresses me out thinking about all the ways it can get ruined.
Good on you that you’re able to maintain it though, especially w/ more people than just yourself! My household… impossible. I can’t wait to leave 🫠
Adding to that, by emptying the original package of food (or whatever) into a separate container, we now have none of the label information or date stamps. But, our pantry can look like a bulk foods candy store! 😂
In my mid teens (40 years ago) my Uncle Ray a very calm and organized man, told me " a place for everything and everything in its place."
It took me 40 years to start to understand what he meant.
Thank you uncle Ray.
I have the same mantra, its what stopped me losing my keys every day LOL
"It's not about making people adhere to the system, it's about making the system adhere to the habits of people." That's maybe the best piece of advice I've ever heard. I always have this kind of discussions with my husband, when we're about to organize things differently. "But it's not that difficult. We surely can do it that way!" "If it requires just a little bit more work, we just won't do it that way!"
I think it’s a bit of both. With a child you need to teach them how to put there crap away in organized way. And sometimes you need to retrain how you put away your stuff to keep the whole family to run smoothly.
@@creativemindshomeschooling1576 Yes, of course. But if you start from how you would like it to work, it usually doesn't last for long. First, you have to observe why it's so hard to put your stuff away, and then find a way to organize it to avoid those problems.
One example from our family life: The shopping list. You can hang up a list and a pen and tell everyone in your family to write down when they notice we have run out of an item. That's not very difficult. And yet, it never worked accurately. Obviuosl, the little extra task of having to write something down was too much to compete with people's laziness, it was always: "I'll do it later." Which of course never happened.
Then I came up with the idea to make little magnet labels of all the items we regularly need in stock. If someone notices an item missing, they just have to push the label slightly to the side. So, when I have to run my errands and have to make a list of fresh items anyway, I just look at the labels and can see at first glance what I have to buy.
This is basically James Clear's approach in his brilliant book Atomic Habits. Reducing friction - making it easy to do the right thing , by reducing the number of hoops we have to jump through.
ClutterBug's system follows a similar mindset - 4 different styles of organizing/storage, based on what you like + works. Hidden v visual, detailed categories v general.
Can work well when there's different people sharing space - you find a compromise or agree to spaces/zones that are done in the way the main user "thinks"
I've been trying to explain that to my mom for 15 years. As a teen, when she wasn't hone I'd just re-arrange things sometimes to make it work better, but she just didn't get it and would move it back because that's where it "should" be. There's a few things I have succeeded with. But it took a lot of complaining before she relented and embraced the changes. She still doesn't seem to understand it conceptually though and make those changes herself.
I was hesitant to click because I thought it’d be condescending, but WOW her delivery is educational and funny at the same time. Glad she’s getting back to the basics and has the interior design background too. Happy to subscribe to this refreshing channel!
I’m super glad to hear your enjoyed it❤️
Same!
I was prepared to be annoyed. Totally enjoyed and subscribed.
She could give Joan Crawford a lesson on hangar talk, I agree. But even Joan Crawford wouldn't promote Amazon.
Normal hangers are just an example of misogyny to punish women for owning camisoles. 😂😂😂👍🏻👍🏻👍🏻
I actually stopped the video and I placed some objects in groups of three. (Velvet hangers I already have, replaced them once for uniformity and clothes don't fall off, also space and lightness, love them) Then I stopped the video and created some intentional drop zones. And I went on watching the video bit by bit for three hours. Now it's late and I need to get up early, but my home is much cleaner and better organised and I'm happy. Thank you 🥰
When you said that, i paused mine too and did that😂
And i think it was just because you did it
i did that too😁
“AND THAT’S NOT WHY I GOT PRETENDED MARRIED!” 😂
I’m rewatching this years later because I find your communication style refreshing: succinct, inspiring, accessible, and encouraging! I feel equipped without having to buy other products! Many thanks, Caroline!
My favourite organisation strategy is to have a basket in my wardrobe for clothes I've worn but don't yet need washing, so I don't end up with a huge doom pile on a chair. It's ridiculously simple, I honestly don't know how it took me so long to learn that this was a thing!
I have the same system but hooks on the side of my wardrobe! Encourages me to wear clothes I already have too, so less clothes out of storage.
@@Lucadonta oooh that's a good idea!
no joke, i was googling solutions to the doom chair issue not even half an hour ago. i'm gonna go buy a basket now, i don't know how i never thought of that
@@arcanexarcade omg I love this corner of the Internet where we can get excited about storage together! 😂
Same here. I actually hang clothes that can be worn again without washing in a spot on the clothes hanging rod designated for that. And pj's go on a hook inside the closet door during the day and my bra hangs on it at night.
one tip I learned from somewhere was put all your clothes on hangers and hang them backwards. Like the opening of the hanging hook is facing you rather than away from you. Then take the stuff you only use once in a great while but still need to keep (like the dress I wear only to weddings and funerals) and face the hanger the correct way around. Then as you wear the clothing, wash it, and hang it back up, hang them up the correct way. Then after a set time, either a season or a year, you take whatever is still facing the wrong way and put it in the donate pile. Don't look at the stuff. Just toss it.
Finally someone that just says it. Not sugar coated not in soft voices but lays it out. Great ideas. Glad i found you.
I totally agree ... simple and clear
Finally, someone who said it "i don't want home organisation to be my entire identity".Loved your video ❤❤.
I love velvet hangers! The best advice I got as a young mom was from a slightly older mom: pick up stuff in the living room and dining room every night before bed. Stack magazines and books, throw toys in a basket or toy box, return plates and glasses to the kitchen. Even if the rooms are a little dusty or need vacuuming, they appear clean to anyone who drops by, and make mornings more pleasant for yourself.
YES!! Just grouping things helps with visual clutter so much! Loveee this tip. I feel like I learned the importance of this as a kid - my mom was supperrrr tidy and when she’d come home we’d frantically get up to try and organize things (put things in piles lol) as best as we could in 15 seconds before she saw us. Life skill
That's a great tip. I have one really bad knee. So I end up dropping stuff right by my front door. Guess where they stay.... RIGHT BY THE FRONT DOOR until I need it from spinach to deodorant!!!! I'm going to commit to your mom's great wisdom! Even if nothing else. Thanks.
Yes my mom told me the same years ago pointing out if the house is "picked up" it looks decent.
Brenda, most people don't realize how important this plan is!!! No matter how tired you are in the evening, be sure to put things back where they belong instead of waiting until morning. You never know what might happen overnight!!! I almost always put everything back in place before I go to sleep, but I was too tired one night. I was rushed to the ER during the night and was in the hospital and then rehab for a month. I did send my son to put things away for me, but it wasn't the way I would have. The worst part is that I live in an apartment and the security team came in and so did the weekly cleaning lady and several other people while I was hospitalized!!! That will never happen to me again!!!
Remember to include the kiddos in this game...we would have an alarm at 6pm every evening and we'd scramble to Tudy the rooms up before daddy came in the door ..he'd have a surprised face and act like it was done for him only ...lol which it was lol ❤
WHEW this may be your best video yet! I love how realistic these tips are, I feel like everyone always ignores the practicality of home organization
so so glad it feels helpful! i love trying to translate some of these over curated topics into realism!
I agree! As a person with ADHD I am hyped! The magic eraser sounds like a dream. A dream!
You had me at the introduction. Thank you for not making things long and drawn-out. Thank you for getting to the point. Thank You For Being fun. Thank you for doing this for people who don't want to sit around and wallpaper cardboard and create shapes with cute scissors.
I like you! Lol
Thank you for being short sweet and to the point!
OMG i love u, I'm a personal assistant and have always said "u can't change the person u change the space" and yr hilarious!
