Being disorganized can means lots of different things. We can have internal and external clutter. Some of us thrive in clutter, others have to obsessively have everything in place all of the time. Most of us fall somewhere in the middle. Organizing our stuff can be a challenge; we all tend to have way to much of it. Spring and fall cleaning are the two big times each year when we tend to get ourselves organized for the coming season. With the children going back to school soon and the obligatory fall cleaning looming in the near future, I thought this might be a great time to share some organizing and decluttering tips with you.
Organizing is really about making your life easier. When things are easy to find, it makes doing anything form small home repairs to doing cooking, so much faster and more pleasant. I know from my own personal experience that when I can quickly find everything I need for a project, I am far more apt to get it done. And when I can't find all the tools and items I need, well, that's when I procrastinate. If you'd like to simplify your life, try these time-test tricks from organizing guru Peter Walsh. They could well revolutionize your life! Or at least make it much easier and give you extra time. And who doesn't want to make life easier?
1. Make your rooms multi-task. We all like to multi-task and pride ourselves on our ability to juggle multiple projects. So why shouldn't our homes be the same way? In a small home or apartment, each room should be designed to serve several uses. Your extra guest bedroom can also serve as your home office and TV room. Instead of a bed, use a pull out couch that faces a TV. Install a small desk and plenty of storage areas for games, toys, and office supplies. You might even consider using a room divider like a screen, to hide your work space, when you have overnight guests.
2. Focus on your fridge. Walsh suggests using clear plastic trays in your refrigerator to keep like items together. A try for condiments, one for cheese, one for snacks, etc. This way, if you're grilling outside there's no need to hunt for all the condiments...there all in one handy place! And this system keeps the refrigerator much cleaner and helps cut down on the time it generally takes to scrub it down.
3. Use counter canisters to keep all your dried ingredients organized and handy; lentils, pasta, rice, quinoa, flour, sugar, etc. Canisters have been round for ever but somewhere along the way, they fell out of favor with decorators. But now they're making a comeback and it's easy to see why! They keep dry food items handy and organized.
4. Rethink your linen closet. This tip is so easy, it'll blow you away! Why not fold your matching sheet sets, and all but one of the pillow cases, and store each set in the remaining pillowcase? When you need a fresh sets of sheets, simply pull out a pillowcase and everything you need will be all right there! It eliminates the need for rummaging through all the linens looking for that elusive matching fitted sheet. Pretty cool, eh?
5. De-junk your junk drawer. Start with small clear plastic storage bins. Organize your odds 'n ends by category and place each one in a separate box/bin. Rubber bands, pens/pencils, glue sticks and craft supplies. Label each bin with what's inside. This discourages the quick stashing of miscellaneous stuff.
6. Establish a free money box. We all have unused gift cars, free gym passes, coupons, and the like, floating around our homes. Walsh suggests putting all this "free money" in one container. Then, when it's time to go shopping (or to the gym) take a moment and look through the free money box to see what you have to use. And if you get a gift card, free pass, or coupon for money off that you know you'll never use....pass it on to someone who will. It's a pity to let all this free money go to waste!
7. Standardize your food storage containers. Don't you hate it when you go looking for a lid and you can't find the right size? Try using one brand of containers so all the lids are the same color and the same size. And if you use multiple sizes of these containers, get a bin and organize the lids by size...small in the front and large in the back. It's amazing how much time and aggravation this one simple tip will save you.
I'm anxious to try out these new deluttering techniques. I always dread my fall cleaning, but I think this year it'll be a snap! I hope you'll find them useful, too. Now, it's time for me to hop off to my local "everything for a dollar store" and stock up on containers. Fall will be here before you know it!
Have a great day, and I look forward to seeing you all back here tomorrow!
Organizing is really about making your life easier. When things are easy to find, it makes doing anything form small home repairs to doing cooking, so much faster and more pleasant. I know from my own personal experience that when I can quickly find everything I need for a project, I am far more apt to get it done. And when I can't find all the tools and items I need, well, that's when I procrastinate. If you'd like to simplify your life, try these time-test tricks from organizing guru Peter Walsh. They could well revolutionize your life! Or at least make it much easier and give you extra time. And who doesn't want to make life easier?
1. Make your rooms multi-task. We all like to multi-task and pride ourselves on our ability to juggle multiple projects. So why shouldn't our homes be the same way? In a small home or apartment, each room should be designed to serve several uses. Your extra guest bedroom can also serve as your home office and TV room. Instead of a bed, use a pull out couch that faces a TV. Install a small desk and plenty of storage areas for games, toys, and office supplies. You might even consider using a room divider like a screen, to hide your work space, when you have overnight guests.
2. Focus on your fridge. Walsh suggests using clear plastic trays in your refrigerator to keep like items together. A try for condiments, one for cheese, one for snacks, etc. This way, if you're grilling outside there's no need to hunt for all the condiments...there all in one handy place! And this system keeps the refrigerator much cleaner and helps cut down on the time it generally takes to scrub it down.
3. Use counter canisters to keep all your dried ingredients organized and handy; lentils, pasta, rice, quinoa, flour, sugar, etc. Canisters have been round for ever but somewhere along the way, they fell out of favor with decorators. But now they're making a comeback and it's easy to see why! They keep dry food items handy and organized.
4. Rethink your linen closet. This tip is so easy, it'll blow you away! Why not fold your matching sheet sets, and all but one of the pillow cases, and store each set in the remaining pillowcase? When you need a fresh sets of sheets, simply pull out a pillowcase and everything you need will be all right there! It eliminates the need for rummaging through all the linens looking for that elusive matching fitted sheet. Pretty cool, eh?
5. De-junk your junk drawer. Start with small clear plastic storage bins. Organize your odds 'n ends by category and place each one in a separate box/bin. Rubber bands, pens/pencils, glue sticks and craft supplies. Label each bin with what's inside. This discourages the quick stashing of miscellaneous stuff.
6. Establish a free money box. We all have unused gift cars, free gym passes, coupons, and the like, floating around our homes. Walsh suggests putting all this "free money" in one container. Then, when it's time to go shopping (or to the gym) take a moment and look through the free money box to see what you have to use. And if you get a gift card, free pass, or coupon for money off that you know you'll never use....pass it on to someone who will. It's a pity to let all this free money go to waste!
7. Standardize your food storage containers. Don't you hate it when you go looking for a lid and you can't find the right size? Try using one brand of containers so all the lids are the same color and the same size. And if you use multiple sizes of these containers, get a bin and organize the lids by size...small in the front and large in the back. It's amazing how much time and aggravation this one simple tip will save you.
I'm anxious to try out these new deluttering techniques. I always dread my fall cleaning, but I think this year it'll be a snap! I hope you'll find them useful, too. Now, it's time for me to hop off to my local "everything for a dollar store" and stock up on containers. Fall will be here before you know it!
Have a great day, and I look forward to seeing you all back here tomorrow!
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