2 Ways to Stop Mess in Its Tracks

Mess happens to every organizing style and personality. Mess always happens in every room. Although I’d confess that mess happens more often in my sons’ rooms and playroom than mine. As a mom and an organizer, I’ve discovered that there are two ways to stop mess in its tracks. They’re simple strategies so read along and change your life. Well, change your stress levels at least!

Before I started PixiesDidIt, I always thought that super tidy people were naturally that way. Some are. But some are not. It depends on your organizing style — you can take our quiz here to find your style. The ones that are not “naturally tidy” just anticipate the mess they know will occur. They know themselves. The reason some people can more easily stop mess in its tracks than others is that they have the systems in place expecting the mess.

The two ways to stop mess in its tracks is to always have extra storage on hand and constantly create space. Technically the third way I’ve seen people stop mess in its tracks is to have a regular housekeeper. But the latter was definitely my wealthier clients!

Always Have Extra on Hand

When you buy bins and organizational structure to organize a space, buy at least one more than you think you’ll need. Store them in your attic or garage in a spot that’s easy to grab. The reason? You’ll end up using them if not today, then tomorrow or the next day.

When I’m on an organizing job, it’s such a time killer when I don’t buy enough bins for a particular space. I’ve got to stop what I’m doing, go to the store, and comeback. This delays me finishing the job and doing other things. So I always buy extra bins.

This is same is true for your life. If you’re organized but don’t have an extra bin on hand for an unexpected new category that pops up — whether in a playroom or your office — problems ensue. A little clutter becomes a lot of clutter. Temporary mess becomes permanent mess. I’ve no idea why. It’s like that book “The Secret” and the Law of Attraction.

SO … the simple solution is basically organizational inventory. The first way to stop mess in its tracks is to have extra organizational structure already on hand to come and save the day. No waiting necessary.

Constantly Create Space

I will say this until I’m blue in the face … the only reason organizers nag about decluttering is that space makes it easier to organize. That’s it. There is almost no other reason to declutter unless you get joy from throwing things out. When there’s open space to create a home for something, it’s like everyone’s brain recognizes that this is a proper home. When this happens, it doesn’t attract clutter. In addition, when there’s space, it’s easier to see and retrieve things, which is what being organized is all about.

Not enough space is one of the reasons it’s so freaking tough right now with everyone working from home. Everyone set up their home for life outside of work. Now the same amount of space is doing double duty. Double duty rooms makes it hard to stay organized because there often just isn’t enough space to store all of the things needed.

The second way to stop mess in its track is to constantly create space by decluttering existing storage. Throw out minor things in the moment when you notice them in a drawer or clean out your purse when you’re bored on a phone call. Whenever doing an organizing, make sure when you finish that there’s a lot of extra space and you will stay organized for a long time.