Archive | January, 2009

Corral Your Clutter!

Posted on January 28, 2009 by in Home Organizing, Staying Organized

What does this mean?  To maintain an organized space, you must clean up after yourself.  To corral your clutter basically is taking a large basket, bag, box, whatever you may have and going from one room to the other.  Picking up items that need to be returned to their home.  This is how you maintain this beautiful space you have created!  It’s important you try to do this everyday and stay on top of it.  Otherwise, piles and stuff will return to the way it was.  And it will be more time consuming later to pick up.  Involve your family in your nightly clean ups, put music on, or set a timer and see who can get the most stuff.  Make it a game and make it fun!  

Fact:  80% of the clutter in most homes is a result of disorganization, not lack of space!  Something to think about!

Rotate Your Collections

Posted on January 23, 2009 by in Home Organizing, Staying Organized

Did you know that getting rid of clutter eliminates 40% of your housework in an average home?  

In the past I have given ideas and tips on how to go through your items and what questions to ask when deciding to donate, keep, or trash… Here is one more!

Rotate your collections-  give yourself permission not to have every single collectable you own on the shelf.  Only have the items you love,  and rotate them every 6 months or every season.  Not only does it give you something fresh to look at every few months, it eliminates extra clutter.

Less Stuff = Less Clutter = Less to Clean = More Organized!  

Kid’s Stuff

Posted on January 21, 2009 by in Home Organizing

If you have children in school, you already know how much paperwork, artwork and other mementos, come home with them everyday.  Here are some different ideas on how to control the items as they come in!

  1. Fold ( if necessary ) and punch artwork to fit a three-ring binder.  Create one binder for each child.  At the end of the year, save your favorites.
  2. Set up a file folder for each child’s schoolwork and art.  At the end of the year, save your favorites.
  3. Buy a clear plastic bin for each child and store artwork and paperwork, as it gets full, it’s time to purge the items that are not as important to keep.
  4. When considering where and how you will keep your child’s paperwork, make sure it should be easily accessible, in order for the process to work.

Clear Clutter in 15 Minutes!

Posted on January 17, 2009 by in Staying Organized

We all have busy lives and can’t always devote a lot of time to organizing.  Here are a few tips you can do in just 15 minutes to clear your clutter!  Start making a difference in your life today!

1.  While you are watching TV tonight, pull out your junk drawer, and dump all the contents on the floor.  Sort into 4 piles: throw away, put away ( does not belong in drawer), give away, and keep.  Put back only what you love and/or use. 

2.  Spend 15 Minutes picking up 10 things and putting them where they belong.

3.  Do a 15 Minute pick up every night before going to bed.  Have a big basket or bag and fill with items that do not belong in a room and place back in the correct room.  Get family members involved by making a game out of it.  

4.  Start small- you may have huge goals for your home in getting organized.  Instead of looking at the big picture and maybe getting overwhelmed, think small.  Do one cupboard, one drawer, and one shelf at a time.

5.  If you have a large stack of papers piling up – take 15 Minutes to file as many as you can.

Closet Organization Tips!

Posted on January 13, 2009 by in Home Organizing

One area in the home which often needs an organizing lift is the closet.  Here are some great tips in getting your closet to function the way that works best for you!  

  1. Items you use at least once a week, should be stored at a height between your shoulders and your knees.  Higher or lower than that, and you will find it harder to put things back. You want to develop a system that will make it easy for you to maintain.
  2. Consider all of the space in your closet, look vertically.  Add a shelf if you have empty space between your top shelf and the ceiling.  If you have a door, how can you use the back of the door for space? 
  3. Consider what you are hanging and what you need folded in your closet.  If you have items that could be folded and need more space – consider a 6 shelf canvas sweater organizer.
    4. If you have more shirts to hang and less pants – consider a double up adjustable closet rod.  This is also great in children’s closets, it gives them easier access to the clothing you want them to be able to reach.  
  4. For shoes, try to get them off of the floor.  A closet will look and feel more organized if there is not a bunch of mismatched shoes on the floor.  Consider a 20 pocket shoe holder that can go behind a door.  You can use this item for other things than just shoes, think about scarves, gloves, belts, accessories. etc.  
  5. Store out of season clothing towards the back of your closet or in a different area all together.  This includes shoes that are out of season.