I felt a pit in my stomach when clicking on this video, preparing to feel shame about my disorganization. Felt the exact opposite of that 5 minutes into watching. I love your humor and approachability. Subscribed!
same!
Me too! I was thrilled when I realized I have done a few things RIGHt Too
Some of the things in this video doesn't really apply to alot of people, especially when your space isn't that big. I actually don't have closets.
same here!
Same! Practicality with a side of humor and a pinch of snark…we could definitely be friends! 😂 Glad I found this. Subscribed!
I cannot even begin to put words to how helpful this video is. I’ve been crying to my boyfriend and my therapist about how much of a failure I am at organizing my home for weeks now. And all of these tips just make me feel like a huge weight has been lifted off of me. Thank you so much for making this.
I can recommend the take your house back course.
Otherwise on RUclips watch cluttering and find out what kind of clutter bug you are. It helped me so much! And a slob comes clean! Good luck!!
@@jinde75 yes! I’m a member of that as well! Totally worth it! Your home is your container!
Exactly
Same feeling..i am going through right now....unable to manage home
❤️
I would add, for the decluttering tip, have a basket or a box in your house that is specifically for decluttering! If you come across a shirt, or a kitchen utensil, or some linens etc that you know you don't want, just put it in the box! It reduces the need to do it intentionally and I swear it fills up quick and then you can just take it to Goodwill and it's done. Great video Caroline and awesome edits by Paige!
Wowww so helpful love this. Could see this being particularly helpful with kids in the home. I’ve never heard this before thank u!!
Whilst that is a good idea, inu case it will stay full of items and cintinue to fill up for weeks...
I do that, except with a large black rubbish bag.
I hang it on the back of a particular door in my house, where it won't be seen, yet is still handy to get to from all rooms.
Once it's full, into the boot (or trunk, I'm Aussie, so we call it the boot) of the car it goes!
It makes life just that little bit easier.
My cousin always used to say this...why didn't I listen. Ha ha! I had bags of stuff sitting by my garbage bin. They're in the way!
i use a bag works well and then you have to book a trip to the donation center lol
I really think I'll need to study this video.
You're the first You Tube organizing guru that makes any kind of sense to this ADHD/OCD musician/artist/preschool teacher who needs serious help.
I concur .. we are always learning
Currently purging ✨🙌🙄
are we the same person?? 😂
Same here, for all cept music teacher and not preschool. First video that was actually helpful that I've ever seen in my life as far as home organization goes.
@@AngelBabe what is "purging" ? 😧
Agreed
The drop zone tip worked INSTANTLY with my ADHD husband! Haha, thank you! The second I put a little table by the door, it has become his bag spot ❤️🙏 the funniest thing is he hasn't even noticed the table.
Love this!
🥰 awwww my adhd boyfriend did the same with a key bowl!
If only my adhd self would do that for myself 🤷🏻♀️✌🏽🤣
The drop zone is actually an known ADHD trick too lol! Works for everyone too. But ESPECIALLY for us- we have require a bit more drop zones though- like one in each hang out room…cause we are very forgetful when it comes to items in the house.
Outside- i hold onto my things very well after loosing one too many things forced me to learn. But the house is where I’m relaxed- I tell my friends- you can tell I’m relaxed and trusting in a place when I start loosing things. 😭 that ping on my Apple Watch and air tag on my keys is MY LIFELINE.
Yayyyy!!! I've been wondering what to do with my grand mother's crystal + brass vintage bowl and now I know!!
I’m not sure how I found you…..but you just gave the most amazing, solid advice in my entire 42 years of existing.
“Not Getting rid of things out of guilt or fear……how hard would I work to save this if it got covered in red wine?…”
Literally this is going to change my life
I couldn't agree more😁
Here here!!! You took the words right out of my mouth also and we r the same age too! ;)
Not sure how I ended up here but dang happy I did and found her, cuz this advice and lots of the little tips she mentioned are so majorly helpful!!! ❤❤❤
I ponder if my house caught on fire, what would I save? Very few things....
I'd be trying to save THE WINE !! GET REAL !! LOL!
@@mariacarmichael4969 same!!!
My favorite part was training the “pretend partner, and pretend kids” lol. So easy to listen to and lots of good info. Thanks!
And later, "that's not why I got pretend married", haha. And need help cleaning, produce offspring!
@@bflynn1985 yessss so funny!!!
If I had found this lady 10 years ago I could have saved a lot of stress and money. This is the most sensible, practical, straightforward video on you tube. Totally love it. Well done.
Holy wow. I have ADHD and trying to maintain an organised home has been a lifelong struggle for me, one associated with a lot of shame and upset. Making the system adhere to my nature and not visa versa has been so liberating and useful. Instead of shaming myself for dumping my crap on the counter, I just put a beautiful bowl there. Why on earth have I never heard this advice before. Everyone needs to see this video!! This is actual, practical advice which works for everyday humans, and improves quality of life. Urgh, a million thank yous for this video!!
metoo! tell me something, if you would... and I hate to say or ask this so publically.... do you also feel that ADHD is a kind of intelligence thing?
for example, i really liked the way she used the first 30 seconds of the video: she understands the problem. i wonder if we use different types of abstractions than 'they' do.
Also have ADHD. If you want to be extra. I bought a leather catch all tray from Amazon for $15. I don’t know if a bowl is more aesthetically pleasing. I like leather so that was cool to me. And yeah, it’s been amazing. Used to lose my wallet, keys, and AirPods literally on a daily basis. Sometimes within minutes. So this is just a must for me.
As someone with ADHD I personally found it very helpful to write an inventory of my stuff and their general location while reorganising so I could just search a text document and know roughly where to look for something, this was particularly helpful for things like tools and art supplies which aren’t used very frequently but are expensive to replace and you know you will definitely need them sometime in the future.
While doing this I discovered that I had wasted money on buying duplicates of things I already owned but previously couldn’t find or didn’t remember buying, and there were plenty of things I thought I still owned but had been gotten rid of during previous moves.
In the past I have tried to organise and store things by specific categories, but in my experience this fails because inevitably there are plenty of things which don’t fit in any category, so will be impossible to intuit where they were stored when it comes time to retrieve them, and unless you have unlimited storage space and money for ‘storage solutions’ there is no way to segregate everything into categories that are even remotely meaningful.
simple adhd hack therapists hate: plan to read a book, and distract yourself with organizing your home instead.
@@payasoinfeliz 😆👏 I cannot seem to get myself to do any cleaning or organizing - it gets really bad- but if someone is waiting for me or I have to be somewhere I'm somehow a le to get all kinds of work done. 🥴😩🥺 wish I could trick myself. (Also ADHD+Autism+OCD but not the organized kind- the kind where u can't stop changing clothes or putting the same things on over and over til u feel right about it. Pretty sure I'm agoraphobic. I can be needing to get out and be around ppl until I find someone to chill with and it's time to go I'm suddenly needing to play a game on my phone to self sooth.. f takes me a week to get out the door.
The ideas - really good.
The delivery - irreplaceable!
Fun and funny.
Ahh thanks James!!❤️
This is the only tidying or organisation video that has ever helped me. I revisit this ever so often.
So many of these tips are super ADHD friendly as well, especially the ones about making your organisation fit your habits with drop zones (rather than the other way around) and making sure whatever you implement is easy to maintain!
the tips weren't the only things giving me ADHD vibes hahaha! I love it. super relatable and relevant for once 😌
Jillybot she means OCPD. Everyone gets it wrong, I knew exactly what she meant and agreed but yeah must be terrible for people with OCD, it would wind me up if I had it and that label that’s totally wrong.
