Tackling Your Organizing Plans: Strategies for Success
With your action plan in hand, it's time to dive in and get started with implementation. The keys to your success will be breaking projects into bite-sized steps, focusing on progress instead of perfection, and building habits to prevent clutter from creeping back.
I want you to start small so you can build momentum and motivation. (Pro Tip: Never wait until you feel motivated to get started. Motivation will usually come after you act, but seldom before.)
When the first project comes up on your calendar, check to see how much time you estimated it to take and make a more exact plan for when you will get this done. Will you take a day off work and tackle it with the help of a friend? Will you team up as a family and go at it “weekend warrior” style? Will you chip away at it in 15-minute increments before the kids get up in the morning?
Next, look for elements of the project that can give you quick wins. For example, if your project is to organize the basement holiday storage area, some quick wins could be taking a broom to the ceiling cobwebs or throwing out broken wreaths that are on the floor. Set a timer for 10-30 minutes and focus solely on the tasks that you’ve determined will go first. When the timer stops, you should stop and take a 5 minute break. This will keep you from going overboard and burning out before you finish.
After your quick wins, you can generally tackle most projects by moving through the standard organizing process.
Deal with the obvious: toss trash and remove anything that you already know you don’t want to keep.
Sort into your categories of keep, donate, trash, or relocate. Further sort your keep items into categories based on type or use.
Clean surfaces and vacuum or sweep floors.
Put items away (using containers where appropriate) in category groups.
Remove items that don’t belong. Take the trash out, put items that go elsewhere in their correct locations, and make a run to a donation center.
Be decisive. if you haven't used it in the past year (and it's not seasonal), it's likely ready to go. Don’t overthink things; make the best decision you can in the moment. As you create your organized system, remember that it doesn’t have to be perfect, and you can assess and tweak it later.
Incorporate habits to maintain your space:
Institute rules to help you maintain order. The one-in, one-out rule for new purchases is a classic and works great to keep a space from overflowing.
A daily 5 to 10-minute tidy session for the whole family will keep everyone invested in having an organized and tidy home. Pick another habit to pair this with. For example, as soon as dinner is over, a 5-minute timer is set, and everyone pitches in to tidy one room.
Do a weekly review: Spend a few minutes ensuring systems are holding up. Friday or Sunday nights are a great time for this.
If a project feels overwhelming or if you get stuck, enlist help—a friend for accountability or a professional organizer for tricky spots.
Finally, make sure to document and celebrate milestones and project completion. After finishing an area, take photos (like you did during your initial assessment) so you can more easily see and enjoy the transformation!
If you missed the first two BLOGS of this series, you can catch up here:
1. A Yearly Home Organizing Review — Fontaine Organizing
2. www.fontaineorganizing.com/blog/2025/12/26/creating-an-action-plan-for-your-new-year-home-organizing
