43: Step by Step Plan to Organize any Space in Your Home – Part 1 – Sort

The SPACE Method: Sort

This kicks off a step-by-step walk through organizing any space, following Julie Morgenstern’s SPACE method, sort, purge, assign, containerize, equalize. Each step gets its own focused conversation so it’s easier to stay grounded in exactly where you are in the process, rather than getting pulled ahead into decisions that belong to a later step. Today is entirely about sort.

Two rules for this step

First, don’t overthink it. When you pull something out of the space you’re organizing, your only job is to decide which broad category it belongs to, not whether it’s expired, whether you’ll actually use it, or any other deeper decision. That comes later. Second, don’t overcomplicate it. Keep categories broad and general rather than getting lost trying to draw fine distinctions, is this a breakfast food or a dinner food. If you realize partway through that something belongs in a different pile than where you first placed it, that’s completely fine, pick it up and move it.

Should you empty the whole space first?

For most spaces, yes, emptying it out entirely, wiping it down, and looking at it with fresh eyes tends to make the rest of the process easier. A couple of practical tips help this go smoothly. If you have a low-traffic adjacent space, a rarely used dining room, for instance, that’s a good spot to stage sorted piles if the project can’t be finished in one sitting. Collapsible storage crates or laundry baskets work well too, letting you keep categories contained and movable if you need to pause partway through. And if you can recruit a friend to trade help, tackling your space one day and theirs the next, having a second person around tends to keep momentum going and effectively splits the work in half.

What to gather before you start

Set up a trash can (a fresh bag actually inside a can holds up better than a floppy bag on its own), a recycling spot for boxes, and a donation box, ideally a plain cardboard box you can hand off easily without needing it returned. Also set aside a separate container labeled something like “doesn’t live here,” for items that clearly belong somewhere else in the house entirely. Dropping them in this box instead of walking them to their real home right away helps you stay focused on the space in front of you rather than getting pulled into a different room and losing your place. This isn’t the only valid approach, some organizers prefer walking items to their real home immediately so nothing piles up at the end, and that’s a reasonable method too. Use whichever version actually works with how your attention holds up.

Keep a stack of sticky notes on hand as well. As categories start to emerge naturally from what you’re pulling out, jot them down and label the growing piles, breakfast foods, baking, canned goods, whatever surfaces as you go.

Expect it to look worse before it looks better

That’s normal, and it’s exactly why having a staging area or containers ready matters. The goal of this step is simply to end up with everything sorted into clear categories rather than one giant undifferentiated pile, so that the very next step, purging, only requires looking at one category at a time instead of facing the whole mess at once.

Your practical, actionable step

Pick one space to organize, gather a trash can, a donation box, a “doesn’t live here” box, and a stack of sticky notes, then empty the space completely and sort everything into broad categories without overthinking or overcomplicating any individual decision.

Until next time, continue to choose joy.