Yeah ADHD here and need so much help with this stuff. Love this video! Watching it again 😆
@@gillianboate She never said OCD. Listen to the intro again. It seems you filled in that detail on your own
Hi guys 👋🙂I appreciate your thoughtful discussion. And yes I would definitely watch the clip again. There is clinically diagnosed OCD as well as OCDP within my nuclear family so I am aware of the reality of what those diagnoses entail - as well as what distinguishes them, and how they are misconstrued in popular culture. In most cases, OCD has very little to do with organizing at all. Which is why I would not - and did not - associate it with the topic of organization. I think that’s an assumption you may made on your own, Jillybot. Words matter, I hope you get to re-listen to them. Thanks!
This is so not my RUclips lane, but wanted to pop in to say that I loved the video and your sparkling personality. The coral your crap tip blew me away when I realized the parts of my home I like are ones in which I subconsciously did this! Keep it up ♥️
Just want to say I love your name and I’ve recently fallen in love with your music! My 6yr old and I are obsessed with Holding Out For A Hero 😊
I love your music so much!
I love your music!!!!! ❤️❤️❤️
CoRRal
omg! a VIP in the comments! im so in love with your music!!!
The thing my wife and I, and I'm sure many others, struggle with is understanding that it doesn't have to be done in a day. It's easy to get overwhelmed looking at the mess around you and not do anything because you know it's going to "take forever". The trick is to focus on one small thing, get it under control. Habits tend to snowball whether good or bad. A really easy starting point is your mail. When you get the mail out of the box, make the first stop the recycling bin or trash can. Throw away all the junk before you even take it in the house, if you can. We have a dedicated basket to drop the mail that does come in so we both see it regardless who gets it. It's a small step, but it does help create a more organized mindset.
Yep, THAT's exactly HOW I DO what you describe, about the mail and about HOW TO CLEAN UP, ... It's just that 'taking the time to visually focus on a sheet of paper', or on something you need to study, makes most people suddenly feel lazy enough in the brain NOT to take that COGNITIVE CHARGE and initiate a cognitive action. -- That, the cognitive laziness, is the reason why people on welfare, living in gov't funded housing, 99% of the time will have a ROYAL MESS IN THEIR HOME, not as bad as Russian soldiers though, but that's another story. -- The royal mess in one's home has its source in cognitive laziness, and .. believe it or not, that cognitive laziness is fully fixed when I do a round of yoga ... woooaa. -- You wanna fix your messy home? Go, and stay at a Buddhist monastery for as little as 24 Hrs, and man(/other woman readers), does it ever propel you to clean up your home when you return to it!! -- Yep, try it and tell me your experience, please.
@sarcastic bowl of cornflakes that's what I do.
I took a week of PTO and reorganized my whole house. It was soooo worth it
I would say call the sender and cancel junk mail is better, so much natural resources go to waste on junk mail.
@@vkrgfanI recently got a sticker for my mailbox that says sth like "no ads, flyers, free magazines" etc. It is so nice, works very well for all that unaddressed mail.
I really liked the pacing of this video. I like it when my time is respected
I appreciate that this is more structural advice than can be applied to different styles rather than just trend based stuff that'll be dated within a season
Love love love❤️❤️100% that’s what I believe in!
Love this video. My favorite part was the "if red wine spilled on this item, would you feel relieved or distressed?" method of letting go. Genius! Thank you!
OMG, hearing that was SO awesome - way more relatable than "does it 'spark joy'"!
I agree. Good tip.
Game changer for me, I struggle so hard with letting stuff go.
I’m totally going to use this thought next time I purge.
I'm buying some red wine 🍷 and ...ooops
I'm a professional organizer and appreciate you advocating for these practical, livable solutions. I'm so tired of clients referring to Pinterest, etc for the perfect look and getting caught up in not doing the actual work. Thank you!
Yes!!! More often than not, references from pinterest are either unrealistic, expensive, and/or hard to maintain 😅 we gotta be practical!!! People focus too much on aesthetics.
I thank my mother for this. She was the most organized person I’ve met and yet she never had a pantry full of matching containers - she would have laughed at the idea of spending endless amounts of time pouring things from one container into another. The only things she kept in containers were things that needed to be kept airtight. She never felt the need to minimize by removing 30% of her home - she just kept on top of things daily. She had s place for everything and put things away after using them. If they didn’t have a place, she found a place if it was important. If not, she got rid of it.
It drives me crazy to see how many women have “organized” their pantries so strictly that if they buy a product they don’t have a matchy-matchy container or basket to transfer it into, they feel like failures. All they’ve done is become so rigid that they spend their time on minutiae while the giant problem behind them grows ever larger.
Coming back to this video after one year just to comment, Maximizing weird spaces was the best idea I've ever gotten. Thank you, it helped a lot.
So annoying when my pretend husband and pretend kids don’t put their stuff in the designated drop zones. ☺️ I think I just found my new favorite RUclipsr 🥰
My house is a mess because I just found out my pretend wife was cheating on me.
@@bigbengamer Seriously?
@@faroukmalika not just seriously. Pretend seriously!
@benjaminfilbert… the audacity 😠I hope you threw her pretend designer wardrobe out the window and took away the keys to her SUV. 😁
It’s not why we got pretend married!
Finally some no nonsense straight talking practical interior design advice. Love your vibe
Out of all the decluttering/organisational things I've read or watched, this actually sounds the most logical. I have no idea why it got recommended to me, but thank you RUclips gods for suggesting it. Solid advice. Also, I absolutely agree with the velvet hangers. I converted to them before I even watched this, and have been avid advocate for them since. They just hold the clothes so well!
I haven't bit the bullet on buying velvet hangers because my husband hangs all his t-shirts and I'm concerned their thinness will leave shoulder marks on his shirts... Has anyone with velvet hangers had that issue?
@@lbatemon1158 Not in my experience. They are very soft and have rounded edges to prevent shoulder marks.
@@lbatemon1158 No, not at all. Velvet hangars have caused no marks on the shoulders, even on thin fabrics including thin knits. I love the velvet hangars, too. That is the one thing I'm doing right!
@@jaygunner thank you so much for answering my question! I really appreciate it!
@@neoncat9573 thank you so much for answering my question! This is good information-- I think I'll have to get some and join this bandwagon 😊
She spoke more truth in the first 30 seconds than anyone I’ve watched in a long while …. And she continued to speak truth reign in on all the influencers garbage advice supporting more consumerism. 👏 👍🏻 well done!
I love your presence in this vid!! The authority!! The expertise!! The clarity!! So fun to see your style develop - I’m so happy to be following along on your RUclips adventure!
Ahh thanks Taylor, I really appreciate that!
She's like an organizer/dominatrix. 🤣
Crawler!
An important tip for decluttering things you have an emotional reaction to. Digitize it. I had an old metal pail that was tarnished in places and the handle was broken, but I was sentimental about it because my family had it for a long time. I put it on a table next to a nice clean white wall and I took a photo of it. Then I tossed it. It really helps, at least for me, because it's not the physical object I need, it's the memories that it evokes. So whenever you're torn about whether to get rid of something or not, just take a good picture of it and ask yourself "Is this enough?"
Digital Hoarding as a way to have your cake and eat it too
I agreed 100%
Unfortunately, it doesn't work for me. Even my daughter has noticed that I tell many more stories when I am holding and showing the actual item than I do for photographs. The sensory cues of the actual items (such as my Grandmother's sewing machine) trigger way more memories.
@@trishsoren3445 Agreed. I had all my old console and computer games purely digital, incl. photos of the boxes and contents but it simply wasn't the same. Now I got back what was left in my parents' house and I actually got the PC Big Box games with all their contents like manuals, product catalogues, cloth maps and others "feelies" back and on display. Yeah, it's mainly because of nostalgia but it gives me warm, fuzzy feelings and the worth of them is actually increasing.
