You Down With O-R-G? Yeah You Know Me.
Yes, that’s a Naughty By Nature nod. But why O-R-G? That’s $herdog’s shorthand for organizing. I’ll be honest: our house hasn’t looked this chaotic since we moved in 16 months ago. I’m not talking about a little dust along the baseboards or streaky windows—I mean real chaos, like not being able to find anything in our ridiculous sink drawer:
Even though we have two sections on our Projects page devoted to cleaning and organizing, we haven’t done much of that lately. Everything started to unravel back in January and February during three weeks of book shoots in our house. A crew of people, constant moving and painting, and nonstop styling left the house looking like a disaster.
Why did other areas—like the sink drawer—go downhill too? It’s a slippery slope. When you’re juggling secret book projects, regular blog tasks, and toddler care while coordinating dozens of DIY-styled book photos, there simply aren’t enough minutes in the day. After the baby sleeps and the crew leaves, you think you’ll catch up at night, but the crew returns in the morning and there are 20 more tasks to finish. It starts to feel like two shifts and you can’t even remember where the deodorant belongs.
Between writing posts, managing projects, raising a toddler, and finishing this book (we’re still proofing stacks of layouts, compiling the resources section, and finalizing the cover), it felt like we’d never restore order. So we decided to make getting the house organized Project Numero Uno: a week-long bootcamp. We’re doing it. It’s going to get messy—and then clean—hopefully ending with a giant yard sale. We’d love for you to join the spring cleaning train.
We started a bit early this weekend because we needed a Monday post to kick things off. First up: I tackled the cabinets under our dining room built-ins. I literally told the cabinets to “say my name” and then got to work.
I emptied the cabinets—well, I pulled out a few things, got distracted, put on music (Nicki Minaj, Eminem, a touch of vintage Britney), and then tackled every last book, magazine, and stray object that had migrated in there. Many magazines and smaller books live in that space because the built-ins aren’t deep enough for them.
I made piles: separate stacks for each magazine (Domino, Cottage Living, House Beautiful, Blueprint, BHG, and other Meredith titles) and grouped books by topic—pregnancy/health/green living, chick lit, decor/design, and teen fiction like Hunger Games and Twilight. That approach made things feel instantly better.
Those white pieces you might notice at the bottom of the cabinet were old shelves we’d removed because the built-ins were too crowded (more on that here). They had collected dust and taken up space, so off they went to John’s scrap wood pile in the basement.
I wiped down the shelves with white vinegar; it cleans and neutralizes odors. The shelves smelled like an old storage room and needed it. Cleaning only took a few minutes and was totally worth it.
I replaced items thoughtfully, grouping like with like and stacking things so I could see and access most of them without toppling a tower. Instead of standing everything upright—where pulling one item would make everything fall—I made small stacks that are easy to remove to reach the back rows.
Order restored. Bliss. About 10% of the books and magazines went into a yard sale pile I started in the guest room closet; admitting I won’t reread them felt good and freed up space.
If you’re wondering where all my hardcover decorating books live: some are on the console, some on built-in shelves, and a stack sits on top of the office file cabinet. Two ottomans under the console in the hallway hold a collection of them, but they’re not overflowing—yet.
My brain hurt from deciding what to keep, what to donate, and how to group things, but I still had decor items—faux gourds, vases, candlesticks—that needed a home. The cabinet under the built-ins on the opposite side had turned into a catchall, so I tackled that next. It had become messy enough that I’d been stashing overflow items into the book cabinet. Time to pare down, group, and make sense of the clutter.
Some decor items had even spilled into the corner cabinet in the kitchen. About half of what was there belonged—cake stands, salad bowls, serving pieces—so I decided to dedicate that corner cabinet strictly to serving and food-related items and move decor back to the dining room cabinet.
Once again, I emptied the cabinet—this time while listening to Glee covers, Nicki Minaj, and old-school Snoop & Dre—and sorted everything into keep and yard sale piles.
After a vinegar wipe-down and careful grouping—vases in one spot, candlesticks in another—the items went back in. It all just fit. The top right quadrant now holds candle holders, the bottom right has vases and planters, the bottom left stores vase filler and small decorative items, and the top left holds tabletop decor that gets rotated frequently.
Where did all the candles go? Many once lived on a big silver platter in our old fireplace, but with a toddler in the house I kept only the nicest ones and created a dedicated candle drawer in a small cabinet that now serves as storage. I protected the bottom of the drawer with two plastic placemats to guard against wax, and the rest of the candles joined the yard sale pile.
Huzzah! The kitchen corner cabinet now only contains kitchen-related serving pieces—trays, bowls, a cake stand—and there’s even room to spare. I joked about a shopping spree, but really I’m exhausted and will save that for later. There’s still a lot to do this week, and we’d love for you to join our bootcamp. Here’s the tentative schedule:
- Monday: Tackle one or two cabinets—books and decorative accessories are a great place to start.
- Tuesday: Tame kid clutter (or any clutter that’s driving you crazy).
- Wednesday: Pare down grooming and cleaning products—declutter your bathroom or supply closet.
- Thursday: Organize paper and tech—streamline digital files, photos, or tackle paperwork and receipts.
- Friday: Maybe face the basement or garage—work up the courage and aim for some progress.
- Bonus: We’ll try to handle clothes—make sense of dressers and closets—and sort out our cluttered nightstands.
That plan is flexible since we’re blogging in real time, but we can’t wait to report back and hear how you’re doing. Have you started spring cleaning or organizing already? Will you join us? What music helps you survive the process—do you prefer playlists, audiobooks, TV, or NPR? We’d love to hear what keeps you motivated while tidying up.