It’s been said before, but we’ll say it again: 2019 is the year to declutter. From negative thoughts clouding our judgement to toxic people and relationships, it is time to get rid of things that make us unhappy, but sometimes we need to start small. It’s just as beneficial to start with the simpler things like that overflowing sock drawer we’ve been neglecting for months. An ample amount of stress comes from the cleanliness of our homes, and that is what Sara Landry West, owner of South Coast Organizers,is trying to prevent.

West began South Coast Organizers last October when she chose to transform her side-hustle hobby into her full-time job. Her services range from tidying closets and rooms to styling and staging homes before they hit the market. West felt a strong calling toward organizing spaces because she has seen it change lives for the better.

“As an organizer, my main job is to help my clients overcome their clutter and create a space they love,” says West. “I not only help clients declutter and purge, but I help to create systems that will work for them to keep their spaces neat and tidy.” Her main goal is to leave clients feeling completely re-energized by uncovering the potential they’ve been overlooking in their homes for years. 

Although her passion for helping others only recently blossomed into a career, West states that she has been organizing since she was little. Her mother was a teacher for the duration of her childhood and would recruit West to come during the summer to organize everything from holiday decorations to craft supplies. She would purge everything in her mother’s classroom to prepare for the next school year. As she grew, West found real joy and satisfaction by continuing this yearly purging session in her own home and by helping close friends organize their spaces.

To begin the process of organizing, West advises to start with a random corner of the most cluttered room and go through every item to sort them into categories. “One of my strengths is to continue pushing and motivating my clients to get the job done,” adds West. “We chat, put on music and, depending on the client, pop some Champagne.” For busier clients, West will begin the cleaning process herself and later include the owner for quicker, more efficient purging. “I want the process to be as painless as possible.”

West offers this five-step list to clean and organize anything:

1. Take everything out of the space.
2. Look at each item and toss, donate or recycle the things you don’t need or want.
3. Sort like items together.
4. Designate a spot for like items.
5. Put items back in said spot when you are done with them.

“It’s that simple!” states West.

What you might see as an abandoned area and burden in your house, West sees as a challenge ready to conquer. If you’re still not convinced decluttering is worth the time and energy, make it a part of your journey this Lent. Living simply and without distractions is the purest way to give up unnecessary luxuries and those items we just “can’t live without.”

From West’s tips, we made an easy-to-follow checklist. Click on the images below to download and print:

To learn more about West and her services, visit South Coast Organizers’ website here. And share your freshly cleaned spaces and cleaning tips by tagging @inRegister on Instagram and Facebook.