Still have my grandfather's old mechanical typewriter he was writing his letters on until the end, his old binoculars (have seen these being sold for quite a pretty penny on Ebay) and so on. In my parents house is still my grandmothers (might be even my great grandmother's) sewing machine inside a wooden table which it is sinking into so you can use it as a normal little table. Also old irons, cameras and so on.
Exactly and if shopping is your other bad habit then take it one step further. If you go shopping later before they close then take photos of what you used to buy, feel regret about and took back. Sleep on it. Wake up and if you still just HAVE to Get it go to the store when they open and it should still be there. No muss no fuss and if you look at the photo and think nahh, I just like the inspiration then you have that photo to remind you and if nope then delete. I learned this when phones came out with decent cameras and it changed my way of thinking as well as the idea that it can be someone else's blessing if I leave it for them to find. Also you could ask them to put it on hold if you can't get back to the store the next morning if it is during the week and they usually will since it is about to be closing and want to not have to put things back on the racks last minute. Just ideas to outsmart your own bad habits if you are someone who becomes sort of sentimental about items. Easier to change the behavior than the mechanism in you that has some deeper more prime root like the gatherer in each woman from early humanity, right?
Oh myyyyy🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩🤩
Thanks a lot👍
I think the decluttering/purging advice should definitely be followed by "ask yourself if you absolutely need this thing you want to buy" because unless you shop responsibly you're always gonna have to declutter. Don't buy another mug if you already have 10, or don't own 5 different black dresses or things like that.
😳😫🤕
On this: I always wait a few days (if you can) before buying something! If I keep thinking about it/noticing moments I'd use it, then I tend to go back and buy it. If not and you find you've mostly forgotton about it - was probably an impulse purchase!
I agree 100%. I've been going through all my clothes recently and I tossed out so many things that still had the tags on them. It's a combo of "what was I thinking" and I have a stupid moral objection to returning things. Probably because so many people abuse it.
@Janelle... As I was reading through comments your pic caught my attention...Obviously because it's a very pretty picture, but I also notice a striking resemblance to Julia Garner...Either way keep smiling, it looks good on you!!!!
Me, owning 5 black dresses: 😁😱😀😂👌👀
Anyway, the main point is not to buy things than you won't be wearing/using at least one time per month
I last watched this video two years ago and I can't get over how I still remember most of the tips and even the little anecdotes???? You did well, Caroline!
As a person with ADHD in a relatively small living space with perpetual hunger for being in a visually pleasing and organized space while sabotaging myself every three seconds this was so incredibly helpful, just for its great practicality without sacrificing form really. Thank you so much. Honestly, thank you so, so much. I mean it. This was a real eye opener for me.
The way you described me perfectly 🥲 so spot on though!
@@HolySectaQueerwhat does ur undies have to do with the persons adhd and organization struggle haha? 😂😊
Dana K White's No Mess declutter and organizing method was the game changer for me!! She wrote, A Slob Comes Clean. I've never read the book but her RUclips videos are so helpful!!
I was actually thinking if she had adhd because I was finding these tips really sensible and hugely helpful
somebody understands me
Finally, somebody actually addressing the real issues behind the universal problem that we all face in our homes. No matter how much i organize, things always manage to go back to their chaotic state. Love this no-nonsense, very real video, just subbed! :)
agreed
Me too!!! Video is a KEEPER!!
I'm not even halfway through and I just need to say. These are the best no-bull-hands-on REAL tips that I have ever heard in my 55 years. Thank you. You are actually satisfying the psychology behind our behavior.
I was not expecting this kind of sincere video but WOW thank you SO MUCH
For people that are inspired to declutter & throw away lots of things from this video, please remember that donating anything salvagable will be a huge help. & If you plan on throwing out furniture, place it by the curb a few days BEFORE trash day, that way stoopers might come pick it up instead & it can be repurposed & less waiste in the landfills, and the peices you loved for so long can maybe find a new home instead of dying forever.
Thank you for saying this! I'm one of those folks that will snag furniture from the curb to refresh or repurpose & save it from death at the dump. Some of the stuff I save has craftsmanship that just isn't done anymore & can withstand a lot more wear & tear than more modern pieces. If folks are inclined, a quick curb alert on Craigslist, Nextdoor or FB is really helpful as well. Happy organizing everyone.
@@dainty_af one in five homes 🏡 have bed bugs these days 😑 watch what you pick up !
Don't leave random furniture on the curb, please.
Every Sunday I drive around looking for baby stuff, my sons almost 2 now n his whole life I've found SOOOOOO MANY great things on the curb, and when I was done with watever I found I was able to give it to friends who could use the things with their kids, or put it on the curb for someone else as well. I'm so grateful ppl leave stuff on the curb like this, cus I never could've been able to buy all these things, even used, as a single mom and with how expensive baby stuff is!! 🙏🙏🙏💖💖🥰
There are a lot of free stuff Facebook groups in my area, so you can always find someone willing to come and take your sofa away :)
If you're having trouble mentally, I highly recommend the book, "How To Keep House While Drowning." I got the kindle version because, one less thing, ya know? The book is relatively short, but it talks about real changes: physical, mental, and emotional that you can make as you're able. It also talks about forgiving yourself for not being orderly and organized, which is important. I had a good cathartic cry at one point and felt better and more ready to tackle my situation. One step at a time.
Thank you for the suggestion, I started it and it is very supportive and reassuring!
Thank you for the suggestion.
When it creeps in- the house is the first to go always… haha!
Great 👍 pls stay connected
Thank you for the book recommendation!
I need this in my life! Thank you for the advice!
I've watched hundreds of videos about organization, cleaning, decluttering, decorating, minimalism, etc. over the years, and this is one of my favorites I've ever come across by thus far. Absolutely loved this video! I'll be taking the tips about corralling, zones, closed storage and the red wine rule to every home and space I'll ever live in till I'm in the grave. Maybe an extreme way to say it but thank you so much for this! (Also massive props for the lovely editing and cinematography in this.)
Your ideas are GREAT, I’ve just reorganized my room by just differentiating where are the active and passive zones, and by only doing this one I felt my life has changed A LOT and I honestly can’t wait to apply all what I’ve learned from you(I’ve to wait cuz I’m hungry and need to eat dinner LOL), THANK YOU SO MUCH.
Being a chronic procrastinator, 1 thing that has worked for me when it comes to keeping relatively tidy or organised is to just put away stuff the moment I get them. Like coming back home from a grocery run and immediately putting them into their relative spots. Or coming back from a trip with a bunch of clothes and immediately unpacking the things to separate for laundry or further wear, etc. I know if those things were not put away right after I come back, when I'm still in the 'actively moving' state of mind, I'd never get myself to go back to putting them away after winding down or just sitting down in general. It's just not gonna happen, that energy will be impossible to summon back and by the time the energy does come back, I won't even know where to put them anymore and stuff would be left scattered about for a while.
But whether every item has a 'spot' is usually the bigger problem, especially with those odd items that are not in your everyday roster of things that sit, they usually just end up on the floor leaning against a wall or something. Living in a small apartment really requires a lot of creativity to maximise space utilisation, not my strong suit 🥲
Sounds like adhd
@@Julie-ud8no Sounds like you dont know and are guessing
@@DG-EditsYT Yes that's totally what I'm doing :) I'm just saying it sounds like it cause it could be useful to look into it, not saying that's necessarily the case!
