Husband of Horderly’s Favorite Organizing Tips

At Horderly, organizing is a lifestyle, but Co-Founder Fillip Hord (aka @husbandofhorderly) wasn’t always as organizationally blessed as he is now. 

With some inspiration and teaching from his wife and Horderly Founder Jamie Hord, Fillip has learned the tricks of the trade.

Here are Fillip’s favorite organizing tips: 

Have you always been organized, or is organization something Jamie has taught you throughout the Horderly journey? 

Aside from organizing my Halloween candy into what I wanted to eat and what I wanted to trade with my siblings, I wasn’t very organized. I would say I grew up neat but have learned how to be organized from Jamie and our awesome team. Jamie and I have been together since high school and I can’t remember much of my life before Jamie; so I’d say I’ve been very organized for a long time because of her. What comes natural to Jamie doesn’t come naturally to me, but I grew to appreciate living an essential and organized life. Now I can’t imagine having a cluttered home and I very much enjoy the mental clarity of how we live!

What is your favorite “secret” organizing trick or hack, and why?

I’d say my favorite organizing secret is having a place to keep for temporary clutter. In my home office, I contain temporary paperwork “clutter” aka (incoming mail, paperwork, invoices etc.) and temporary daily object “clutter” like keys, sunglasses, my phone and wallet. 

My paperwork is in a tray (within my desk drawer) that after about three days of paperwork to-do’s would start to overflow; once it overflows, my drawer literally won’t shut so it forces me to stay on top of paperwork. 

My keys and other valet items stay in a little bin I call my “poof” which doesn’t ever get too cluttered because if I can’t find my keys easily, I will dump the poof upside down and clean it out. 

Having a spot for everything is the key to a happy home, even if it’s a spot for temporary clutter.

What’s your favorite step in the organizing process, and why? 

I’m not typically at many of Horderly’s on-site organizing jobs. I’m more the behind-the-scenes guy working on marketing, sales, logistics, and business development – but I do get to go on site on special occasions. Jamie calls them, “bring my husband to work days.” On those days, the reveal is my absolute favorite part. When Jamie (who is quite the introvert) gets to throw open the door to that closet and show off the sexy new closet organized to a T. The client is always BLOWN away. 

At Horderly we have an 11 step process, so during the first half dozen, the client can feel some anxiety, and so do I. Jamie catches me saying, “We will never finish by 5pm! Are you nuts?” and Jamie is always so calm and professional and I’m a mess and she has to encourage the client (and me) that everything is fine. It’s a gift that the Horderly organizers have. They are magicians and the reveal is when they get to show it off and blow folks’ minds!

What organizing tips have you implemented into your daily routine that has positively affected your day, life, work etc.?

The first step in the Horderly organizing process is to prioritize. Oftentimes, the first step is the hardest part! I’m a big believer in achieving the hardest thing first. I like to start my day with the most dramatic tasks. I will work on a big project early in the morning before I even check my emails and before most people are awake and texting/calling me. This way I’m not trying to do the important big difficult tasks on a half tank. I also like to be done with any supertask by nap time which for me is 2 PM 🙂 Naps aren’t in the 11 step process, but they are important to me. 

What is your favorite item to fold, and why?

My American Eagle undies! Tri-fold, fold-down, fold up and tuck. They become a little present! 

What tips would you give to bachelors who are trying to get organized but don’t know where to start?

Hire Horderly… That’s the first tip. 

I guess the next would be to throw away pointless things that cause clutter. When I lived with two other guys in Flatbush, Brooklyn (the year before Jamie moved in with me) we would hoard take-out utensils and random boxes and so so so many cords and cables and empty boxes for tech. 

I mean, just recycle and throw that stuff away! It’s just clutter, and you aren’t going to repackage that iPad and send it back. Come on.

What’s your favorite organizing product, and why?

Anything stylish and with a purpose. At Horderly we say function before beauty and when there is function there is always beauty. I’m a big believer. When organizing, a lot of people believe in beauty first which sacrifices functionality a lot of time. Marble trays to hold my 4 whiskey decanters and my poof that holds my valet items are the two that really stick out to me as function first and super stylish!

Comment below to ask Fillip and Jamie questions about getting organized!