I tried SKI SLOPE organizing (and it actually WORKS!!)

Do you easily feel overwhelmed by organizing a cluttered room? This ski slope method of home organization completely changed my perspective.

Hi. My name is Christina and I'm an "all or nothing" type of girl. My natural tendency is to view any project - even home organization - as one giant, scary task. If I can't do it ALL RIGHT NOW, I tend to close the door an run away.

When I found this book called Home Therapy by Anita Yokota, I was intrigued. I love how she marries therapy with home decorating (she was a licensed therapist before she was a home decorator)! I've always believed in the power of a beautiful home and the effect it has one ones mental health.

In the book, Yokota talks about a home organization method she created for her clients called the ski slope method. I've been using this method for a month now, and it's been extremely helpful as I'm tackling some cluttered spaces in my home.

My cluttered work studio

Here's how my work studio looked before I tackled it with the ski slope organizing method. At the beginning of the year, it often looks like this because quarter four is always so busy with me. It holds all my seasonal decorations, and my staging supplies for my home staging and renovation projects.

Ski Slope Organizing

Rather than approach this space as one big space and feel overwhelmed, I started organizing it in the far left corner. Once that corner was purged and organized, I went across the room to the right side. Once that area was complete, I continued in this zig-zag pattern. Decluttering this large, messy room one small area at a time helped me complete this entire room in a day!

Now my studio looks so much more organized, and by using the ski slope method I didn't feel overwhelmed.

Yokota likens organizing one corner of a room at a time to skiing down a scary slope. If you look at it from the top down, it can be daunting. However, breaking the task up into one corner at a time makes it much more manageable. By visualizing each area in your house like a ski slope, you can zig-zag down the "mountain of decluttering" by focusing on organizing one corner at a time. With this method, you’ll be able to declutter your home without feeling overwhelmed or stressed.

I find this method also works in my personal life, like my health journey. By looking at my healthy choices in smaller chunks rather than an "all-or-nothing" manner, I'm more successful. It's less overwhelming for me to make one healthy choice at a time ("let's eat a healthy lunch!" "let's go for a walk today!") rather than looking at the whole picture.

Watch my video to learn more about ski slope organizing:

What do you think? Have you tried the ski slope method of home organization or something similar? Do you have any other helpful tricks to get your home decluttered? I'd love to hear in the comments!

You can find HOME THERAPY right here, and it's a great book with lots more ideas on how to create a home that brings you and your family joy.