Home Organizing Class at the North Mesa Senior Center

May 22, 2025

I recently taught a home organizing class at the North Mesa Senior Center, and it was so much fun! The room was filled with laughter, curiosity, and a genuine eagerness to learn. The group included a wonderful mix of people- some looking to downsize, others looking to improve their already organized spaces, and a few who are simply curious about what organizing might offer. Right away, I could tell we were going to have great conversations and shared insights.

First, I asked everyone to share a little about what brought them to the class, and what some of the hardest items to declutter were. We also talked about what everyone’s favorite items were in their house. I was surprised to hear that for everyone, it was photos, paintings, scrapbooks, or something that reminded them of their loved ones. I talked about how this was a shame-free zone, and how organization looks different for everyone. My definition of organized is that you know where your stuff is, and you can get what you need when you need it. It doesn’t have to look “pretty”. A pile of things in the right place that holds what you need may be just as good as a perfectly labeled bin! By that definition, it is organized.

I then introduced the concept of S.P.A.C.E., a term coined by Judith Kolberg, founder of the Institute of Challenging Disorganization. Sort, purge, assign a home, containerize, and equalize (maintain). Often, people want to jump right in to getting the right containers for their stuff, but that part comes easy if the sorting and purging have been done first. I also talked about Marie Kondo’s method of organizing by category, and noticing which items “spark joy”.

After that, I had a “doom box” activity that I had prepared. “Doom boxes” are usually a jumbled collection of random items—often shoved into a box when company was coming over or when a room needed to be cleaned quickly. I went around my house and collected things from my office, art space, kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom, along with a few random items that might be more difficult to categorize. I labeled different tables with the various spaces, and asked the students to take items out of the box and put them where they thought they belonged. Amongst the items were office supplies, dog toys, art supplies, books, clothes, jewelry, kitchen items, some food, hand cream, dollar bills, foreign currency, cotton balls, and a variety of other objects. I also included some things like an empty Oxy Clean container, a paper bag, “good cardboard”, a nicely labeled contraption to a light that I have no idea what to do with, a light-up dog collar that no longer works, and some food that I really like, but don’t want to be eating right now. I put those things in so we could have a conversation about items that many people get hung up on. These items could be useful at some point, but are essentially clutter, because they are delayed decisions.

Here’s what we decided on:

-The Oxy Clean container, although it could be very useful in the garden, or for containing something else in the future was a no-go. I will recycle that.

-The paper bag will be used for future donations or trash/recycling.

-The “good cardboard”, although it could be used for an art project or for packing material, will get recycled. Since no one had an immediate idea for how to use it, and we aren’t near the holidays, it was decided that it’s not worth keeping.

-The plastic contraption (that came with a plant light) that I have no idea what to do with, went into the trash.

-The broken light-up dog collar, since it’s beyond it’s return date, and is about $12, was not worth trying to contact the company about. It went to the trash briefly, until someone had an idea about what to use the clear plastic tube for, and then we decided it was not worth it, so it went back into the trash. I have since ordered a new one.

-Since I’m trying to avoid too much sugar, the delicious chocolate pudding mix and yummy oatmeal/chocolate snack bar went to someone else in the class- NOT back into my pantry .

Since these types of things can cause a lot of decision-making fatigue and clutter, I thought it would be fun to talk about them as a group. We all had lots of laughs and a good time!

I will be offering the class again in the future, so if you want to come to the next class, make sure to join the North Mesa Senior Center and stay tuned to their newsletter for future classes. My next one is scheduled for June 24^th from 10-1. The class is limited to 8 students, and this one filled up very quickly, so be sure to sign up early. Anyone aged 40 (!) years old and over can join the North Mesa Senior Center for only $7.50 per year! You will get access to lots of free classes like yoga, Zumba, craft classes, a gym, pool tables, a library, and so many other wonderful benefits! Learn more here.