This is what I've found helps too. Stuff needs to go away straight away or it will have a new home in the temporary holding place. What also helps is I have a jute bag which I use for my shopping. When I'm not shopping, it's the recycling bag. All the recycling goes in that bag and the recycling bin is by the front door, so I just empty the bag contents into the bin when I leave the house to go shopping. That way, the recycling now ends up regularly being put in the bin, rather than me having to try to find the motivation to go outside to put the recycling out. It really helps.
@@Julie-ud8nosounds like Human.
Holy crap, I was so shook that everything you said in this video I already do. People have always asked me how I keep everything so neat and tidy. They dont believe me when I say I barely do anything to keep it that way, even with 3 cats and an XL dog going crazy in the house lol. The biggest thing is definitely letting go of stuff and limiting things you bring into the house, itll help your wallet too.. Going crazy on plastic bins and organizers and decor never really helps, adds to the clutter, and makes keeping stuff tidy even more difficult.
Same. I figured out a lot of this on my own. Guess im just talented! Lol.
Positive affirmation is Golden!
Preventing clutter and mess is better than cleaning after. Unfortunately this changes when kids come along. Then closed storage and toy rotation may help but don't solve all issues until they learn to put things back
This randomly showed up in my feed. I've got ADHD, my place is currently a mess. This would have been so useful growing up vs everyone just expecting me to know how to innately organize everything. Tip 1 in particular is a game changer, I can use this right away because visual clutter is immediately over stimulating to me because I can't filter it out. I just see everything and anything all at once. Please do more of this, my organization skills are non-existent lol
same lol
It took many decades for me to realize that visual clutter literally fries my brain (I also have ADHD).
Literally SAME! I actually paused this video half way to implement some of the stuff coz I only implement things when I’m inspired in the moment 😂 Already got that dopamine hit 💪🏼
@Karl with a K People with ADHD do care. It's more debilitating because of caring so much but not having the skills or time management to do it without a structured plan.
@@naomizaki6619 haha I relate. I have to revisit this video again and actually write it all down because I only remember 2 of the tips
I have never spent my time in a more productive way than watching this video...
I've struggled to keep my house clean for years. I would just get overwhelmed and things would pile up. What has been the biggest game changer for me is focusing on 3 tasks before doing anything else. Dishes/wiping down my kitchen counters, laundry, and then room by room tidying up. No deep cleaning. Just putting things away. If I've really let things go, this may take several days. So every day I start with dishes and make sure those are caught up. Then I move on to throwing in a load of laundry, and after that, I always start in the rooms I've already tidied and get them back to 100% before moving on to a new room. It only takes a couple of minutes, and this ensures that I keep making progress through the house instead of by the time I get to the last room my first room is completely messy again lol. Once I'm completely caught up on dishes, laundry, and my house is completely tidy, I then move on to the dusting/scrubbing/vacuuming/mopping etc. I just find focusing on these 3 things is sooo much easier, and it gives me a place to start when I'm feeling overwhelmed. And the key is to do your best to do these 3 things every day.
Makes sense to me!
That’s pretty much exactly how I do my cleaning! Works for me ☺️
I prefer little and often. Also, I never go up or down my stairs without taking something with me that needs to be put away/thrown out etc.
Sara D that is a beautiful, well thought out, sounding system!
END your day with the dishes....get a head start in the morning.
A warning with magic erasers (Melamine Foam) it works because it is like fine sandpaper, so if you use it on emulsion-painted walls, make sure you know what colour is under there because the eraser will remove the top layer of paint.
Also, melamine will never degrade so those particles coming off the erasers will outlive your great grandchildren.
Honestly this video feels like a game changer for me. I have ADHD so I am constantly reorganized and rearranging and trying to make things more efficient and basically everything you mentioned just makes SO MUCH SENSE. You've really like, concisely defined organizational problems that have been plaguing me forever (like the active and passive zones) but I didn't really know how to clearly express the issue. Anyways. Thank you.
It might MAKE SENSE!
BUT DOES IT WORK? DID IT WORK FOR YOU?
CAN YOU KEEP UP WITH IT? OR DOES IT FALL AWAY AFTER A BIT?
---------------
Rather than part with stuff I just kept buying bigger houses. Until I had a 7 bedroom, 5 story, 4 bath place, front and back stairways, 3 fireplaces, etc.
A bit over 5200+ square feet. And it was full! I had the modern/mid-century modern floor, the antique floor, the contemporary floor, a storage floor, etc.
And I lived---- alone! And I loved it! A bit of a jumble but not too bad. I knew where stuff was and just knew that if I wanted to have a dinner party (remember those?) I needed to start about 2 weeks before the event to clean, organize, plan a menu to know what dishes, glasses, and linens I wanted and to start to round it all up, polish as needed, and have things at the ready!
If going out of town I started to gather cloths, and other stuff 2-3 weeks early so I had everything I needed on departure day. And it worked well enough. I was never running around like my hair was on fire. I gave myself plenty of runway in order to take off. NO HELICOPTER LAUNCHES FOR ME!
SOME PROPLE LIKE CLUTTER! I LIKE A CLEAN BUT LIVED IN, USED FULLY, MULTIPLE PROJECTS GOING ON SIMULTANEOUSLY LOOK/FEEL/HOUSE!
EASY, NOT ARTIFICIALLY ORGANIZED PLACE! I OBCE LEFT MY CHRISTMAS TREE UP FOR 3 YEARS, FOR 3 CHRISTMASES! I JUST never hot around to taking it down becsuse I was out of town for 3 or 4 months after Christmas and when I got home I was busy. And by the time I got to it--- hmmm..... I'll just be putting it back up again in 2 months---- might as well just leave it up. So I did. And I would turn it on at night in June, July. August and I thought I looked nice. What did the neighbors think??? WHO CARES!!!!!!
I WAS HAPPY! Didn't need the approbation! And since they weren't paying my bills, so yeah, I didn't care, AT ALL, WHAT THEY THOUGHT!!! And I didn't take any polls either!
Just about everyone has ADHD. So you're normal.
ADHD is not a thing, jeeez look it up
"I am constantly reorganizing and rearranging" I resonate with that's much!! I moved into an apartment a few months ago andy boyfriend said to me "everytime I come over the place looks different it's always changing" and it's not because of mess but because I clean so often and when I do I change the layout because I'm never satisfied with how organized it is when in my brain I know there's a better way to do something
@@Liz-ic6jb No. Not everyone has ADHD.
ADHD is a neurological disorder, a neuro-chemical imbalance in the brain.
I usually don’t comment on videos but to whoever is watching and can’t consistently put their clean clothes away once they’ve done their laundry- it’s okay! I have two laundry baskets in my room that I shove the clothes into when I don’t have time. It prevents the dreaded clothes pile on the bed and makes my room feel less messy till I have to fold them. Hope this helps someone!
Congratulations on corralling your stuff! I also do this. Mine is a giant cardboard CPU box, so I need to upgrade, but...
It is helpful.. Ty 💯💫
Very helpful! Thanks!
Here’s a test for decluttering: if I saw this item in a thrift store, would I buy it? It even works on sentimental items sometimes. Like your shredded old blanket that your dear departed dog used to sleep on for example. It helps you see the item through different eyes.
@@JJ_0134 Naw, it's better to either take good photos of the blanket or find photos of the dog with that favorite blanket.
Great tip! 💥
Wash 'em and toss them to the nearest humane society. Like also love old towels and rags. Vets take them, too. (I might be a little pickier with the Vet pile I take)
@@vilmabock478 I actually think that most people would benefit from thinking of it this way "Would I pay full price for this?"
Even at the thrift store, you can bargain with yourself and say, "well, its not THAAT expensive...what the hey, ill buy it!"
So when I go thrifting I find myself asking, "would I buy this in-store brand new, full price?" Often times, I will leave things at the thrift store instead of lugging more and more "cute" stuff home.
