“A cluttered environment leaves a cluttered mind,” says Lavender Menakaya, the owner and founder of Alexandria-based Lavender Organizes, a home organizing company. “It really drains the mind from energy.” Here, Menakaya shares her top tips for decluttering and how to make—and keep—your home a happy place.
What is your decluttering method?
For things clients no longer want, I help them donate to a charity or nonprofit of their choice. After that, we organize. I don’t organize by color coordinating or labeling; that’s not really functional. I think about what items are special, where people expect items to be and the flow of how you use your items in an organized and neat way.
What habits are necessary for home organization?
Spend a little bit of time doing small tasks. Start with making your bed every morning. Have a to-do list to keep track of everything and then spend 15 minutes a week checking things off and organizing the space that needs it most. Finally, when you see something that has no purpose in an area, just take it out.
Which room is typically the hardest to keep decluttered?
The office or study, because of paperwork. People get so busy and there’s all this mail coming in, and office paperwork. The No. 1 rule to help with this is go paper-less. Let’s save the trees! Pay bills online. It will help and it will downsize. With other papers, make a home for everything. Have binders, label them, categorize everything and commit to organizing papers at least twice a week.
Why is having an organized home important?
Clients are always so much happier after decluttering. They tell me the energy is
better; there’s more clarity. They get to be in that space or the room they love that
they used to hate to walk into. Now, they can go in there, sit down and relax and
actually have space to walk around. // Rates begin at $300
This post originally appeared in our May 2020 print issue’s “40 Ways to Find your Zen” story. For more tips and tricks from local experts, subscribe to our newsletters.
