You Down With O-R-G? Yeah You Know Me.
Yes, that’s a Naughty By Nature nod. O-R-G is shorthand for organizing — something our house desperately needed. To be honest, our home hasn’t been this chaotic since we moved in 16 months ago. I’m not talking about a little dust along the baseboards or streaks on the windows. I mean full-on, can’t-find-anything chaos, especially that completely out-of-control sink drawer:
We’ve written plenty about cleaning and organizing in the past, but lately there hasn’t been much of that happening. Everything started to slide back in January and February during three intense weeks of book shoots at our house. A crew, tons of moving, painting and general mayhem left the place looking like this…
Why did other areas, like the sink drawer, decline too? It’s a slippery slope. Between secret book projects, regular blog work, and toddler care — while styling and DIYing more than 150 book photos — there was barely a minute to breathe. Once the baby slept and the crew left, there was still a mountain of work for the next morning. It felt like two shifts, and somewhere between the projects and paint, locating something as simple as deodorant became impossible.
On top of posts and projects, we’re still finishing the book: proofing dozens of 200-page layouts, completing the resources section, and finalizing the cover. It felt like there’d never be time to put the house back together unless we declared organizing Project Numero Uno and ran a one-week bootcamp. So that’s exactly what we’re doing. It’s going to get messy — and then clean — and there will likely be a giant yard sale pile by the end. We’d love for you to hop on the spring-cleaning train with us. We actually got a head start this weekend and decided to share the progress today.
First up: I made the cabinets under our dining room built-ins speak my name. I literally whispered “Say my name” to the cabinets. Victory.
Then I emptied the cabinet. Well, I removed a few things and then cranked up the tunes — Nicki Minaj, Eminem, vintage Britney — and got to work. I pulled out every book, magazine, and random object that had accumulated (many magazines live here because the built-ins aren’t deep enough for them).
I made piles: each magazine type in its own stack (Domino, Cottage Living, House Beautiful, Blueprint, and other Meredith titles) and books grouped by subject (pregnancy/health/green, chick lit, decor/design, teen fiction). It felt good to see order emerging.
Those white boards in the picture were old built-in shelves we removed when the space felt too crowded. We’d shoved them into the cabinet “just in case,” but after a year of collecting dust they were moved to John’s scrap wood pile in the basement.
Next I wiped the shelves down with white vinegar. They smelled like an old storage room, and the vinegar cleaned and neutralized odors quickly. It took about half of “Hit Me Baby One More Time” to get it done — totally worth it.
I returned items in groups that made sense, stacking rather than standing everything upright so nothing would topple when I pulled one thing out. Small stacks let me see into the cabinet and reach items in the back without a domino effect.
Ahhh, order. Let me count the Domino magazines.
About 10% of the books and magazines ended up in a yard sale pile in the guest room closet. It’s freeing to admit you won’t reread something and give it a chance to find a new home.
You might wonder where our hardcover decorating books live. They’re stacked on the console, on the built-in shelves, and on top of the office file cabinet. We also tuck several into the hallway ottomans beneath the console. They don’t runneth over, so I’m not admitting to a decorating-book problem. Not yet.
After sorting the books and magazines my brain was fried, but there were still random decor items — faux gourds, vases, candlesticks — searching for a home. The matching cabinet on the other side, where I store candlesticks, vases, and decor, had also become a mess.
It had gotten so out of hand that I’d started stashing overflow back in the book cabinet. Not ideal. Time to pare down, group, and add more to the yard sale pile.
Some decor items had migrated into the corner cabinet in the kitchen. About half of those actually belonged there — serving pieces, cake stands, salad bowls — so I decided to dedicate the corner cabinet exclusively to serving and food-related items. My decor pieces would be consolidated into the single cabinet under the built-ins.
Once again, everything came out. This time I listened to a mix: Glee covers, more Nicki Minaj, and classic Snoop & Dre. Imagine me singing, “Ain’t nothing but a clean thing baby — I’ve got so many candles it’s cray-zay.”
I emptied the corner cabinet — for reference, that peninsula counter is five feet long by three feet wide — and sorted everything into keep, group, or yard sale piles. Then everything that stayed received a quick vinegar wipe-down.
Everything just fit. The cabinet now has zones: candle holders in the top right, vases and planters in the bottom right, vase fillers and other decor in the bottom left, and tabletop decor that rotates in and out in the top left.
Where did the excess candles go? Many used to live in our old fireplace on a silver platter, but with a curious toddler we had to scale back. I saved a few favorites and created a dedicated candle drawer in a small cabinet in the dining room. The rest went into the yard sale pile. I placed two plastic placemats at the bottom of the drawer to protect it from wax.
Huzzah! The corner cabinet in the kitchen now holds only kitchen-related serving items: dishes, bowls, plates, trays, a cake stand, and so on.
There’s even room to spare. I’m tempted to splurge on a few new pieces, but I’m mostly tired and ready to tackle more this week. If you want to join our bootcamp, here’s our tentative schedule:
- Monday: We started by organizing a few cabinets. Tackle one or two of your own — books and decorative accessories are an easy place to begin.
- Tuesday: We’ll focus on taming kid clutter. If you don’t have kids, choose any clutter hot spot.
- Wednesday: We’ll pare down grooming and cleaning products — feel free to sort your supplies and share tips.
- Thursday: Paper and tech organization day — tackle digital photos, clear your desktop, or file paperwork and receipts.
- Friday: We might show our basement. Plan a basement or garage cleanup on your end and get brave with us.
- Bonus: We hope to address clothes — sorting the dresser and shifting the closet — and clean up our night tables when time allows.
This plan is flexible, but we’ll report back as we go and we’d love to hear how you’re doing. Have you started spring cleaning or streamlining your home? Will you join us? What music or audio keeps you sane while you clean — upbeat playlists, an audiobook, NPR, or a favorite podcast? We want to know what gets you through the mess and into the calm.