Moving In Checklist

Congratulations on finding your new residence! Now comes the fun part; making it your home. Before unloading all of your boxes make a quick trip to the store and get: cleaning supplies, dish soap, laundry supplies, a broom, a mop/Swiffer, a vacuum, hand soap, toilet paper, paper towels, some flowers, and a treat for yourself. Take this opportunity to clean the floors, doors, windows, drawers, and shelves/closets before you put all your stuff away.

You can tackle the next step one of two ways: distributing the boxes to their rooms or filling one room with all the boxes. If you've labeled all of your boxes take them straight from the vehicle to the room they will go in. If you havent labeled all of your boxes, drop them all off in the living room.

After all of your boxes are unloaded open them all! Every single one. This will prevent not being able to find something and therefore buying things we don't need. Moving is expensive enough! After you open a box, take everything out of it and pick one place to put your boxes. Go ahead and break them down so you don't accumulate a pile of cardboard. You can take a picture and post them on Facebook marketplace or craigslist and guaranteed someone will come pick them up shortly.

Now that the boxes are out of the way, start putting like items away. Start a list of small items you notice need like a paper towel holder, a utensil organizer, hangers, a shoe rack, a basket for towels, etc. If you don't know where something goes yet, try to group it with similar items and after grouping all the items consider if you would like a piece of furniture to house them, a basket or a shelf and add this to your list. When you start putting things away, really consider where you will need them. You may reshuffle things a few times but that's okay!

Don't know where to start? First, put your flowers on full display-nothing says welcome home like a fresh bouque Put your kitchen items away so you can eat-youll be hungry soon(thank goodness you got yourself a treat)! Then put your bathroom/shower items away because you're going to feel like you need a shower. Next, make your bed because you'll be tired tonight!

The first day is a big day so you probably won't get everything done in one day unless you have help. If you use anything that hasn't been put away yet, put it in its new place immediately after using it. You'll have all your things in their new place in no time.

Enjoy your home!

Clear Cluttered Drawers

We've all been there; cramming an item back in a drawer and slamming it shut before everything falls out. Typically, we only use the things on the top of our clutter because that's what we can see and that's what we have access to. We've all bought an item knowing we have one at home, we just can't find it. It's at the bottom of that cluttered drawer. We frustratingly paw through saying “I know I have one here”. Luckily for you, there is another way! It won't take nearly as long as you think it will and everyone can do it.

Dump the drawer on the floor. Yes, that's right. Dump the drawer upside down and get everything out on the floor. Now, remain calm. Spread everything out. Refrain from grabbing the item you've been looking for and throwing everything back in. Take everything that you know if trash and go put it in the trash. Next, check expiration dates and toss expired items. Now, take everything you want to keep in that drawer and place it on the counter. This is your opportunity to give it a good cleaning! Of your remaining items, decide if they should go somewhere else or if you'd like to sell, donate, or toss them. If you have a product you know doesn't work for you, don't hang on to it out of guilt for how much you paid, pass it along to a friend!

If the items you've decided to keep are scattered across categories, see if you can group them or maybe remove a category and put it in a different place. For example, if you have hair products, hair tools like blow-dryers and straighteners, skincare products, and makeup all together this can be too jumbled. See if you can relocate one or two of these categories so your drawer is more clearly defined. If youre able to further separate items into bins or boxes, great, and if not, that's fine too! Now when you get ready you'll be able to notice how much more relaxed you are and maybe even more punctual. Digging through drawers takes more time and energy than you think it does. Enjoy your clean and organized drawer!

How To Create Categories

A huge part of getting organized is creating categories. To create a category, you must understand the categories in your life. What do you do frequently? What do you accumulate based on your interests? For example, let’s start with coffee. If you are someone that enjoys coffee in the morning, this is a great category to start with.

Gather all of your items related to your morning coffee: cups, coffee maker, coffee beans, k-cups, filters, etc. Now, select a designated area for all of these items to be stored in. This keeps your category together rather than spread throughout your kitchen which helps with feeling organized. If you can’t find a designated space for all of these items to live within arms reach of each other, create one! Check out our instagram for an easy to follow coffee station creation for every budget.

Once you have your location set for all of the items in your category, the fun part can begin; decorating! Find baskets to place like items in, maybe a fun sign that declares what this space is for, placemats to put underneath your baskets, whatever makes you happy and feel ownership of this category. Place all of your coffee beans in fun jars or find a cute basket for your k-cups. Make sure everything is functional and the items you need easy access to are not blocked. Place your favorite coffee cups front and center, really make the space your own and show off your prized items.

Now that you have one category down, start to think about your daily life and what other categories you may have. Do you have pets? Now you can repeat the process for all of your pet items. Pretty soon, you will have a functional space for every category in your life. This process will also help you understand what you interact with and what fills your day. You’ll begin to understand yourself better through categorizing your items.

Psychology of Organizing

Organizing makes us feel good, we know this; but why? I believe that organizing is tied to our neurological process called “pruning”. Pruning is the process by which our brain clips off pathways to retrieving information we don’t use. The more we use information, the faster our mind can access the pathway that it is stored with. The less we use information, the less our mind attempts to maintain the pathway to that information. Think of a nature trail: the more a trail is used, the wider and easier it is to travel. The trail that is used infrequently starts to become overgrown and you have to push your way through the trail. Eventually, the trail becomes completely overgrown and is no longer able to be used. In our mind, each trail ends with information. Our minds are constantly evolving according to the information we use.

I believe that if we do not update our environment to match where our minds are that we actually hold ourselves back, to an outdated version of ourselves. Visually seeing something strengthens a pathway. Subconsciously, everything in our environment is tied to something. If we look at a photo that reminds us of a sad memory, we strengthen that memory and everything that goes along with it. If we switch that photo out for a photo of a happy memory or something aspirational, we are strengthening that pathway in our mind. Set yourself up for success by aligning you environment with the best version of yourself.

Look around your room. Check in with yourself and how you feel while in your room. Now, begin to think of how you would like to feel while in your room. Begin to identify objects that do not align with how you would like to feel. You’ve begun the process of organizing. Organizing allows us to go through our items and actively choose if we would like to keep them, how we would like to display them, or if they do not serve our purpose, we have the power to replace them with something ideal for our needs. This, I believe, is why organizing makes us feel better. Your environment is powerful and so are you. Ensure that your environment fuels your power and does not drain it.