Yes! For me if it’s still there since the last time I did a deep cluttering, then it has go! I’m at the point that I can throw almost anything away lol
Her red wine idea at 20:00 is genius. I keep so much stuff for emotional reasons, remembering when I wore it, associating it with someone, etc. I find it so hard to cull that!! And it's overwhelming. This idea made so much sense - if it's covered in red wine, would I fight to save it or be relieved that it's ruined so I have no excuse but to trash it (or better, donate if possible).
For some reason, this video was recommended to me out of the blue - and I'm glad it was! Excellent video with very practical tips. Lol, I had to laugh about kids helping with cleaning. Here's the thing - when they're really little, they absolutely love helping to clean. The only trouble is, it takes far more time to show them how to do it, than it takes to do it yourself! Then, when they finally reach around 9-10 years of age and are actually capable of cleaning well on their own, they lose all interest in helping to clean. Then it takes more time to get them to do it, than it does to do it yourself! 😂 Nonetheless, very good video!
I also had to laugh. If all the time you spend with kids is being the fun aunt or babysitter, it probably seems like getting them psyched about cleaning is easy peasy. Not so much when you're a "fun spoiler" mom... I liked a lot of these tips but kids complicate them significantly. The idea of vacuuming once a week or only needing 5 minutes to clean a room...? Not relevant to most families.
Showed up for me out of the blue too! Great tips and engaging video!
So true! Finally my boy is old enough to really make a difference when helping with chores and it takes an hour of coaxing for him to get started lol
my 11 year old is my go to guy. He knows where everything is. I'll ask one of my other kids what they did with the cinnamon for example, and from another room I hear, "I'll get it". He swoops in and just knows, hands it to me with look like, really mom, it was right here. My teens though 🙄 On their phones constantly but when I text go clean their bathroom, no response. Oh I didn't know you texted me. uh huh. But it's true that little ones always want to help and think they can. My 12 yo was just telling me they used to be so jealous of the older kids being allowed to vacuum when they were little because it seemed so fun and how they must have been dumb because it turns out it's no fun at all. HA! Just keep at it with the older lazy kids. I never had chores as a kid and when I moved out I didn't know how to do anything for myself. What a struggle. I didn't even drive! I'm determined my kids will all know how to do their laundry, clean their homes, dishes, etc, have good hygeine, pay their bills, and know how to cook and bake. I don't want them living off cereal when they grow up.
SOOO true!! I have a 20 y/o and he's obviously VERY capable of doing almost anything but it can be like pulling teeth to get him to help. And then he'll turn around & offer Big Help out of the blue. 😄
Don't usually watch/like organization videos, but your knowledge and sense of humor really won me over.
The tip about making the systems adhere to the habits people already have really made me re-evaluate my many many attempts at organising my house.
Most specifically the laundry, the laundry is in the hallway that leads to the garden door and has the toilet and bathroom coming off it- I have been battling for YEARS! with my (non imaginary) husband and daughter just throwing their clothes on the laundry floor or not in the specific lidded hampers (separated work/school clothes, towels, etc).
But this tip made me realise that I'm trying to get them adhere to a system for me but if my main desire is not to have clothes on the floor then maybe what we need is an open topped basket they can throw the clothes in to.
Sorting through a big basket will take me a little more time but probably piss me off significantly less than having clothes strewn across the floor that is the access to the bathroom and outside.
So thanks for that Caroline!
I know you recently hired a video editor but it doesn't change the fact that you put soooooo much effort into planning and executing content this good. Same goes for your vlogs, which really feel like a story narrated cleverly with bits of laughs, bits of somber introspection, some heartwarming moments sprinkled in. Please know that we see all the hard work you put in and love it!
Ahh friend!😍🥲this means so much to me. Thank you for taking the time to say it❤️❤️I love working on these videos and saying what I feel to be true. So many more to come
This video gets 5 start. Bravo. Helpful, but also entertaining and aesthetically pleasing?! Sign me up!
P.s. I literally bought like three of the things you suggested Before I even finish the video
Micarahhhh♥️
Love your channel Micarah!
A video of you organizing your fabric and Barbie’s would be lit
ohmygod my worlds colliding
I don’t wanna be annoying but… I love your videos
Thank you for the advice on letting go. I've always struggled with letting go of things with meaningful backgrounds.
It’s 👏🏾 ABOUT👏🏾 TIME 👏🏾somebody kept it real on this topic!! Good grief. I was sick and tired, to DEATH, of the unrealistic “advice” of RUclips design people pontificating about organization and design trends. I literally screamed at one video out of frustration: “Some of us actually use our open shelves for books we ACTUALLY read!!!” Ugh. Two words: THANK. YOU. You’re a real one Caroline✊🏾💕…if you’re ever in DC, you got a cocktail, on me 💁🏽♀️😌
She IS in DC. The location tag on the video title says so.
Totally agree. I have an extremely messy room and have trouble keeping it clean partially because of depression and this was the first video I saw where I thought I could actually do most of the things.
@@egdapo Oh wow 🙈😅. Silly me; didn’t see that! Thanks for pointing that out. I guess I should edit my comment, then.
@@Iudicatio I feel you! Other videos had me straight up defeated when maneuvering in my spaces.
@@indialeestarks3935 my pleasure. To be fair, the location tag is very easy to miss... :)
I recently switched over all of my expensive wooden hangers for velvet hangers. I now have more room in my closet and you’re right things don’t fall off. It’s a game changer.
As someone who feels frozen unorganization, living in complete chaos where I can't even think... This was absolutely amazing and so helpful. Thank you thank you thank you
I used to be frozen by the overwhelming task of decluttering. Dana K White's you tube videos changed everything for me! Her, No Mess decluttering method was the key I had been missing. Now I declutter easily, as she says, "at the speed of life" and never panic over getting organized or decluttering again. My best wishes to you!
I love this video, you’re so informative, down to earth, REAL, funny and very helpful! I am elated I came across your channel! Thank you SOOO MUCH!
Love this video. It strangely appeals to my ADHD brain. It had just the right amount of side notes of distraction and humor without being too much. It was to the point and well organized. Well done!
totally agree, same with me
Love your lighthearted, almost flippant approach, it's catching! I actually laughed... The biggest problem I face with cleaning and organizing is me... I take it so freakin seriously, you'd think someone died. Maybe if I lighten up a little instead of the requiem I always put myself through, I'd have more success. More videos, PLEEEEZE!!!
Same and there’s the psychology of feeling tired where the bigger you make the something the mor your brain is going to see this as too big and therefore less likely to actually be achieved. The psychology theory is that our brains will subconsciously make us feel tired from activities it seems too hard to prevent us from wasting time on impossible tasks- doing something over and over again with the same (or no) result is the definition of crazy- and tiredness is the thing supposed to prevent us from doing that. The less likely you subconsciously think something is to going to be done, the more it will make you tired. That’s why believing you can is such a fundamental principle in life. Tricking your mind into doing that is something perfectionists have to learn.
I make a big deal out of the small things too because I hold those things dear in the details- and I’m a bit of a perfectionist- but that leads to me burning out so much. It got to the point showering felt exhausting where I had to start reanalyzing my approach to things. Chunks. I’m a big planner. But that’s exhausting to your brain to think about. So I save my most energetic times to plan- JUST plan. And when it’s time to actually do the plan- that plan is really on the back burner from now on- my only focus and goal is to get one small task done. Because that’s easy- of course I can get that done! And if I don’t get to more so what? At least I’m taking action and making progress! That’s the big deal!
My family is having to sell our grandparents/parents house and I’m one of the leads on getting things logged and up online to be sold. We have told everyone- each of us needs to do one task- one corner or cleaning thing done- for each day- and it has helped so much.
