Staying Organized | Take Control Organizing

Clear Clutter in 15 Minutes!

Posted on January 17, 2009 by Nikki 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.

Packing up Christmas!

Posted on December 31, 2008 by Nikki in Holiday Organizing, Staying Organized

Happy New Year! It’s now time to pack up the Christmas Decorations… Here are some great tips to make this as easy and organized as possible!!

1. Group into Categories- Group your decorations the way it makes most sense to you. Here are some suggestions: Outdoor decorations, Tree Ornaments, Holiday Cards, Decorative Items, Linens, Wrapping Items. Another way to group is to put your decorations the way you have them displayed, for example; all decorations in the kitchen go into one box, all decorations in living room go into box B and so on.

2. Take a picture of how you decorated and put it in the box with the decorations. This will make decorating next year very easy!

3. Obtain appropriate containers- So many stores are having great sales on storage items, and they have great products just for lights, wreaths etc. But before going out and buying a bunch of new product, take inventory of what you currently have. So many times we buy what we do not need.

4. Only pack up what you love and only pack what is not broken- If you found items you did not use this year and do not plan on using them again, this is the time to donate. Don’t waste the space. Check the lights, there is no sense in packing up lights that no longer work.

5. Label your Containers- It will make it so much easier to find that special something you are looking for next year.

6. Welcome the New Year to a resolution of living an Organized Life. Check back for many more details on how to do such a thing..

Happy New Year!

Organizing Your Holiday Decorations!

Posted on October 23, 2008 by Nikki in Holiday Organizing, Staying Organized

Over the next couple of months, I will write in my blog about how to organize during the holidays. To get you started, here are some simple tips with decorations.

You probably have your Halloween decorations up now, were there any you did not use and put back in the box? If so, consider donating them.
Are you keeping them because of sentimental value? Then instead of storing them with your current decorations, think about storing them with other memorabilia items. Remember you don’t have to keep everything… Only keep the things that matter most.
When packing up your decorations, organize in categories. Put all the lights in one box, all the hall decorations in one box, all linens in one box and so on.
I talked earlier about colored containers… Consider buying the colored ones after the holiday, they are sure to be on sale. And only buy the containers after you know what you need..
Label your containers with the category names you have chosen.

Imagine — All of your Halloween decorations are now categorized, labeled, and contained!

Seasonal Storage!

Posted on October 19, 2008 by Nikki in Holiday Organizing, Staying Organized

Right now at Target, www.target.com, you can buy seasonal storage box’s on sale for $6.49! What a great deal! When you organize your holiday decorations by the box color, it makes it so easy to know where everything is. Orange and black for halloween, maroon and orange for Thanksgiving, green and red for Christmas etc.

Staying Organized!

Posted on October 18, 2008 by Nikki in Staying Organized

The project is completed! You can feel the sense of freedom this new organized space has given you! You feel now as your time and control is back! How to maintain? Being organized is a commitment! Be aware of your actions and know you have to take action to stay organized! Here are some simple but action steps you can follow:

When you buy something new, get rid of something old! This can be done with clothes, books, anything!
Have a “clean up basket, bin or bag” in each room, so at the end of the day it easy to place items not belonging in a certain room back to their home. If everything has a home, it’s easier to clean up at the end of the day, because you know right where it goes!
When your done in an area, for example your done paying bills or cooking dinner, clean up the area as soon as your done with it. Don’t leave it for later… You’ll feel so much better later when it is already done!
Have clean up with your children everyday! These areas get so messy, and the only way to maintain them daily is to clean them up daily.
Take inventory of your belongings every once in while. Keep only what you love and use often!
Remember all of the wonderful benefits of having an organized home, take before and after pictures, and commit that you’ll never go back.. Kind of like losing weight isn’t it! Clutter weight!