We have been transforming rooms for many, many years as a hobby. We truly just enjoyed making spaces look and feel better than we found them. It really is true that when your space feels good, so do you. Throughout the years of transforming these spaces, we realized that we had inadvertently created our own process...and it worked. It worked really well. We knew that if our process was helping not only us, but our friends and our family members, then it would also help others too. As a result of this, The Refine Company was born.
All of this to say, this process has been put to the test for many years, and we can guarantee if you follow it, it will work for you. Here's how the process is laid out: Declutter, Clean, Organize and Decorate.
Seems pretty straightforward, right? Yes and no. There is actually quite a bit that goes into each step. When you're in the process of creating an organized home, you'll likely notice a lot of emotional "stuff" starts to surface. It can be really mentally draining to go through all of your things, especially if you have quite a bit. It isn't rare for this process to feel very overwhelming. This method will help to streamline that process for you. So let's get into the details.
Step 1: Declutter
Basically, get rid of the things you don't need/love/use. When you're in the declutter step of the process, you may start to feel overwhelmed with the amount of things you have and just want to quit. Don't quit. You can do this.
Here's how we make decluttering feel a little easier. The Three Pile Method. You'll want to start by creating three separate areas where your items can be placed. Then, starting in one corner of a room and moving clockwise, touch each item in the room and place it into the pile it belongs in. Simple.
Pile 1: Keep it.
- What goes here?
- Items you use.
- Items you love.
- Items you need.
- Items that make you/your space feel better.
- Recommendation: If you have items that belong to someone else, or belong in a different room, we recommend making a separate "keep" pile for this. At the end of the sorting process, take the items in this separate "keep" pile to their designated rooms, and/or make a plan to return items to the people they belong to.
Pile 2: Sell/Donate it.
- What goes here?
- Items you no longer use.
- Items you no longer love.
- Items you no longer need.
- Items that no longer fit the vibe of the space.
- Recommendation: Pack this pile into boxes immediately and take them out of the room. The boxes can either be put in a holding place, like the garage, until you have a sale. Or they need to be taken to a donation spot ASAP! The reason for this is because if the pile is sitting there, we tend to overthink, pull things back in or get distracted by them. Out of sight, out of mind. Trust your initial instinct. If it found it's way to the donate pile, it's time for it to go!
Pile 3: Junk it.
- What goes here?
- Broken items.
- Trash.
- Items that won't sell or won't be accepted by a donation center.
- Recommendation: If things are missing parts or pieces, consider it trash unless you know for sure it can be fixed or replaced. Set those things aside to be fixed ASAP! Also, donation centers usually won't take things like certain electronics, hazardous materials or medical supplies/cosmetics/toiletries. So you'll need to find a way to dispose of these properly!
It's important that when you're going through your space, you touch EVERY single item. Spend a few seconds with it deciding where it belongs, and then place it in it's designated pile.
Step 2: Clean
When all of the items have been removed from the designated area, now is the perfect time to deep clean the area. This is nuanced because every area is different, but here are a few bases we like to touch before moving onto the next step:
- Dust/wipe down any shelving or flat surfaces.
- Use citrus essential oils to remove any sticky or gooey messes.
- Vacuum/Mop the floors.
- Fix any imperfections. This could be fixing a broken shelf, filling nail holes, etc.
When cleaning, you want to ALWAYS make sure to use non-toxic cleaning supplies. You can click here to see why. Below is our tried and true homemade recipe for our all-purpose cleaner!
Lemon Peppermint All-Purpose Non-Toxic Cleaner
Recipe:
Ingredients:
- 16oz glass spray bottle
- 2 cups of distilled water
- 2 tbsp peppermint castille soap
- 20 drops of lemon essential oil
Instructions: Mix all of the ingredients into the 16oz spray bottle and shake to mix. It's that easy!
Step 3: Organize
After everything has been sorted and cleaned, it's time to start putting items back where they belong! Most organizing companies will give you tips on the types of organizers to purchase and use for specific items, and while we can certainly recommend this, we see it a little bit different. Purchasing organizers and containers can be VERY expensive, especially if you need a lot of them. This is why we see so much importance in the first step, decluttering. We're under the belief that you don't actually need more organizers, you just need less stuff. So once you've really gone through everything and have decided on the items you know you need and want to keep, you can get to organizing! We're going to let you in on our two major secrets to an organized space.
1. Use Labels.
Why is this important? It's important not only because it makes everything much easier to find, but it also helps to know where things go when you (or your husband!) are putting them back where they belong. Do you need labels on EVERYTHING? No. We don't want the space to start looking tacky. But we do recommend labeling spaces like drawers, closets, pantries and cupboards.
2. Color coordinate/Alphabetize
Of course when you're organizing you always want to keep like things together, but you can take it a step further and color coordinate or alphabetize. Depending on what you're organizing, you can usually do one or the other. When it comes to things like clothes or linens we always like to organize them by color, that way it's super easy to find what you're looking for. When it comes to other things like movie cases, spices, or pantry items we like to alphabetize. One thing we get asked about a lot are books, and this one can go either way, it really depends on the client and the space. If you like things to be more aesthetically pleasing, we recommend color coordination. If you like things to be more logical and easy to find, we recommend alphabetizing.
Organization is a deeply personal thing, that makes life a lot easier, can save money and can also benefit your health. It's true...you can learn more about that here.
Step 4: Decorate
The last step is, of course, not completely necessary to have an organized space. However, we believe it adds the final touches to make a space look complete. When you decorate the space you're organizing, it helps to not only spruce it up, but it also makes it feel more cozy...turning your house into a home. When decorating, we usually follow two rules; make sure it's decorated with items that make you feel good (read: happy, inspired, joyful, energized), and make sure you have balance. You want it to be appeasing to the eye. There is an art to decorating, and we're excited to dive into that more soon. Until then, don't be afraid to add some decor to your organization to make it feel more like home.
Enjoy
The last step? Enjoy your space! Home should be your sanctuary, your safe place, and where you go to relax. The way your rooms look and how they're organized and decorated plays a HUGE role in how you feel when you're in them. So to recap, declutter your space, clean it, organize it and then add the finishing decor touches! Easy. Our four step process has never failed us and we know it won't fail you! Let us know if you try it out, we'd love to hear your feedback! We hope that you found this helpful and as always, we're grateful you're here.
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