10 Organization Mistakes Most People Make

These are the 10 Most Common Home Organization Mistakes that lead to clutter and a messy home. If you are struggling to stay organized, it could be because you are making these organizational mistakes too!

Podcast Channel on Youtube: @ClutterbugPod

[uteme]

When I was decluttering 'big time' I took digital pictures of unused sentimental items. I also prayed over all items...that the next 'steward of my stuff' will be blessed & have a happy life. Doing these 2 things made & still makes letting go a breeze! ♡

[alexthompson]

1. 0:12 Band-aid solutions instead of looking at your room as a whole
2. 2:39 Never store low traffic items in high traffic areas
3. 3:42 Not zoning your home
4. 5:19 Not using containers to contain your stuff
5. 6:43 Buying colored or specialty containers for different spaces
6. 8:50 Big totes often become DOOM boxes, storing multiple random categories of items together
7. 10:19 Not creating homes for temporary things
8. 11:56 Focusing on looks over function
9. 13:02 Filling all your spaces to 100%
10. 14:07 Not reevaluating our spaces often enough

[maryd]

“Doom boxes”….what a great description!

[likeargamanflaming]

"Low traffic items in high traffic areas." Excellent!!!

[hannahthehomesteader]

I just hired a professional organizer and she always talks about defining each space and giving it a name. The whole family should know what I mean when I say the "baking drawer" and, by naming it, I'm already limiting what goes in it. It's been really great for me. Each cubby, drawer, and shelf is defined by its name and purpose. My laundry room is also a mud room and baby changing Station. It becomes a drop zone for everything. But we defined each space, decluttered, got the right containers, and VOILA! The space functions now!

[laurabenevelli]

I recently watched a short from someone I never saw before but I liked what she said. She said if you’re trying to declutter don’t ask “Do I need it?” because anyone can find a reason why they need things and justify reasons to keep things. She said to ask yourself, “Can I live without it?” That made a lot more sense to me.
Her logic mixed with what you do would work great together. Now if I can only get through my freeze response from my PTSD. 😢

[nancylyles]

My mom is a very healthy 87 year. She strictly believes that she can’t let go of anything because she paid money for it. Every surface in her house is used for some type of storage for something. She truly believes she needs everything! She’s one very stubborn woman. She’s even saved all her money and won’t spend a dime for any upgrades for her home. Her home is well maintained and her large yard is gorgeous all due to her hard work. She’s an amazing woman with a lot of stuff. I’m very fortunate in so many ways. I’m grateful for her and just let her be.

[rachelmontgomery]

Our one and only cruise experience was to Alaska for my in-laws’ 50th anniversary with the whole family. It was a good mix of activity on the ship (RC Ovation of the Seas) and excursions. Our kids (ages 7 to 16 at the time) loved the cool activities on the ship - iFly, rock climbing, North Star, Flowrider and unlimited soft serve cones. :) I liked the excursions more than being on the ship, but the whole experience was such a gift. Within a month, my MIL was diagnosed with cancer, within 9 Covid had shut the border, and within 16 she passed away. My takeaway was to spend time with the ones you love and don’t take it for granted.

[emoonae]

I have *definitely* done a lot of organizing clutter. I look at a mess and ask myself, “How can I contain this?” instead of, “Which of these items do I need to keep?” 😂 I am a champion at skipping steps.

[beachlover]

Cass, you truly are funny. I get the "adult" cruise issue. We moved to an "active 55 community". I was 65 and fairly active. I don't run but I do like to do things. Well, it was early winter so no one was outside really and when spring came, all you saw were walkers and wheelchairs. All the "clubs" were knitting or sitting exercising. Not at all what I thought "active 55" meant! Good luck with your cruise. I have never been and really don't have any desire to go. I am not an eater, don't stay up late, don't like crowds, don't drink. I like to WALK on the beach and be alone. I also have a fear of being on a ship and everyone is sick.

[SusanCuevas-cn]

Royal Caribbean!!!! Lots of adventures ON the
It’s in the middle!!! I think you’ll love it and the kids too!!

[Sweeden]

I used to always be super organized but the last few years have just been in a major slump. I had a few things happen including someone in the family being very ill. Everything just kind of fell apart and now it's overwhelming. This is helping me get back on track.

[susanmarie]

I'm trying to catch myself before I decide I need containers to store stuff, when what I need to do is get rid of stuff that I shouldn't be storing in the first place!

[maryellenyork]

Storage bins do not have to be expensive. Free boxes are available from the P.O. While still flat, I covered them in Contact paper from DT. The long, skinny boxes cut in half are the perfect width for canned and bottled groceries in my pantry and keep stacked cans from falling over. I have bought photo storage boxes or clear plastic shoe boxes when on sale for $2.50 each. I LOVE my china cabinet just for pretty things to look at--memories of mine, Mom's and Grandma's. Anything else can be done differently, but don't change my china cabinet! It makes me feel good to look at it, so serves an important purpose.

[lindam]

Fantastic Video. I took notes and came here to ask which was the 10th because I only had 9 and then realized I mis-numbered and I actually had 10, haha. So since I already typed these out I'll leave it for other people in case they didn't take notes.

10 Organizing Mistakes:
1 Band-aid Solutions
2 Never store low traffic items in high traffic areas
3 Not creating Zones in room
4 Not using Containers to contain stuff
5 Buying Specialty or Colored Containers
6 Having Doom boxes (big tub boxes)
7 Not having Homes for Temporary items
8 Focusing on Look over Function
9 Filling up all spaces 100%
10 Not re-evaluating our spaces often enough

[SoniaSL-RD]

Royal Caribbean sounds like the right balance for your next cruise 🙂 Carnival is the party boat and Princess is the senior version 😉

[erinbaird]

Cass, do you have some videos coming up where you show us some more before and afters with real life people?! I love your tip videos, but my absolute fave are seeing the entire process with a family. Thank you!!❤️

[BritBallash]

Royal Caribbean! Very kid friendly! We took our four kids ages 6-16 in January on Royal Caribbean and had the best time! So many activities!!

[ndgrandma]

My husband and I went on a cruise and we enjoyed ourselves but neither of us ever have the desire to do it again. We discovered all-inclusive resorts and love them! That way, if you feel like laying by the pool, you can, but there’s always nightly entertainment and tons of excursions to go on. You can do so many different things, or nothing at all! Some resorts are child friendly and some are adults only. We are sold on that type of vacation! Check some out- maybe they would fit you and your family better than a cruise! 🤷‍♀️😊

[whatwilliwatch]

8:50 Those big totes are actually my favorite organizing bins ♥ The thing is, you've gotta use them right. You touched on the primary mistake in your critique of how they're usually used: they can't house multiple types of things. They have to be specific. In my case, I use them for craft supplies, and each individual bin is for a specific category of supply, i.e. fabric, embellishments, paper craft supplies, wood pieces, etc. And they should always be LABELED with that category on the side of the bin.

Beyond that, to keep things organized within each bin, I find that zip bags are the best way to go (either 1 gallon or 2.5 gallon, depending on what you're storing). Zip bags can be labeled easily, and they're flexible (unlike plastic storage containers), which means that as long as what you're storing isn't susceptible to "squish" damage, you can fit a lot of them in a given bin. If you follow the 20% rule (13:41), you can usually find what you want by rummaging around. But even if the bin is so full you have to pour everything out to find what you're looking for, since everything's contained in zip bags, you can just toss them right back in. They don't have to be in any kind of "order, " just related to the bin's overarching category.

TL;DR You can totally use big bins effectively, but you need to be thoughtful and purposeful about using them. They can't just become catch-all's.