I am starting round 2 of Organize 365‘s 100 Day Program tomorrow. I must disclose that the company’s founder Lisa Woodruff gifted me access to this program (this was after we had her on our podcast; personally I love her ideas and was thrilled to have her on)!
I have been approached by several people asking if the program is worth it. It IS expensive. It would have been a leap to decide to pay for it (though well thought out and established online programs ARE something that I have invested in before, and have not typically regretted).
The program consists of 100 daily assignments all available online, generally with some kind of (short!) instructional video. Each assignment focuses on organizing or cleaning out a specific area. The course takes you from room to room (kitchen is first!), and by the time it is completed there is no question you would have a better handle on all of your stuff and your space.
I say “you would” because . . . I didn’t finish it the first time around. However — I got through about half of it, and I am not discouraged because Lisa actually warns people that it often takes several rounds to get all the way through! She also suggests that most people will need to go through several times, with endpoints: decluttering the first round, organizing the second round, and then finally increasing productivity on the third.
I think that this continued nature of her program — and the lifetime access it comes with — is what does make it worth it, at least for some. It’s a long-term commitment/process, not just a 100 day experience. And I think Lisa (and her company) is very very good at what she does.
I really appreciate that Lisa is focused on the functional. Her organized spaces look nothing like The Home Edit’s rainbow gorgeousness (which — while pretty, strike me as nearly impossible to maintain and slightly ridiculous). But her goal is that you know where everything is, you have what you need, you have eliminated your extraneous stuff, and you have a system to maintain it all.
Now, some people do not really care about clutter or how their stuff is organized. “Outer order, inner calm” (Gretchen Rubin’s phrase, not mine) seems to apply to some but not all. If this doesn’t ring true to you, I am not sure the program would be of much benefit. But, for whatever it’s worth, I personally derive happiness and a feeling of well-being from an organized space.
SO: Round 2!! Here we go!! I’m excited to jump in tomorrow. I think this time I may make it all the way . . . will let you know.
19 Comments
Good luck with Round 2. I’ve loved Apartment Therapy’s “January Cure” as an organizing/cleaning/beautifying program. It’s online and free and habit-forming in a good way. https://www.apartmenttherapy.com/january-cure-2021-signup-36836645
Thank you for posting this recommendation! I frequently play the minimalism game (get rid of 1 thing on the first day of the month, 2 on the second, and so on) but I love the idea of having a little more direction. I’m going to try this!
that is awesome! i LOOOVED the original apartment therapy book. (and the kitchn, their food offshoot, is pretty great too!)
There’s a book?!? (Clearly I’m new to apartment therapy). ::immediately finds and orders book:::
omg yes! It’s old but I LOVED it when it came out: https://www.amazon.com/Apartment-Therapy-Eight-Step-Home-Cure/dp/0553383124/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=apartment+therapy&qid=1609703772&sr=8-1
Thank you for the post and the recommendations of the blog and book.
I haven’t bought the 100 day course but note that a decluttering consultant could easily charge that for a day so it may actually be quite cost effective for those of us that could benefit from that guidance. I did use a decluttering consultant when i was struggling with too much work, no family support (due to distance) and small children and it was really anazing, even though there are few people I could admit this to!
Oof, almost $500. I don’t think I could convince my husband to buy this program (would need to discuss a big ticket purchase like that). Glad it was gifted to you!! I usually do the ‘January cure’ from apartment therapy. They send you a task to do each day although there are catch up days. I am not sure how much I will do this year as our newborn does not want to be put down!!
I love organizing! So excited for this series. I did kon mari (more or less) in 2016 and felt like it had a big positive impact on my life. I just had way too much stuff. For those that are sensitive to them, our surroundings can make a big difference to health and well being.
I actually seriously want to become a kon-mari consultant someday. might be my retirement job. lol.
That’s a cool idea!
