39: Organizing Your Life: Tips and Tricks from Marie Kondo's Stunt Double
Professional organizer, Marie Jackson, shares her valuable insights and tips on organizing your home for maximum success.
In this episode, Marie discusses how to avoid common organizing mistakes, the importance of starting small, and the significance of labeling. She also offers practical advice on how to organize specific areas in your home, such as the mudroom and laundry room.
Whether you are an organizing novice or a seasoned pro, this episode of the HobbyScool podcast is a must-listen for anyone looking to create a calm, cohesive, and functional space that works for you.
Summary
Organizing your home can be a daunting task, but with the right approach and mindset, it can be a rewarding experience that can significantly impact your daily life. In an episode of the HobbyScool podcast, professional organizer, Marie Jackson, shared some valuable tips and insights on how to optimize your space for maximum success in your home.
One of the biggest mistakes Marie sees people make when starting to organize their homes is going to the store and buying product without measuring the space or knowing what they have. Another mistake is buying mismatched products, which can make the space feel cluttered and overwhelming. Marie recommends taking a thoughtful and intentional approach to organizing, considering both the look and feel of the product as well as its functionality.
Starting small is key to building momentum and confidence when organizing a space. Marie suggests starting with a small project, such as a junk drawer or bathroom cabinet, and building from there. This approach helps to build confidence and momentum, making it easier to tackle larger projects like a pantry or closet.
Marie also suggests starting with organizing the mudroom or command center as it is the first and last area of the home that one sees and wants to provide a sense of calm. This helps in leaving the house without chaos and affects one's mood positively. The laundry room is another area that needs to be organized as it is something that has to be done often, especially if one has kids. An organized laundry room makes the task easier and quicker.
Labeling is an important step that is often overlooked when organizing the home. It helps in keeping things going back to the right places and is especially useful when there are multiple people in the house. Labels should be simple and have one word on each category.
Marie suggests going to local grocery stores or pharmacies to see how they have organized their products as they have spent a lot of money figuring it out. This can help in tailoring categories to the items one has and avoiding confusion.
Organizing your home can have a significant impact on your daily life, reducing stress and making it easier to find and access the things you need. By taking a thoughtful and intentional approach to organizing, you can create a space that feels calm, cohesive, and functional. As Marie suggests, "It's about creating the best version of your home that works for you."
Mentioned In This Episode
Where to find Marie: Website and Instagram
Marie's free gift: Her Favorite Container Store Products
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Transcript:
And my special guest today is Marie Jackson. Marie helps people organize their homes so they can fully function in their spaces. Her methodology helps people organize once and for all, as she gives you the plan to clear out your clutter, sort and optimize your spaces for maximum success in your home. She has an eye for identifying high traffic and problematic areas in a home and crafting the perfect solution making home life easy. Marie, I am super excited to chat with you and we're going to talk about all about organizing, get it organized and keeping it that way. And I have a ton of questions for you, but before we get started, can you tell the good audience a little bit more about you and how you help people?
Yes, absolutely. So I am a professional organizer here in Charlotte, North Carolina. So we do a lot of in home projects for the Charlotte surrounding metro area. And we go in and we take a look at their spaces and figure out the best ways to optimize it. And then from there we put together a design and shop for any of the product and we come in and we basically do it all. So the only involvement that we ever have with people when we do projects in homes is we need to know what they want to keep and what they want to get rid of. That's the only time where we have them make the decisions and then we go ahead and get everything put together for them just to have them have an easier home life. And I think with we have three children, so our oldest is ten, and we go down from there. And actually after having kids is really when I had to tap into figuring out systems and how well they worked. I've always loved organizing and have always been doing it because I was always losing things. And after I was actually diagnosed with ADHD, I figured out why. I was like, oh, this makes sense now, why things keep getting lost because I would misplace it, or I was just thinking of too many different things and it was frustrating. Then I was buying duplicates and wanted to stop that from happening and not the rush of running out the door, like doing a fire drill, being like, oh, where are my keys? Where's this and that? And after tapping into systems and really figuring out what products work best and placement and where things can go, really made such a huge difference in our home life and daily life and just felt the stress and the ease and the burden get lifted.
And now that our kids continue to get older, we're heavily into sports, so we really don't have a choice. Like we do have to be organized and it's about kind of teaching them too, that it doesn't have to be perfect and that it's about finding what you need when you need it, and teaching them to be responsible where they can find their things so they're not frustrated as well.
So I just want to say I can raise my hand and say I have bought duplicates, not realizing either couldn't find it or actually bought it. So I've definitely made that mistake. But I love what you said about finding what you need when you need it, and that is teaching our kids that I think that's so let me ask you, somebody is just getting started. They know that they need to organize a room or even their entire house. What are some of the mistakes that people make when they're first starting out?
