Are you an "a place for everything and everything in it's place" kind of person, or do things just fall where they may and you walk around stuff for days (or weeks) and then realizing that what takes hours to sort through would have only take minutes a day to put away?
Here are a few tips to get you organized and help you stay that way.
- As suggested above, the first step in organization is finding a place for everything. For example if your shoes are scattered from the back door to the bedroom, try getting some plastic shoe boxes with lids and storing them on a shelf in your closet. If you still have the original boxes just use those.
- Trying to find a receipt for the appliance you bought six months ago can be challenging. Get a file box or accordion file folder and staple the receipt to the instruction manual and file it under the appropriate letter such as C for camera, instead of N for Nikon.
- Does tax time role around and have you scrambling to gather all the pertinent information you have saved throughout the year? At the beginning of each year, make up a folder labeled 2015 Tax Information. When you get receipts, pay taxes, make donations, etc., place the documents in the folder and you're good to at tax time.
- Don't be a collector unless you are into Art. Freebies are fine, but a dozen coffee mugs or T-shirts that you don't use or wear just take up valuable space and add to the clutter. A good rule of thumb is when something comes in - something else goes out.
- Eliminating duplicates is another way of decluttering. If you have already collected those 12 coffee mug or T-shirts, try winnowing it down to your two favorites and donate the rest.
- If lack of space is an issue, try and find interesting and decorative ways of adding more storage. Invest in a closet organizer, or put up shelves in the bathroom to hold towels and other toiletries. If you have room consider adding a baker's rack in the kitchen.
- Is your closet bulging with clothes that no longer fit or that you haven't worn since Reagan was in office? On the whole, we wear 20% of our clothes 80% of the time and the rest just hang there collecting dust, so cull out the overlooked, unloved clothes from decades past and donate them. They are now called vintage clothing and there is a market for them.
- Are you constantly misplacing things or making laps around the house to find your keys? Try installing a hook by the door for your keys. Add a shelf for your sunglasses or other miscellaneous items you grab on the way out the door.
- Do you find your spend more time searching for supplies for a task than it takes to complete the task itself? Plastic school boxes or shoe boxes will help organize such things as your manicure tools, kid's crafts or school projects, art supplies, or letter writing (pens, note paper, stamps).
- Don't wait until clutter overtakes you. Remember it takes longer to dig your way out than to deal with it on an ongoing basis. You may want to tackle your kitchen weekly, and your closet twice a year, perhaps Spring and Fall.
What are some of your organizing tips or solutions?
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