31 Days to an Organized Home

31 days to an organized home

  31 days to an organized home (click here for a printable checklist)

Spring time is organizing time! We have renewed energy, we look forward to creating and cleaning, and we want to freshen our home. We can cover all the territory in our home working in baby steps to keep from being overwhelmed. This list of 31 short projects gets you motivated, gets you started, and gets a lot done over 31 days.  Follow this list and do one project each day for 30 minutes to an hour.  First toss, then donate or recycle, group by categories, and create a routine that helps you stay organized.  In just 31 days you will have an organized home!

The 31 days project is grouped around rooms in your home. As you move forward, you will be breaking your organizing into small steps in order to finish in each space.  Clearing your clutter has a calming effect and you will enjoy the serenity in your home.

1.   Any 31 items.  Just walk around the house and choose any 31 items that are not useful, functional, or beautiful. 

2.   Kitchen junk drawer

3.   Under the Kitchen Sink

4.   Refrigerator

5.   Freezer

6.   Spice cabinet

7.   Laundry Room

8.   Laundry room sink area

organized

9.    Pantry medicine basket

10. Paper goods

11. Pantry

12. Extra bags around the house

13. Computer or home office desk

14. Warranty and instruction books

15. Bookshelves and books

16. Technology

organized home office

 

17. Under Bathroom Sink

18. Medicine Cabinet

19. Make up drawer

20. Undies, socks, jammies

21. Night stand drawers

22. Coat closet

23. Media cabinet

24. VHS movies

25. Linen Closet

26. Purses and bags

27. Tops, tee shirts and dresses

28. Pants and skirts

29. Shoes

organized closet

30. Car

31. Any 31 items.  Eliminating an additional 31 items will make your home even less cluttered!

 

Jump start your spring organizing this year! Keep me posted on how your work is progressing and how successful you are!

 Don’t miss a minute of productivity and organizing tips! Subscribe to my newsletter!

Hugs and Happy Organizing: Craft Room Organizing

Hugs and happy organizing is all about client success stories. Here you will find a craft and sewing room organizing success story.

 

hugs and happy organizing sewing and craft room

 

Sewing and crafting are wonderful ways to express creativity! What happens when we are overloaded with materials, too many projects, and a limited space?  Craft room chaos!  You can enjoy your quilting, crochet, sewing, and knitting more with craft room organizing.  Follow these simple steps for your craft and sewing room success.

  • Start with decluttering. Decide which materials inspire you and which can go on to another home.  In Houston, Texas Art Asylum is a wonderful resource for sharing your stash.
  • Group you materials by project type.
  • Group your projects that are started, and consider how you will keep materials together for each project. I suggest ziploc bags or clear plastic containers (Amazon affiliate link).
  • Group your tools together, such as scissors, needles, and rulers. Place these in an easy access spot on  your work space.

What made a difference in your craft and sewing area?

 

 

More Hugs and Happy Organizing success stories on pinterest.

Don’t miss out on upcoming organizing tips and techniques! Click here to subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

Company’s Coming! Decluttering your home

home organizing

 

Company’s coming! What a great way to make sure you are organized! These words strike fear and get you in gear.  It’s time to tackle the guest room and the dining room.  Decluttering your home before company comes creates an inviting and welcoming space for them.  Follow these 5 easy steps to declutter and be ready for visitors.

Guest rooms become storage.  Dining rooms become work areas.  Both are easy spots throughout the year just to drop off bags from the car or other purchases you have not found a home for yet.  Set aside time on your calendar in 2 hour segments for decluttering.  You can get these areas back to their original use easily and efficiently.

 

  • Reset and distribute.  Start by grouping items and then distributing to appropriate spots in your home.  Your kids can help by being runners. You can use a basket or plastic tote to help carry items to where they belong.

 

  • Organize room by room.  Next go room by room and incorporate those items.  This will require some editing and blending of new and already owned items.  Get ready to cast off and donate what you have replaced with newer items.

 

  • Create mobile storage.  If your dining room was used as a craft room, think about storing crafts in 3 drawer sterilite rolling cart. These can be rolled to the garage for storage while your room is being used for holiday dinners.

 

  • Power through paper clutter.  If paper was stashed in your guest room, consolidate it into bags.  Use 15 minute time pockets to power through what you are keeping and what you are discarding.  Once you have culled this down, set up 15 minute periods to file. Powering through paper helps you know what to keep and what to discard.

 

  • Fun and function.  Set your table for your holiday dinner early. It will keep your table from getting cluttered again.

 

  • Freshen up.  Freshen up your guest room with new linens, a small tray of toiletries and mints, and fresh flowers to keep your room ready for guests.

 

Don’t miss out on upcoming organizing tips and techniques! Click here to subscribe to my monthly newsletter.

5 Small Starts to Organizing

getting started organizing with 5 small spots

 

 

I am often asked where to start organizing in a home or office. It just takes starting in a small spot. Here are 5 you can start in to feel successful and motivated.

  • Car glove box! You can easily clean out receipts, old insurance papers and other odds and ends.
  • Silverware drawer! It gets a little crazy sometimes getting utensils back in the right slot. Take a few minutes to sort and clean out.
  • Sock drawer! There are just too many socks sometimes. Match up the socks, and toss the rest. Be brutal!
  • Top drawer of your desk! We just slip papers in there, just too easily.  Spend a few minutes tossing what is old, unused or broken in there, decide what really belongs in this space, distribute the rest, and then you are more productive than ever.
  • Email inbox and processed folder. You don’t have to keep all the emails in your inbox.  Add a subfolder called “processed,” “read,” or whatever you what to name it, for the emails you have read and want to keep.  Keeping your inbox just for incoming mail will be more effective and efficient.

What small stuff do you do to get organized?

Need an organizing boost? Get my newsletter monthly!

 

Organizing Your Christmas Decorations

The holidays have come and gone.   Getting organized for the holidays really depends on organizing your Christmas decorations the year before!  I wanted to share a few of my favorite products in organizing for after the holidays.  These are available at Target, WalMart, Container Store, Stacks and Stacks and more!