134. 5 Organizing Mistakes to Avoid (From My Recent Clients)

Your house is organized, so why doesn't it feel good? What happiness research says, and how I use the Organizing for Beautiful Living principles to make home happier. Your house is organized, maybe you even have a cleaning service, and it still doesn't feel the way you want it to. In this episode, I share what happiness researchers have found about what makes us happy, and how I use the five Organizing for Beautiful Living principles to make my home happier, one small game at a time. 🧠 Arthu...

Your bookcase is full and your home is small. Four places to put books: the kitchen, the end of the sofa, shelves shared with dishes, and a closet. Your bookcase is full, and the books are stacking up on the floor next to the couch. In this episode I share four places I put books in small homes: the kitchen, the end of the sofa, shelves shared with dishes, and the closet. Listen for: 🍳 Why a bookcase at the end of the kitchen island puts books within reach of the kids at snack time, and how ...

The walk-in pantry, the big island, the coffee bar. Eight dream home features I find full of clutter, and how to name the job you want each one to do. The walk-in pantry, the big kitchen island and the coffee bar all look great in the listing photos. Six months after move-in, they're covered with stuff. In this episode I walk you through eight dream home features I see in real houses, what each one was built for, what ends up on it, and one fix for each that takes less than a weekend. 🍿 Why t...

Nine organizing products I won't buy for my house or my clients', what I use instead, and the one rule that keeps you from needing most of them. Deal days are here again, and the organizing products always look good on sale. So before you fill your cart, I'm walking you through nine organizing products I won't buy, for my own home or for my clients, and what I use in each spot instead. You'll also get the one step in my CLEAR-5 method that keeps you from needing most of these products at all....

Why you can't finish decluttering: the 6 piles you keep moving around the house, how to count the decisions in a pile, and how to know when to stop for the day. If you can't finish decluttering, look at the piles you keep moving: the clothes on the chair, the mail on the counter, the donation bags in your trunk. In this episode, I walk you through the six piles I find in almost every house, the one question you have to answer for each, and how to clear one of them tonight. I also tell you abo...