Who knew that was a thing?! That’s a great idea, sounds like a role I’d love. I might just join you 🙂
I but the bullet and bought it in January 2019 and do not regret it. The lifetime membership makes it 100% worthwhile. In 2019 I was settling in to a new house, with a 1 year old. We’ve been here a couple years now and I have a much better sense of the space so I’m excited to tweak my kitchen zones among other things.
A couple other things to note- Lisa has a planner that accompanies the program, which I’m not sure if you’ve seen, but I actually love it. It gives tons of supporting documentation for each zone, cleaning checklists, plus an in-depth goal planning section in the beginning. On top of that it is your standard vertical weekly planner. Another thing to note is that Lisa highly recommends you be on Facebook as part of the 100 Day group on there. I am not on Facebook anymore, but I was back on 2019 and it was a key part of my success. It’s great to see other people’s progress pictures and ask questions. I think Lisa does a “live” on there each week too?
It’s a great program and hope you enjoy it.
Hi! I’ve invested A LOT of money into Lisa’s programs. I started with the Sunday Basket for a couple of weeks and quickly went to All Access. It was a $1000 investment. (that was for the 100 day program AND the paper program and binders). She does have payment plans, but I just jumped in with both feet trusting the process. My husband worked with me to go through the program religiously the first round. We didn’t do the tasks daily, we did them on a weekend (say Saturday or Sunday). I would watch the 2 minute video for the area to tackle and we would go and do. Not only did I get my house completely decluttered and more organized in the 4 months, I also deep cleaned as I went. It was work. Don’t get me wrong, but the systemized way of doing it was COMPLETELY WORTH IT (not screaming, just emphasis). In that four months I also did all my binders and went through all my papers. We shredded and discarded so much paper and put together 4 concise binders of important information that anyone in an emergency could come and take over our household.
I am just a happy customer. No more, no less.
I just moved from Texas to Washington State 4 months ago and into a new house mid-October. It was incredible to only move essentials. I have about 4 small boxes of books (husband’s) and decor I need to go through, but everything else is in a place and I feel really, really good about my spaces.
That is all thanks to Lisa’s program.
I plan to follow the next 100 days as well, just to maintain and to challenge myself to keep up with the deep cleaning. It is lifetime access, so yay.
I do have the organize 365 PLANNER that goes with the program. I use it as a catch all for the kids to look at and for me to use as reference when I am in the kitchen, downstairs and not in my office area in the loft. It has my workouts on the monthly spread (since I do my workouts downstairs… Cathe Fredrich fan here for the last 20+ years) and I keep the meals and appointments and anything the kids may need to reference. They are 14, 12,12, and 10. It also has what chores they need to do, a shower schedule for the 10 year old boy (god help me) and on the bookmark I keep the house expectations (rules more or less).
Wow, that was a blog post in an of itself. 🙂
Thank-you Sarah for your blog. I read it religiously!
I love Lisa’s podcast and would LOVE to hear regular updates on your progress!! Is your decluttering/organizing something you’ll track in your planner? Are you using the Organize365 planner at all too? Would love to hear your thoughts.
She sent me a planner from a prior round, but I didn’t really need it since I am so planner-centered already! There are some fun and useful ideas in there but for me it didn’t make sense to add a second primary planner.
Please keep us updated on your progress! I love LIsa and Organize 365. I have a Sunday Basket and I have promised myself that if I keep it up I can join the 100 Days program the next round.
I’m doing the first round of the 100 Day program. I’ve listened to many of her podcasts and can’t wait to see how this goes. Our house could use it!
I’m late to this post but would also love to see progress pictures and posts!
Lisa wrote a book last year, The Paper Solution, that might be a good place for some people to start—I loved it (even though I haven’t implemented the Sunday Basket system yet…)
Also, I’m so glad someone else finds The Home Edit ridiculous!! I looked at their new book (from the library) and they kept repeating “you don’t have to get rid of stuff” but for most people, that’s not true. Also their clients seem to be super brand loyal and buy in extreme bulk, because that’s what all the photos seem to show…