It’s really hard to build up the willpower to get a space organized. When we think about the amount of work that has to go into it, we tend to lose our drive and say we’ll get started on it another time. Unfortunately, “another time” often ends up becoming “never”. So how do you get yourself in the right frame of mind to start organizing? Here are my tips that can help you kick off your sorting streak!

Set a timer

One of the biggest obstacles to getting motivated for organizing is the thought that you could be stuck tidying up the same space for ages. To keep that from happening, set a timer! Whether it’s 30 minutes or an hour, you can create time intervals for cleaning, then take a break to do something else.

Little by little, you’ll notice that you’ve accomplished a lot more than you think in the day. It’s the visible progress that really makes you feel better about it, and motivates you further to keep organizing!

Put some music on!

Motivate yourself to organize – think of it like exercise: when you’re doing something that you find tiring, it’s easier to stay on track and lose yourself in the motions when you have some music to distract you. Noticed how hard it is to work out without something energetic playing in the background? That’s what you need to fix about your organizing strategy.

Find some good hype music that you can play while sorting your home out. You’ll be surprised at how much faster the time will fly.

Make an inspiration board for how you want an organized space to look

Whether it’s a physical cork-board with photos and print-outs, or a Pinterest board filled with pegs of your desired aesthetic, visualizing is a powerful tool for organizers. Could your kitchen be a neat and tidy baking haven? Is your living room ready for a neutral décor revamp? These ideas become easier to execute when you know what kind of look you’re trying to achieve. This will surely motivate yourself to organize.

By showing yourself what your cleaned-up crannies could look like, you become more excited to reach that goal. It also makes it feel more real in your mind than the vague goal of “organized”.

Take pictures of areas you need to organize

Another way that visual inspiration can work is by constantly showing yourself what needs work. Take pictures of your cluttered home or work areas, then keep them on a physical or virtual inspiration board.

I like to put it on the left side of a board as a “before” look, with my inspirational, more aesthetic, and organized pegs on the right as the desired “after” look to keep me going.

Mark a date on your calendar

It’s easy to drag your feet and motivate yourself to organize when it comes to the starting date. By being firm with yourself and saying, “No, we’re setting aside this day or those days for getting some organizing done,” it becomes that much harder to avoid the task. Seeing it marked on your calendar is also a good nudge to yourself that you must get started. Guilt-tripping yourself a little bit can go a long way!

Organizing can be hard to start, but once you get the ball rolling, you’ll be surprised at how much you can accomplish without noticing the time! Just follow these simple ideas, and you’ll be able to spruce up any space in a snap.