@@tiffariff You are a sweetheart with your reply! It's actually an obvious solution, but what I found is that in order to keep my home in some sort of order, I have to entertain. None of this covid hermit stuff. That's when I got so overwhelmed. I retired 10 months into the pandemic and took boxes that had been stored in a bedroom into the living room to sort...THAT was a disaster. I did donate, rehome and recycle boxes and boxes of items, and consigned a few. But I reached a point where I couldn't think or function any more. The only thing that saved me was my son coming home for Christmas LOL everything that was left went back in the room. I learned two good lessons: sort one box at a time, and keep entertaining friends, that way the counters don't become overwhelmed with clutter and downsizing/organizing attempts stay manageable.
There are also so many various reasons we each struggle, which is why a trusted clutter buddy or two, motivational tapes and zoom declutter marathons are so important! We're all at different stages of our lives and have different life circumstances to confront. Fight or flight is a great concept, but I would add in a third factor: freeze. When you are powerless to change your life circumstances for whatever reasons, illness, divorce, death, recessions (and the real fear of being unemployed and not able to find another job), potential bankruptcy or losing your life's savings from any of the above, or any combo... I think it is a human quality to freeze, much as you would in the presence of a large animal. This negates progress and organization. Some people say a messy house is a sign of a messy mind. I also believe it can be a sign of indecision or turmoil.
Much success to all in this New Year! Let's make 2023 the best ever!
@@agenthayek Thnx for the idea, I am probably more than a little ADD; when I listen to most music I can't keep my mind on what I'm doing. I either want to dance, sing along (or both), star in a musical, sit down and listen intently, or if it's classical, fall asleep. I'm toying with instrumental jazz and Golden Salt (2 talented young female Italian musicians, electric classical rock, check out their cover of Metallica's Nothing Else Matters); upbeat with no lyrics to distract me. Deva Premal's Gayatri Mantra is encouraging and focusing. I interpret it as a prayer for every creature on Earth. At one time, motivational tapes helped but don't seem to now.
@@SoundofSilence492 the expression actually is, “fight, flight, or freeze.” It’s a well known concept.
@@calisongbird Yes, you are correct! Scientific basis and well documented in multiple species. We are all just animals with 3 basic responses. Today I pick "flight," LOL, running errands (so don't have to clean 🤣 😂 🤣).
I just watched it for 7 minutes and I have the urge to tell you how much I love the way you are! All the stuff you say is very useful but your personality is what really grab my attention. Hugs, Justyna
🥺❤️this is the sweetest possible comment. Big hug to you for taking the time to make my day justyna ❤️
So true, you’re just a delight! Love your personality and delivery. “I’m not an organizational freak…*yet” My goal too. RUclips is so smart; I’ve made getting decluttering and organization one of my missions lately and you popped into my life. ☺️ I’m trying to climb out of a “situation” that happened over the last few years and I need a jolt and a kick in the pants to keep the momentum going. I know we aren’t supposed to let pictures of highly organized and decorated spaces be our end all, but I really want that. 😫 it’s sooo hard though and I don’t know why. Baby steps…. Great video 👏🤍🌺
💯 we are in agreement also love the name Justyna! The spelling is perfectly unique. (I admittedly dated a Justin whom I called Yustina, to his dismay.)
@@deeholy7445 Oh, sweet story... I am glad to bring some happy memories💞 By the way, the spelling is nothing special where I live - in Poland. Kisses!
I love this video so much that I shared it with my team. As a professional organizer, I appreciate your tips and terms. “Active/Passive space” and “weirdo zone” were standouts 😄
"that's not why I got pretend married" 🤣🤣🤣 brilliant video, excellent tips, so well put together!! Will be sending this one to friends and family for sure. Thanks for the recommendations, algorithm!
One of my cleaning tips is turn all the lights in the area on when you usually wouldn't, throw on some incense or specific scents that get you into the headspace of a shift that's like "oh I recognize this scent, it's cleaning mode time, I'm motivated now" as well as music or a podcast or an audio book that you won't get distracted by, you will be able to listen to it and shift your attention to what you are doing and back. Like it will smooth out the boring parts of cleaning and make it less tedious, but you wont get so focused on it that you forget to keep cleaning.
Yeah, that's a common mental trick. You create an placebo/behavioral association between two things. It's like Pavlov and ringing the bell for the dogs. It can be a physical trigger like you're doing, or even a mental one. Like, if you pick a word or thought you can focus on when you're calm; when you're stressed, you can actually use that positive association to calm you down. So it has almost indefinite uses.
yes!!! I have this one book I only listen to when I'm cleaning. makes the work way less tedious, and motivates me to actually clean so I can find out what happens next. I use this trick for exercising too.
or just do it..
'Making the system adhere to the habits ppl already have'.....this is golden.
Thanks for this video, the way my home is right now I just feel like just throwing everything out. It's stressful to see the place in chaos lol
Contact your local professional organizer. Most of us can come over for a half day and do a tremendous amount of help.
@@kristinlee thank you but am not in the US (am assuming that's your base)
I am like that right now too. I just want it all gone.
I heard that and I was mindblown! Really do make life harder than it needs to be! Great video!
Profound thoughts that really help me understand how to decide what to get rid of. Thanks!
Phenomenal video and tips that aren't just "buy a cute container" and I love your personality. You made me feel sm better about trying to have a nice home on a budget😭
I'm an industrial engineer and a lot of your tips remind me of the 5S system (sort, set in order, sanitize, standardize, sustain). This helps me keep things organized and extra things out of the house (at least for now as me and my husband are expecting). One other habit I've developed is that if I'm not certain of what I want to do with something I put it in a specific bin in the guest room closet and about once a year I go through the bin and usually end up getting rid of most things.
See I go through those bins and I'm like FRIENDS! IT'S BEEN SO LONG! 😆
I know 5S too, and I thought the same!
I do the same! I have a kind of "out box" where I put clothes I'm fairly certain I'm not going to wear but am not ready to give up yet. 3 months later I've forgotten all about them and it's easy to let them go.
*Pro Tip for purging:* If there's something you're having difficulty throwing away for nostalgia purposes, organize a photo shoot. Take pictures of the item and put them in a photo gallery labeled "nostalgia", then toss the original item.
Make sure the pictures reflect whatever was special about the item.
Eg: An old dress that is really tiny, take a picture of it next to measuring tape so you remember how tiny your waistline was. Or a sculpture that looked pretty from multiple angles? Take a panoramic photo or video.
I really like this idea. Nice one.
I love this but still can't get rid of my over 200 dresses that are too small because I hope I will get thin again
@@bellagreen6660 I had that problem and now I am 138lbs and they fit! Don't let others discourage you, keep fighting and know the turtle 🐢 wins the race 🤣
@@bellagreen6660 keep a positive attitude. My uncle is cheif of police and has dealt with a lot on the job. He is always striving for more even though he deals with plenty of people who are off there rocker and always remain humble 💓🤗
@@bellagreen6660 I bet someone like you has a hundred different ways to be beautiful and I hope the focus on thinness doesn't get in the way of you exploring all of them. Just focus on living healthy & active so you can live forever.
The red wine tip was life changing
Where was that tip?
Smh …
My my
With regard to the open shelving thing, I heard another youtuber say that "open shelves are for display, not for storage" and this rings very true to me. It looks good in magazines and on pinterest because the contents are carefully curated beautiful pieces, not your packaged food, and cheaper daily use dishes.
They only really belong in more sizeable kitchens where you have plenty of space for both storage and display.
Yesss!
also open shelves in a kitchen are such a pain to keep clean. I love the visuals of open shelving but I would never want to have it for myself.
