If you’ve ever looked around your home and thought, “I’ll tackle this when I have more time…
more energy… more motivation,” you’re not alone. The problem is, motivation is a flaky friend. It shows up when it feels like it, and it disappears the moment you need it most.
That’s why one of the most “back to basics” organizing truths I know is
this:
You don’t need motivation to begin. You need a starting point.
And the best starting point is always the same: start where you stand.
Why we get stuck
Big messes create big feelings. When a space looks like it needs hours of work, your brain tries to protect you by putting it off. It whispers things like:
“This is going to take forever.”
“I don’t even know where to begin.”
“If I can’t do it all, why
start?”
But here’s the thing: progress doesn’t require a perfect plan. It requires one simple action.
Start with the nearest small area
When you don’t know what to do, do what’s closest.
Look around the exact spot you’re in right now and choose one tiny zone, something so small you can finish it quickly and feel a win. For example:
The corner of the kitchen counter where papers pile up
One chair that’s become a “temporary landing pad”
The coffee table
The bathroom sink area
The spot by the door where shoes and bags collect
One kitchen drawer (yes, just one!)
The goal is not to organize your whole home. The goal is to create momentum.
The easiest way to begin
Here’s a simple, back-to-basics approach that works almost anywhere:
1) Toss trash. Clear out the obvious: junk mail, wrappers,
empty boxes, broken bits, anything that’s clearly done.
2) Put away the easy wins. Return items that have an obvious home...shoes to the shoe spot, cups to the sink, pens to the drawer, shampoo back in the shower.
3) Make one decision. Pick one item (or one small pile) that needs a decision: keep, donate, relocate, or recycle. Just one decision is enough to move the needle.
And if you’re thinking, “But I have a million things that need decisions,” you’re right. So
don’t try to solve them all today. Start with one.
The “blank slate” effect
Here’s something I’ve noticed again and again: when your space is cluttered, it’s genuinely harder to think.
You can’t come up with solutions because your brain is busy processing all the visual noise. But when you clear even a small area, it’s like someone turns the lights on.
Removing items from a space can be therapeutic. Decluttering can make you breathe easier and put you in a better state of mind.
That’s why starting small matters. It gives you a little blank slate, and blank slates make better decisions possible.
What if you only have a few minutes?
Perfect. This method was made for real life.
If you only do one small area today, you still
did something important: you proved to yourself that you’re not stuck. You’re just starting.
And tomorrow? Start where you stand again. Same method. Different tiny zone. That’s how homes get steadily more organized; not through giant weekend marathons, but through small, consistent starts.
A quick challenge for today
Before you move on with your day, pick the nearest tiny area and do just one thing:
throw away 10 pieces of trash, or
return 10 items to their homes, or
fill one small bag with
donations.
Then, yes, sit down and relax like you earned it. Because you did.
Start where you stand. The rest gets easier once you begin.
On another note...
High-end beauty can be
expensive, so I created this list of affordable beauty products that give you the same luxurious results for a lot less!
