Where to Start Organizing When You Feel Overwhelmed

Do you ever have one of those days?

You know – when you have so much to do that you actually become paralyzed by the feeling of overwhelm.

Instead of getting things done – you end up doing nothing.

Sometimes hardest part about organizing is knowing where to start. When your whole house is a mess – it can feel overwhelming.

If you have landed here looking for organizing tips to help you create order from your chaos then I have a few concrete ideas that you can put into action right away!

The way to make progress is simply one step at a time. So, take a deep breath and relax in the knowledge that you will get it done. You will find a process that works for you and come out on the other side.

Let’s start with a brain dump.

Start By Making a List of Your Open Projects

This first step is so important because you can’t get it done, if you don’t know what it is.

So making a list is key to defining everything that you want or need to do.

The Definition of a “Project”

A project is anything you have going on that goes beyond 1 task.

Projects can be big, like a kitchen remodel, or small like cleaning the bathroom. Here are some examples:

• Paying bills is a project.
• Planning Thanksgiving dinner or a holiday trip is a project.
• Taking on a kitchen remodel is a project.
• Cleaning out your car is a project.

You get the idea.

I used to think of projects as sort of a DIY thing – like when you decide to make something or do something out of the ordinary.

All the everyday stuff like cleaning, errands, and paperwork were all what I considered to be “everyday life”. But that line of thinking is a big mistake.

Remember, if it has more than 1 task, it’s a project.

If it takes more than a few minutes, it’s a project.

So, make a list of all those projects that you need to do that are weighing you down. You can use a fancy notebook, an app, or an old scrap of paper. Just dump all of those thoughts and ideas that are cluttering up your brain onto some medium where you can see them all at once and start to prioritize.

One word of warning, don’t jump ahead here and start creating a to do list. Simply jot down your projects. Set a timer if you have to because you don’t want to get overwhelmed all over again.

Identify Your Biggest Pain Point

When it comes to home organization, I always find that it is a good idea to start by identifying your biggest pain point.

What area in your home or life is causing you the most disruption?

Is your messy kitchen keeping you from getting meals on the table for your family? Or perhaps your paperwork is so far out of control that you can’t seem to get your bills paid on time?

By pinpointing your biggest pain point you are deep diving to the root of the problem. And often, if you are able to get this area organized – it makes everything else a little easier.

Begin With a Quick Win

I like to refer to an area of big impact that is easy to deal with as a “quick win”.

Once you have identified the area that will have the biggest impact, you need to break down the project into smaller tasks.

Some of these tasks may take a lot of time or energy to deal with – but there will also be tasks that you can accomplish in a short period of time.

These fast little tasks are what I refer to as “quick wins”.

It could be something as simple as clearing off a kitchen counter so you have an empty space that is free of visual clutter – thereby giving you a place to work and making the room look more organized and inviting.

This quick win may also give you the confidence to tackle a new area and provide hope to what you may have thought was a hopeless situation.

Create an Action Plan

If the project you choose to tackle will take longer than the time you have or involves many steps, take a minute to create an action plan.

Break your project into smaller baby steps. Figure out when you will do each of these small steps and add them to your calendar. Give yourself a deadline.

But don’t spend too much time doing the planning, because believe it or not, over planning is also a form of procrastination.

The Best Areas to Start Organizing

Obviously, everybody will have a different pain point – so the best place to start organizing will vary for each person.

But I will give you some examples of what works for me.

Home Office Organization

I do the most work at my home office desk. Now that everyone is working from home or on a hybrid basis – my “home office” has become just a small corner of the family room.

Now, I have to say that I am not the most organized type of worker. I end up with disorganized piles of paperwork all over the place. And eventually it gets to the so bad that I can’t see the surface of my desk.

This is my breaking point. I know that when my desk is in this state it becomes impossible for me to get any work done.

I am overwhelmed. I don’t know where to start. And I fear that I am missing important deadlines, bills, documents, and information.

So, no matter how cluttered the rest of the house might be – I make it a priority to organize my desk.

When my desk is in order, I somehow clear up the mental space to be able to work on other lesser important (to me) areas of the house.

Kitchen Organization

For most people, the kitchen is one of the busiest places in the house. Not only is it a place to cook and eat, but it is also a place to gather. Countertops can quickly become drop zones for bags, homework, electronics, and mail.

When this place gets cluttered, the whole family suffers.

So, organizing your kitchen can be a big priority and a good place to start.

Your Basement or Storage Space

The storage space in our basement is multi-functional. We use that room to store things we don’t use too often, as a laundry room, and also as an overflow pantry for things that don’t fit in our kitchen pantry.

Typically this space is pretty orderly – but when it starts to fill up and get disorganized, you can feel it in the rest of the house. The closets get fuller and there are things lying around that no one knows what to do with because there is no more space in the storage room.

I have found that organizing this space first can have big impact on the organization of my entire home.

Maybe you have a room like this, too. Start here and see if it alleviates clutter in other areas.

Your Garage

The garage is another place that affects the whole house when it is disorganized.

Following the same concept as the basement, when things are working – the garage provides additional storage.

I keep a lot of things in the basement that I use often – like reusable bags, plastic bags, and paper bags for instance.

There are a few baskets that I use to keep these bags organized but we get more bags coming in the door than I can use.

So eventually, my bag storage area in the garage starts to overflow and becomes a big mess.

Paring this collection down to a more manageable state is important. You can read more about how I organize paper bags here. It may seem like a really small thing – but it has a big impact on how efficient I am at home.

What Will You Organize First?

So, next time you feel a little frazzled – like your entire house is falling apart – take a moment to reflect and zero in on the root of the problem.

When you identify the culprit – the area in your home that is causing you the most stress and angst – organize that area first.

It will most likely be a room that is busy and that you use a lot – something like a home office, your kitchen, or a closet or storage area.

Then break that task down into smaller steps and before you know it, you will have brought some order and calmness back into your life.

If you found encouragement from this post and want more organizing tips – check out our full Beginner’s Guide to Organization here.

Happy organizing!