Well, one is they'll just go to the store and start buying product and buying bins and not even really even, one, measuring the space. Two, even knowing what you have to figure out if it's even going to work. And in conjunction with just going out to buy product, another thing that I see is that they'll just go out and buy whatever in the sense of seeing like, oh, I'll just buy this bin, one of this and one of that, and it's all mismatched. So then we come in and we see just for example, looking at a closet and you see a whole slew of products that just doesn't match. And matching is very important because our brains are attracted to cohesiveness and we like that symmetry. So when there is a lot of bins that don't match, it's making our brains kind of work a little harder because we're trying to figure out where try to identify things from there and it makes it a little bit more of a challenge. The other thing that I've seen that people do is that they start and focus on the wrong thing in terms of where they want to get organized. And they start with the biggest project first, which is what should be last. Because it is very important when you are starting to start small, and I cannot emphasize this enough and it doesn't matter if it's just a junk drawer, a bathroom drawer, or even maybe a sock drawer or a kitchen cabinet or a little section of a cabinet in a bathroom. Whatever it is, it needs to be small because when you start small, you build momentum and it gives you your confidence in your ability of what you're doing as you continue to go forward. You want to think of it like a marathon and not a sprint, and that you keep building and keep building and you keep going and you keep going. And it's very similar if you've ever, let's say, tried to lose weight or save money or get out of debt. All of those things are done consistently over time to get to that end result. And that's the same thing that you want to apply when getting your home organized, is you want to start small and tackle those small, get those small wins. So you can feel good about yourself to build yourself up to the next one, the next one, next one.
Then you can get to that pantry or closet or garage.
I love what you said, start small and that helps you build momentum. So not looking at, oh, I got to organize this entire kitchen, which is kind of where my mind is right now. Kitchen needs to be organized. I should just focus on maybe my silverware drawer or the junk drawer as you mentioned there. So absolutely love that. And you talked about a little bit about the products, people go out and they just buy bins or I think this will help me, but let's talk a little bit more about product selection and how do we figure that out? Can you talk about that in a little bit more detail?
Yeah, absolutely. So product selection is very important and I think it's actually one of the things that's often overlooked that people don't really put too much thought process into it. And I think this part is very important because you're going to be looking at your space every day. I shouldn't say every day, whether it may be, let's say, your closet or your pantry, those are the things that you'll be looking at more frequently. But the other areas that you're looking at whenever you get to those, let's just say it's a drawer. Maybe you don't open that drawer every day, but when you open it, you want to feel a sense of calm over you when you open that drawer. So it's important to figure out what you like to look at. Do you want clear? Do you prefer bamboo? Do you like light colored bins? Do you like dark colored bins? And finding something as a style that best represents you and being organized really is it's an extension of your home. So you typically have some type of home decor that you follow or things that you like and that's what you should do as well when it comes to getting organized. Because when you choose the right products, it makes it easier to feel that sense of cohesiveness across that entire room or space or however it may look. The other thing that is important when it comes to product selection is thinking about the functionality of it.
So for example, let's say you are looking at something that you like and it has lids. Now, adding a lid to a bin is an additional step. It may seem small because you're like, it may take you 3 seconds to open a lid. Well, those are the things that add up over time though, because if you're running around your house and you see something that has a lid and you're like, oh, I just don't want to put it in there right now, that's where the things start to go sideways. Now, if a lid is something that you don't mind and you're going to do it. Hey, great. More power to you. So you have to think of functionality when you are picking out the product. It is. Is this product going to help me minimize the number of steps needed to get the item that I need? And am I going to remember that it's there? So, for example, if you're going to get a solid bin and you're going to put it all the way up at the top and it's going to have a label on it, that's great. Are you going to actually remember what's in there? Or are you going to need a clear bin so you can actually see everything that's in there? So it's important to know what you like, how you operate, and then pick the bins that best fit your style.
So the look and feel I'll just go back to that.
I was thinking about my own closet and I have some bins in there and I think they were fine when I first bought them, but now I'm thinking I don't like them at all and maybe that's why my closet feels disorganized. It's just not working for me anymore. And also like the tip that you gave about the functionality and maybe having a top over it or what have you. But I was thinking about what I have in my cabinets right now. Some of the bins in the very back. I can even see them or reach them. And I went in there the other day and had products in there that first of all, they were expired by now, but secondly, I didn't even remember that they were in there. That kind of defeated the whole purpose.
Yeah, that's very common. And then we see that a lot when we're out organizing spaces that we come in. And I forgot I had that. I didn't know I had that. Now I don't need to buy this again. Oh, I was looking for that. And once you clear that space out, you only feel great. But then you start to see things again and it's those little things that add up over time where you're like, wow, this does make my life so much easier by being organized. And we spend so much time in our homes and we should feel great about it. We shouldn't feel stressed or chaotic about things. And when things are organized, everything just flows better.
