Six-Step Strategy to Organize Any Space in Your Home

Is your home a cluttered mess? Need help to get it under control? We can teach you a simple six-step strategy to organize any space in your home!

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Table of Contents

The 6/P Strategy

The 6/P Strategy will teach you how to purge clutter, deep clean, personalize and organize your home.

Printable teaching the six-step strategy to organize any space in your home.

Remember these six words that start with “P,” and you’ll be able to transform any space!

PREPARE
PURGE
POLISH
PERSONALIZE
PLACE
PUT BACK

The space we chose to organize in our home is a closet, so let’s go over the six-step strategy in detail!

1) PREPARE

Messy closet before using the 6P strategy to organize your home

Gather trash bags, a cardboard box, and 2 laundry hampers for the following categories:

Trash- large trash bags for items you want to discard
Donate- a cardboard box for items to donate
Relocate- a laundry basket for items that need to be relocated to another room
Replace- use a bed or the dining room table for items you will replace in the space

2) PURGE

An empty closet ready to use the six-step strategy to organize it.

Remove everything from the space and put it into one of the following categories:

Replace– items you need and can’t live without that will go back into the area
Trash– items that are stained or broken and can not be donated or sold
Donate- items that you don’t need anymore that are in good shape and can still be useful
Relocate- items that belong in another room

Occasionally, you will have extra categories:

Recycle – items that belong in the recycling bin
Sell- items you would like to sell in a yard sale or online
Consign– items you would like to take to a consignment shop
Repurpose– objects you would like to make into something new

Don’t skip this step

When I first started organizing my home, I thought I could skip this step. However, there are several reasons why you should empty the space. Let me explain.

When you empty the space you will need to pick up every item to move it, this will give you a chance to evaluate whether you need it or not, and at the end of the process, you know exactly what you have.
With everything out of the space, it’s easy to deep clean areas you usually ignore.
When you see the space empty, you have a clean slate. It’s easier to determine how to put everything back in an organized manner. You may see the space in a whole new light!

How do you decide what to keep and what to discard?

If you have not used the item within the last year, then the likelihood you need it is slim. It needs to go!
If it does not fit, you don’t need it. Just remember if your weight changes, you have an excuse to buy new clothes!
If an item does not bring you joy, don’t keep it. That tip is from organizing guru Marie Kondo. She says to hold each item and ask yourself if it brings you joy. If so, keep it. If not, discard it. I know it sounds crazy, but doing that helped me realize that if an item was not bringing me joy, it’s selfish to keep it. What’s the old saying, “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”?
If the item is a family heirloom and has sentimental value to you, keep it. However, do not keep something handed down to you out of guilt. I had my grandmother’s baby grand piano. It took up valuable space in my home since no one could play it. I couldn’t bring myself to part with it. So instead, we decided to repurpose several parts of it. This freed up the space and I was able to make something useful out of the parts. To see the DIY click here.

3) POLISH

cleaning supplies for top down approach to cleaning the zone in 6p Strategy

Deep clean the space while it is empty.

I use a top-down approach to cleaning which means that you start at the highest point in the room and work your way down.

This is important so you don’t have to clean twice.

For example, if you vacuum the floor and then dust off the ceiling fan, you’ll have dust falling on your clean floor, and then you’ll have to clean the floor again.

I don’t like to clean, so I don’t want to do it twice!

4) PERSONALIZE

It’s time to brainstorm to determine how to make the space function best for your personal needs.

This is my favorite part! I developed the following questions to help you figure out what change needs to happen in this area.

How does the area need to function?
What problems are you having in the area, and how can you solve the problem?
What storage items do you need to purchase, or make, to contain items in the area?
Is there a DIY project you can do to make the space more functional? What can you do to improve the looks of the space? If there’s something you’d like to do but your time and/or budget restricts it, set a goal to do it next year.
Make a list of the items you need to place in the area. Remember, do not put an item back in the space unless it’s necessary.
Can you spruce up the area with seasonal decor?

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5) PLACE

organized closet after using An Organized Season's 6P strategy

Place every item back in its new space.

Have you ever heard the saying, “A place for everything and everything in its place?”

Take time to put things back in an organized manner.

Put like items together in the space closest to where you’ll use them.

Decide if you need storage to contain items.

You can use the containers you have or purchase new ones.

6) PUT BACK

Ben Franklin quote A Place for everything and everything in its place printed and framed

This is the most important step if you want to stay organized!

Unfortunately, it’s the most difficult step to get everyone in my house to do!

Finally, to keep clutter from coming back, you must train yourself to put items back into their designated spaces.

This is the only way to maintain an organized home!!

Remembering to implement this step will reduce stress because you know where everything belongs, and it is easy to find things!

There you have it.

A six-step strategy to organize any space in your home.

We hope you are excited to get started!

Blessings, Rich & Donna

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