As we move towards Spring, the all-illustrious “Spring Cleaning” looms on the minds of many. Questions about what needs to be cleaned, when it will get done, and what will happen to the quote-on-quote "junk" can become stressful. If you, like many, are dreading organizing the parts of the house you haven’t touched since last Spring, Lissa Miller has your back.
Lissa Miller is the founder and CEO of Lissa Miller Organizing LLC, a business dedicated to organizing, staging, and redesigning homes. Miller started her business several years ago in Excelsior after realizing she could use her organizing skills to help others. Here, she shares her best tips to organize your home and make room for what you love.
“I love my work because it taps into my own creativity and also helps my clients have a better quality of life. I have never had a client who, when done with our sessions, didn’t feel a sense of relief, calm, and new inspiration in their refreshed environment,” Miller says.
Her tips for beginning an organizing project start with understanding why you want to organize a space in the first place. According to Miller, an organized home creates a calm and stress-free environment and provides order to an otherwise chaotic space. Being organized also provides an opportunity for everyone living in the home to learn a sense of order and ownership of their belongings. Figuring out why you feel the need to organize a space will provide guidance for actually getting the task done.
Once you’ve determined why you want to organize, the next step is deciding where to start and making a plan. A small drawer or closet are both great places to begin. And sorting items into boxes to donate, discard, recycle, and keep can really get the ball rolling. If you’re finding it difficult to choose what to keep or toss, Miller suggests asking yourself if you will miss the items and imagining someone else enjoying them. This will help you only keep what you can manage.
When it comes to the nitty-gritty of actually organizing a home, she suggests keeping your plan in mind and just starting. All of the items you decide to keep can be placed in bins and drawer organizers to simplify the process. She also explains that like-items should be placed with other like-items to make things easier to find. Categorizing items will also make it easier to remember where they belong in the future. If you struggle with knowing where to place certain items, bringing in a set of fresh eyes such as a family member or neighbor can do wonders.
Once you have organized your spaces, you may be wondering what to do with all the items you decided to donate, discard, and recycle. Depending on the condition of the items, donating is always a great option and will not only help you rid your home of clutter but will also benefit others in the long run. Other options include selling higher-priced items to pawn shops and online marketplaces or finding recycling centers near you.
The final step in organizing your home is creating a maintenance plan. A maintenance plan will allow you to keep your home organized on a weekly basis instead of yearly. Miller suggests spending a few minutes every evening putting items in their place and then choosing one day every week to do a more thorough walk-through of your home. Developing your maintenance plan will allow you to enjoy your home stress-free for the foreseeable future.
If after all of her tips and tricks, you’re still not feeling the ambition to organize your home yourself, Lissa Miller is just a phone call away. Whether you need your entire house organized or just one room, she will develop an individualized plan and create a maintenance schedule for maintaining those spaces going forward. Don’t let the stress of Spring Cleaning get you down. Make a plan and just start!
Organize
Make Space for What You Love
Lissa will consult with you in person or by phone to determine your organizing needs and costs. Once these are determiend, she will develop an individualized plan and create a maintenance schedule for maintaining those spaces going forward.
Redesign
Staging to Stay
Lissa's redesign services take what you already have in your home and use it in ways you may have never considered. By reconfiguring your furniture and adding accent pieces and accent paint colors, your spaces can become brand new for a fraction of the cost of an interior designer.
Staging
Staging to Sell
Lissa offers full and partial home staging services but says she especially enjoys helping sellers who are willing to do a lot of the work themselves. Miller stages each area of the home to highlight the home's best features using the homeowner's furnishings. She will also provide additional decor when necessary.
How to Organize
1. Understand why you want to organize a space in the first place. Figuring out why you feel the need to organize a space will provide guidance for actually getting the task done.
2. Decide where you want to start and make a plan. Start with a small drawer or closet and sort items into boxes to donate, discard, recycle, and keep. This can really get the ball rolling.
3. With your plan in mind, just start! All the items you decide to keep can be placed in bins and drawer organizers to simplify the process. Like-items should be placed with other like-items to make things easier to find in the future.
4. For items you plan to get rid of, donating is always a great option. Other options include selling higher-priced items to pawn shops and online marketplaces or finding recycling centers near you.
5. Spend a few minutes every evening putting items in their place. Once a week do a more thorough walk-through of your home. Develop a maintenance plan so you can enjoy your home stress-free for the foreseeable future.
“I love my work because it taps into my own creativity and also helps my clients have a better quality of life. I have never had a client who, when done with our sessions, didn’t feel a sense of relief, calm, and new inspiration in their refreshed environment."