One day I was laying in bed, looking around my room, and said “I can’t handle this anymore,” referring to the laundry, cups, and glasses, and papers lying around my room. I had spent days prior telling myself “there’s nothing I can do about this mess right now,” as I was heading out the door for work.  I had no time for organizing.

I let that excuse pass for about 2-weeks as the mess built up. Until I could not handle it anymore. 

However, instead of getting up and putting clothes away, I watched two episodes of ‘Tidying Up with Marie Kondo,’ on Netflix. People told me this show would “change my life,” but I had a hard time believing a reality TV show could do that. 

But, it did. Now, I am living a very organized and clutter-free life and I will never go back to the mess before. 

With all that being said, below I have combined some of Marie Kondo’s knowledge as well as mine in the steps I took to declutter my life.

1. Closet: This was the beast of my organizing burden. But, here is what I did:
   • Hangers: I got my hangers off of Amazon, which let me put multiple things on one hanger. This saved a lot of space. I only keep dresses, skirts, dress tops and large coats on hangers.  
   • Bins: I got canvas bins from Amazon, and I used them to hold clothes that were previously stuffed into my drawers. I then put them along the shelves in my closet, each with a label, “jeans, dress pants, pajamas, socks/intimates and winter sweaters.” It was not hard to fit my stuff into these bins. I followed Marie Kondo’s folding method to make it happen! Check it out here.
   • Drawers: I have drawers of my own, which I kept. I use them for t-shirts/workout shirts, shorts (denim and workout,) and sweatpants.  
2. Important papers, letters and pictures: I have a lot of this stuff, mostly just shoved inside my desk drawer. To fix this problem I got a file organizer with file folders. I labeled each folder, “pictures, letters, work/school papers and paper memories.” 
   • File organizer: I got mine from Amazon. I got a big one that way there was enough space to grow upon as more papers, letters and pictures were collected. 
   • File folders: I got mine from Amazon. The ones I have are more like folders. I would recommend some that are more like dividers. 
3. Desk Drawer: My drawer was what would typically be called a “junk drawer.” I jammed it with random papers, technology wires and more. I honestly stopped using or opening it because I knew I would get lost in the clutter. 
   • Drawer Organizer set: To fix my problem, I got a 16-piece desk drawer dividers from Amazon. I separated each by category. One, holds all of my pens, another my pencils, another electronic wires, and so on. 
   • Tip: This is also an opportunity to utilize that file organizer you got. Move those random papers into it! 
4. Accessories: My accessories were everywhere. When I finally organized them, I found things I forgot I had. 
   • Hats: I don’t have a hat organizer, but I do have a shelf, which is where I organized them. I stacked them on top of one another and organized them into three sections: baseball caps, winter beanies and “fancy/random” hats (bucket hats and berets to name a few.) 
   • Jewelry: I got a great mirror/jewelry holder from Amazon. It was on the pricey end, but I think it’s worth it and I can hold necklaces, earrings, rings and more in it (you can even put makeup in it) while also checking my looks in the mirror. I have it hanging on my closet door.  
   • Bags/Purses: I didn’t do anything fancy for these. I got an empty hanger and hung them on it through their straps or drawstrings. It’s very convenient. 
   • Belts: I did the same for belts as I did for bags/purses. 

There you have it! My top tips for organizing your room, especially those getting ready for school to start again. Looking through the clutter to find your things isn’t fun - especially when you have a research paper due the next day! 

I hope these tips will help you. Happy organizing!