1. 217 - From Hot Mess Room To Organized Storage Lisa Woodruff 26:39

Take a deep breath – it’s time to get your hot mess room in order!

This is one of the most requested podcast topics fro me to cover. If it helps, it was equally overwhelming for me to think about how I was going to inspire and motivate you to sort it out.

What I finally realized was, you needed a 28 day course. And I didn’t want money to be the reason you didn’t tackle this already overwhelming space. So I created a FULL 28 day course complete with a 25 page eBook, 9 full color printables, and 28 daily emails with actionable tasks and daily videos or podcasts to keep you going.You can get the WHOLE course FREE here.

Over the next 4 podcasts, I’m going to tackle your out of control storage area head on. Buckle up and get ready for the ride!

Whether it’s the storage room, garage, spare bedroom, or even your entire house, there’s always going to be things that you just don’t know what to do with.

As things build up in one space, they become a jigsaw puzzle. It’s your job to try and work out what items should go where. To move forward, you need to realize what’s actually in there and then once you’ve achieved that, you can sort it out.

There’s two reasons why you have a hot mess room…

  1. You have a lack of time (and decision-making capabilities)
  2. You have a lack of space

Lack Of Time

There’s always something that will be more important to distract you from addressing the hot mess room.

The reason that things are in there in the first place is because you don’t know what you want to do with them. They’re all there because you don’t want to deal with them. If you did want to deal with them, you would have!

Lack Of Space

Your goal is to have a functioning and organized storage area. The logistics of this will depend on your individual situation.

If you have a garage and basement and lots of available space to fill, you may need to make tough decisions to reduce the amount of possessions you are storing.

If you live in a smaller space, the reason that you may have a hot mess room is because you literally don’t have a storage area at all.

When we pick houses, we often don’t make our purchasing decisions based on storage even though it’s something that we all need.

Storage is a natural by-product of life. We all need a certain amount of stuff and that is absolutely fine.

Depending on your circumstances, you may need an off-site storage facility. There’s nothing wrong with this.

Here are 3 good examples of when this may be necessary…

  1. When two families blend together, especially if children are involved
  2. When you downsize, but the kids are still using the house as a storage facility
  3. If you move to an area where you don’t have a garage or basement

Make Storage Work For You

Since I started offering physical products, I’ve really had to think about the organizational logistics for myself and the wider team. Initially, we used the Home Depot shelving in the garage to store everything and this very quickly expanded to include an off-site storage facility.

This worked, but it wasn’t ideal. As it got colder, we realized that a physical office with a door would be more appropriate for our needs.

In all of these spaces, we used the Home Depot shelving – there were lots of trips to the store!

The key to organization is to ensure that it works for your needs. If it doesn’t, change it, find a better solution, and move on.

The System

Whatever your system, start from an empty space for the optimum organization. The more uniform, the better. Your shelving and storage need to be neat, tidy, and clearly accessible.

I personally use the HDX ventilated 24” deep shelving from Home Depot. I love that it is heavy duty yet very flexible and lightweight. (How to set up your storage room and the exact products I use are in the the WHOLE course FREE here.)

It works for basements, storage facilities, garages, and even attics because it is so adaptable in height. It’s the system I LOVE for setting up a storage room.

If space is limited, you can place folding tables on the top of the shelving to make a countertop to work on. It’s a great money-saving tip.

The beauty of this system is that you can find anything at any time. Color-coded bins will hold your items and the contents will all be indexed in a home reference binder. You will keep this in the house for when you need to use it.

Sign Up!

I’m offering you the opportunity to enroll in a special 28-day program just for the hot mess room. It’s completely FREE! I’m super, super excited about how much this will help you.

Sign up for this 28 day daily organizational challenge and you’ll get…

  • Daily actionable work that will yield real results
  • A 2-minute video each day
  • An eBook and a comprehensive shopping list of how to set up a storage room
  • 9 colorful printables to track what you have stored in your storage area

Imagine getting organized in just 28 days! It’s a reality and it’s my FREE gift to you!

Click here to start your 28-day organizational hot mess room journey.

Hey, have you signed up to join me in Dallas, Texas for the Organize 365 National Convention? I can’t wait to meet you and give you a BIG hug!

View the complete post here: https://organize365.com/217

Lisa Woodruff Founder & CEO of Organize 365®

Lisa Woodruff is the founder & CEO of Organize 365®.

Lisa, along with 87% of America, believes organization is a learnable skill. Yet less than 18% of those same Americans feel they are organized. Through The Productive Home Solution course, Lisa aims to teach Americans young and old the skill of organizing and unlocking their time for what they are uniquely created to do.

As the host of the top-rated Organize 365® Podcast (which has 17 million downloads and counting) Lisa shares strategies for reducing the overwhelm, clearing the mental clutter, and living a productive and organized life. Her sensible and doable organizing tasks appeal to multiple generations. Her candor and relatable personality make you feel as though she is right there beside you; helping you get organized as you laugh and cry together.

Under Lisa’s direction, Organize 365® has conducted academic research establishing the definitions of housework, home organization and the weight of paper in the American home. This ongoing research is making the invisible work at home visible to all. The goal is to eliminate it and free people from the monotonous tasks of daily living; and unlock their time for what they are uniquely created to bring forth in the world.

She is the author of four books including: How ADHD Affects Home Organization and The Paper Solution. Lisa’s understanding of the lived female American experience has helped her to create products & courses like the Sunday Basket®. These products and courses externalize the routine tasks that take up the executive functioning capacity of our brains; freeing us up to think and create again!