Getting Organized For Fall

Or, the Just Get Rid of It method.

This week, while Andrea (our designer who did our new kitchen) was helping me style my shelves, she gave me the pep talk I didn’t know I needed: “If you’re not actively using it, hide it in a cabinet. And if you never use it and it’s not special, just get rid of it.”

I am, unfortunately, a chronic hanger-on. My inner monologue goes something like: But I might need this one day. But it’s too nice to get rid of. But I paid $2.45 for this bud vase at World Market. (True story.) Andrea’s reminder was a useful nudge that sometimes the clearest path is…straight to the sell or donation pile. I’m applying it most aggressively to the longtime aesthetic eyesores in our house. Why keep a bench around if we never sit on it and it doesn’t even look good anymore?

This photo has nothing to do with organizing, but how gorgeous are these pansies I saw yesterday?

The relief you’ll feel mentally and physically—as your home slowly declutters—will be worth it. I’m holding on tight to this reminder as I make my way through various rooms and corners of our home this fall during what I’m dramatically calling “The Big Edit.”

Here’s my personal fall organization checklist…