So Marie, let me ask you this. Where should people start if they feel like I do, their entire house needs to be and I'll just say reorganized for me. Like, I've done it in the past, but it has gotten a little bit out of control. So where do you suggest people start?
I suggest that you start with your mud room or like a command center or wherever you first walk into your home and having a drop zone area for the backpacks, the keys, the handbags, the jackets, the shoes, the mail, the odds and end things of what you need to get out of the house, in and out. And I suggest that first because that's one of the first and last areas of your home that you see and you want to be able to provide that sense of calm. And you're not leaving with chaos because if you think about it, you leave and there's chaos going in your mind because you're surrounded by chaos. It's starting your foot off on the wrong day, and it affects your mood. And when you have that sense of calm and I think at some point we've all experienced that where we've been around a space or we've organized. And when we leave and we're organized, we feel better about ourselves, we feel confident, and we're like, okay, I've got this. I know what we're doing. And we put forth our best self. And I think that's what it all at the end of the day really comes down to is putting forth our best self because we're organized, we feel good about ourselves and we tap into other areas of our gifts and other talents that we have because we're not being weighed down by something else. That is our environment and what it is surrounded by. And that's why I think starting right there when you first come in, that's one of the key areas to get organized. I would say another area to get organized would be your laundry room. Only in the sense because it is something that has to be done. And if you have kids, you're likely doing it often. And just having and I have yet to meet someone that really enjoys it.
And having an organized laundry room that you like looking at just helps make it go a little bit better. And I think that's the important thing when it comes to laundry. So those would be like my top two areas to focus on because those can also be relatively quicker projects. They may be bigger spaces of the home, but they're also still small enough projects that you can tackle to give yourself that momentum where you get those wins and then can keep building from there.
And I love that. And I was thinking about when you do, like, the areas where you're leaving the house, like the mud room or that command center or kind of where the kids are throwing in their backpacks and all of that, I would think that that would help not only us as parents, but also would help the kids leaving the house in going to school that they feel organized and ready and confident to take on their day.
Oh, absolutely. And it's a relief on your part too, because when our kids come home, they're now responsible for hanging their stuff up and putting it away. They know where it goes. It's not on me to have that done. So they hang up their backpacks, they hang up their jackets, they put their shoes away, they take out their lunch boxes, they empty it all out, they put their lunch boxes in the pantry where it goes, and that's it. So then come lunches time in the morning, we're ready to go. They go get their things and they're not stressed about where anything is because they can find it.
Marie, any last minute tips before we wrap it up here for the audience?
Absolutely. There is one thing that I want to point out that is very important, and that is labeling. This is a step that is often overlooked and it's one of the last steps when getting your home organized is to label. This is very important because it keeps things going back to the right places. And if you have more than one person in your home, chances are that there's a lot of multiple hands in different areas of your home. So when you've got the labels, they know where things belong and where they go back. And so again, that labeling also comes down to style and preference. Kind of similar back to the whole bin situation. And picking that out, choose a font that you like looking at and that it's easy to see and don't overcomplicate it. Keep the word simple. My goal when I'm ever labeling is I try to only have one word on each category. If we're having, let's say, a bin and not putting four or five different words on there of what's in that storage bin. And if you're struggling or you're trying to figure out what categories to use, let's say you're doing the bathroom or pantry or even your closet, just go on to your local grocery store or CVS or however it is and you're looking for something. They have categories right there, and a lot of those categories are one word categories. So that can help you tailor that to what items that you have so you're not creating too much confusion.
Because when you have too many different categories, then it can be more overwhelming. So you want to keep that label broad when getting organized.
Oh, I love that. I love that tip going to like, CVS or Kroger or Walgreens or something and looking to see how they have things they organized because I can guarantee you they've spent a lot of money trying to figure that out.
Absolutely.
So Marie, can you let folks know where they can find you? And I also believe you have a free gift for them too.
I do, yes. So you can find me on Instagram at organizedmarie and you can also find me on my website, same addresses at organizedmarie. And my free gift that I have to offer is a PDF of my favorite products and that I've used for over at the Container Store. I know that a lot of people have a lot of overwhelm with the Container Store when they walk in there and even just looking online going, I have no idea what to buy and what works. And it is very overwhelming. Can give you this almost anxiety attack. And I hear it all the time from people that they love the store, but it just is too much for them. So I have a free guide that points out my favorite products and the ones that I use most frequently on projects and most importantly, that they work.
Oh, I'm definitely checking it out because The Container Store is one of my most favorite stores there. So, Marie, thank you so much for joining us today and giving us some tips on getting organized so we can keep it that way.
Thank you you so much for having me.