ORGANIZING TIPS OF THE MONTH: MARCH 2008
Where to Begin
The choices are so many. There are lots of possibilities when you start organizing. Choose the area that bothers you the most.
Still in a quandary? Contact me at Cheryl@organizeatlanta.com for more information.
Paper: Although paper is the major source of clutter for most people, do not start your organizing project by tackling paper. It is slow and tedious. Instead organize a drawer, the pantry, or a small closet to feel a sense of organizing success. Then you are ready to dive into the paper—a boxful at a time. The final tip this month will give you the steps to conquering your paper woes.
Entry: Set the mood where you enter your home. Create calm instead of chaos at the entrance. Have a parking spot--a tray, basket, or large bowl—to catch your keys, wallet, and cell phone. Use hooks or a coat rack to hold jackets, hats, and scarves neatly.
Bedroom: It is the first room you see in the morning and the last room you see at night. Start and end your day in a peaceful place. You can begin your organizing project by making your bed as soon as you get up. Really, do it each and every day. It takes only two minutes and makes the room instantly look more pulled together. Then put all your dirty clothes into the laundry basket. Voila! A much more organized room in a couple of simple steps.
Bathroom: The bathroom is usually high on the list of rooms that need to be organized. Start with one drawer or cabinet at a time. Always empty them completely, discard out of date/out of favor products, group like items in baskets or bins. Before you know it, you have conquered a room.
Decorations: This category is relatively simple to organize. Separate decorations into themes. Purge items you no longer use—be honest. Place remaining items in clear plastic binsand label the bins with the theme and contents. For example, Thanksgiving—mantle decorations; Christmas—entry hall. Easy organizing steps make decorating and un-decorating so much easier and less stressful.
Laundry: You can make quick progress in this room. Do two loads of laundry a day and put the clean clothes away until you are caught up. Then tackle the rest of the laundry room. Clear all shelves and cabinets. Toss old/torn/bulging containers. Get rid of products you do not use. Place detergent and bleach near the washer, and put fabric softener sheets near the dryer. Install a rack to hold drip dry or hanger items. If there is room, install a hinged shelf to use when folding clothes. Then fold it away when you finish. Have a laundry basket for each member of the family to take dirty clothes to the laundry room and take clean clothes back to their bedrooms. Use a small trash can for dryer lint and a container to hold found objects such as coins and small toys.
Home office: This is the ideal place for containers—large and small. Start by putting all stacks of paper in a large bin to be dealt with later. Then go drawer by drawer and shelf by shelf, emptying, purging, and grouping like items. Put things in functional containers if they are not in public view; put them in decorative containers if they are on open shelves. Use drawer dividers to separate small items. Label clearly. File drawers are a must for easy access to papers. We will tackle paper last.
Crafts: First decide which crafts you want to continue to pursue. Donate items you will no longer use. Use clear containers to sort like items and group supplies by color. Make use of wall space with pegboard or magnetic boards to hold supplies in view. Have a large trash can for discards. Keep thin instruction books upright by placing them in magazine holders. Sort photos into boxes by year until you are ready to place them in photo books or scan them into your computer.
Kitchen: Clear the counters so you will have a place to sort. Toss outdated, stale, and disliked food. As in the other rooms, use the method of emptying shelves and cabinets, purging what you do not want, and grouping like items in convenient places. Place frequently used things within easy reach. Empty the refrigerator, wipe shelves and throw out old food. Group foods in logical places within the refrigerator—place salad dressings together, condiments in the door, jams and spreads on the same shelf. Line the vegetable crisper and meat drawer for easy cleanup.
Paper, finally: And now to organize paper....To control paper flow, daily when you bring in the mail, immediately recycle/toss/shred junk mail. Decide which magazines and catalogs you really will read. Place the keepers in a basket or bin near your favorite reading place. Recycle the rest. Place bills in a “To Pay” holder near your bill paying center. Open and file papers you need to keep for taxes or reference. The only way to tackle a paper mountain is piece by piece. Sort into general categories of toss, shred, pay, respond, reference, memorabilia. Then you will be able to set up your files for the individual categories. Place memorabilia in boxes labeled for each family member. To reduce the paper coming into your home, email the individual catalog companies or file a mail preference online with sites such as www.greendimes.com, www.directmail.com, or www.dmaconsumers.org .
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