I disagree. I have open shelves and it actually forces me to get rid of things. Everything on the open shelves are things we need like our pots and the plates and bowls we eat on. I do have a rule though, they have to be silver, white or clear. All the plates and white from the same set. In our deep drawers we keep the plastic bowls and plates, and cups. If there's not enough room, we have too many. My house is 1200sq feet and 4 of us live here. My kitchen is probably the most organized room in my house
@@gggthsb *THIS* is what makes me mind-boggle about open storage in a kitchen. I am not the best or most active cook (I hate cooking, frankly). But even I know that in most kitchens GREASE MIGRATES IN THE AIR & will cover other things.
Heck, depending on if you have a true hood vent vs a waste vent that blows it up & over your head aka *into* the room, things the next room over (dining room or bfast nook) will get coated.
@@jonigarciajg How do you keep things from being coated in grease or other airborne food particulates?
I appreciate how (mostly) ADHD friendly this video is. The struggle is REAL, people- and keeping a home (or *cough* anything) tidy is a constant struggle. Other than the closed storage (which is visually much more pleasing, but things will rarely get put back away even with one added step of doors on something… 😳 and also the very literal ‘out of sight, out of mind’ issue…), these are great tips. Thanks for sharing.
My significant other has serious ADHD and yes, I think this video is going to help me a lot. I know i have to work with him instead of just getting upset, and these tips are good and helpful for everyone not just people with ADHD. Hopefully this video will help keep my home cleaner, between spouse and kids and myself.
Oh GOODNESS yes. I swear, I'll get a bug up my bum and just have to clean and declutter. And I love it! And then 2 months later it's a shithole again because I haven't done any upkeep for just a "lack of time", procrastination, out of sight, out of mind issue, OR wanting to do so much that I get decision/action paralysis. Terrible. But keep working on it!
Yes! This reminds me of the style of How to ADHD. It would be cool to see a collaboration!
In terms of mental health, I think it's important to stay away from monolithic thinking, because I've been seeing this argument a lot and it does not hold true for many of my clients. For some folks with ADHD, yes, open storage is absolutely more helpful. But for lots of folks with ADHD, the clutter of open storage is part of the struggle and amplifies symptoms rather than relieves them. Open storage theoretically means you'll see everything more easily, but in reality, unless that individual ensures it is tidy all of the time and remains in it's exact place always, everything inevitably piles up because stuff moves around in spur of the moments. Just because it's all out in the open, doesn't mean the person sees each item - they likely see the piles on all the shelves, but they'll have difficulty in differentiating the items. As the environment gets more visually chaotic, the individual will continue having a harder time differentiating items, thus amplifying their stress, which will in turn create a cycle of being unable to differentiate items due to heightened stress of being unable to focus on individual items in the forming piles. In fact, there's significant evidence based research in the last few years that environmental stress increases ADHD symptoms - to decrease symptoms, and increase attention, we need the body and brain to feel at ease (whatever "ease" feels like - for some people, that's watching an action movie or listening to metal). For these folks, it's not "out of sight, out of mind," it's about using the tip she mentioned and creating storage that is naturally intuitive for their needs rather than what is conventional (someone else wrote about placing underwear in the bathroom, for example, which works for their needs, and therefore helps them keep track). Signed, a therapist, behavioral health researcher and ADHD diagnosed person :)
FINALLY a home organization video that actually teaches me something! i've been on an organization kick the past week because i just can't handle the chaos anymore. i remarked to my mom at the beginning of the week that i realized other times we've tried to "get organized" haven't worked because they didn't align with how we naturally live. you're very right that human behavior is the hardest part to change. so now i'm trying to figure out ways to implement solutions that work with the natural way we function and live in our house. there were so many mind blowing tips in this video, i'm going to try them all!!
Side note: LOVE magic erasers too!!! One tip though, If you use them on granite or marble be sure to be gentle and only apply very light pressure as it can ruin the protective shiny coating unfortunately if you apply too much pressure ( former experienced housekeeper who saw this a lot where clients had tried to clean areas themselves and regretted it)
I stripped the finish off cabinets cleaning off years of gunk. it was a rental so it was other people's gunk. But yes, magic erasers are the best
I just watched this, as a lifelong organizer, Caroline’s tips all resonated with me. Organizing is a lifestyle to allow life to happen, not to spend your life doing.
Also, her delivery is entertaining. Well done Caroline 😊
Addressing our emotional attachment in a positive way is such an important process. The “spark joy” method doesn’t really work for me. My non-imaginary husband and child don’t always “spark joy”.
The items I can’t emotionally/psychologically let go - I pack and put them “on hold”. Often I am ready to let them go by the next round of decluttering. Letting go happens in stages for me😅
This process takes the items out of circulation so I give myself some space to get over my attachment to them. By the next decluttering I am able to make a more rational choice.
There are times when I am still attached to one of the items, I just continue to keep it on hold until my emotions are resolved. Often with such items, it’s about finding a more responsible/respectful way of letting go - such as passing it to an individual or group that will appreciate it as I did.
I recommend reading or listening to the audio book by Marie Kondo. At times she recommends exactly what you say here (setting aside emotional items until later). I think the Netflix show had to sort of summarize the method and Americanize it a bit.
I was surprised by the practicality she offers.
I do the same. I have a hard time getting rid of clothes so I have to put them in a donation box and keep them around for a while. If I'm still too attached to donate an item a couple months later, I just set it aside for later.
My teenage son has issues with this, so we have a "memory box" in the attic.
Sometimes taking photos of the items is enough to keep our memories alive, while the items themselves can be carefully passed on to their next appreciative owner.
@@dionissiakabylis That's a great idea!
Omg the red wine trick!!! I immediately thought of multiple things I’ve thought about getting rid of but haven’t been able too and the second you mentioned if you would work hard to get red wine out of it my immediate answer was no!!! I would be relieved to have a reason to finally toss it!!! MIND BLOWN 🤯 🤩🤩🤩❤️❤️❤️❤️
Right?? It blew my mind too!! Such a good filter
Dude! Same here! Wow....that's a game changer!
As a preschool teacher- THE MAGIC ERASER IS SO GOOD.
Also I love how shame free these suggestions are. The emphasis on personalizing things to you is so refreshing from many other interior design and organization tip videos 🖤
Tip num. 3 is so important. When I was the most depressed, one problem I'd face is clothes being spread everywhere. Clean, dirty, didn't matter. And because I wasn't strong enough to carefully fold them everyday I decided to buy a cute basket and leave it in my bedroom. Having the room visually decluttered and not stepping on clothes everywhere motivated me to keep it tidier and that played a big role on my mood. Sometimes when we're too weak to act we just have to make everything else easier.
that's awesome :)
@@kellysmith7357 Thank you! Have a lovely weekend
This video just vacuumed a ton of mental fatigue I've been feeling looking at the perfect decor spaces of influencers.. so THANK YOU!! OMG. Love this. Subscribing
Best organization video I've EVER SEEN. Not click bait, not a consumer ad, just FACTS. I love you, please keep this up!!!!
I clicked cuz she is hot. Lol Zooey deschanel vibes. She looks and sounds like her… but I gotta admit the universe is listening or (fbi cia big brother lol ) bcuz I was thinking lately about reorganizing my man cave.
Depends on the fish, haha 😅
On my 2 kitchen sink cabinet doors I hang my systems for trash and recycling.
On outside of one is an attractive removable rubber lined burlap bag with a handle. I line it with a plastic grocery bag that hooks onto each side. I take out the trash every day or two. It isnt heavy or a big deal. I store a handful of new bags in the bottom. My friends love giving me their grocery bags. I never buy trash bags. Its right there under my counter making it ultra convenient. Total game changer.