Tag Archive for: declutter your home

25 Simple Ways to Keep Your Home Organized Every Day

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25 simple ways to keep your home organized every day

I am celebrating 25 years in business! Throughout the year I will be sharing 25 tips on many different topics. 

 

Keeping your home organized doesn’t have to be overwhelming. With a few practical and easy strategies, you can create a calm, functional, and welcoming space. Whether tackling a single room or the entire house, these 25 tips will help you bring order to every corner of your home.

1. Start Small

Begin with one drawer, shelf, or corner. Small wins build momentum for larger organizing projects.

2. Declutter Regularly

When you feel overwhelmed, it is time to declutter. Use that feeling to edit and declutter. Take one minute to drop what you no longer need or love into a donation bag. Just that small release empowers you to release more.

3. Use Clear Bins

Clear containers make it easy to see what’s inside, which saves time and frustration. Make it easy to see what you have and know you have it, which is also money-saving.

4. Label Everything

Labels keep your storage system clear for everyone in the household. A label maker is an easy, efficient, and clear product that helps you label. Or you can take your labeling to the next step with lovely labels purchased online at Etsy or Amazon. You can buy a set for a specific space like a pantry or other area of your home.

5. Designate a Home for Everything

When everything is out, there are not enough homes for specific items. Ensure each item has a designated spot to return to after use. The best place to create a home is at the designated point of use. If that spot does not have adequate space, it is time to declutter.

6. Tackle Paper Clutter

Sort mail and paperwork daily. Take the next steps always and create a specific home for the papers once sorted. That might be a file system or simply one box for the year. Use a filing system to manage important documents.

7. Use Vertical Space

There are spots you might not be using for effective storage. Install shelves, hooks, and over-the-door organizers to maximize storage potential. Shop online for products to help with these creative storage spaces.

8. Rotate Seasonal Items

It is common for us to use additional, secondary storage. Store out-of-season clothes and decorations in labeled bins or an additional hanging rack to free up space. Turn the hangers backwards to see what you wore that is stored in this space. Cull out what has not been worn in several years.

9. Organize by Category

“Kondo” your organizing by using categories to organize. For easy access, that is to group similar items, like kitchen utensils or office supplies. Think of creative categories that match the way you think to create zones and an organized space.

10. Invest in Drawer Dividers

A drawer can be a big hole when it comes to organizing. Use dividers or baskets to prevent drawers from becoming catch-alls and keep items neatly separated. Be sure to label the spaces inside the drawer as well.

11. Create a Donation Box

The easiest way to declutter is to have a donation box. Keep a box handy for items you’re ready to part with and donate regularly.

12. Utilize Under-Bed Storage

When you think about access and extra storage, think about under-bed storage. Store less-used items in bins under your bed to save closet space.

13. Make Use of Hooks

Hooks make it easy to see what you have and easy to maintain a space. Hooks are perfect for organizing bags, hats, and coats in entryways or closets. Command hooks or decorative hooks create a nook for you to use as a landing strip in your entry.

14. Corral Cords

One of the ugly side effects of technology is the many cords around us. Use cord organizers or zip ties to manage electronic cables and chargers. Set up a common charging station to minimize cords.

15. Organize the Fridge

The inside of your refrigerator is like any other cabinet. Use bins to group similar foods and clean out expired items weekly on trash day.

16. Create a Cleaning Schedule

A tidy house is easy to organize. Creating a cleaning schedule and assigning family members to help make it easier to clean. Break down cleaning tasks by day to avoid overwhelming catch-up sessions.

17. Optimize Kitchen Storage

Add storage to your existing cabinets and drawers with a little help from organizing products. Use shelf risers, lazy Susans, and stacking containers to maximize cabinet space.

18. Designate Drop Zones

A drop zone for essentials saves time and frustration. It is as simple as setting up trays or baskets for keys, wallets, and mail near the entrance or on a dresser in a bedroom.

19. Sort Toys by Type

Toy rooms are overwhelming to both kiddos and parents. Use labeled bins or baskets for categories like blocks, dolls, or art supplies to make cleanup easier. Apply the same effort to game stations.

20. Purge Expired Products

Purchasing in preparation can lead to lots of expirations. Go through pantry items, toiletries, and medications to eliminate expired goods at the beginning and end of each season.

21. Maintain Closet Order

Love the look of order in your closet but get behind in getting dry cleaning or laundry back in order? Make it easy by hanging clothes by category or color and using matching hangers for a uniform look. Set aside a weekly time to reset your closet back to order.

22. Keep Counters Clear

No need to be a minimalist, however, you can limit counter items to essentials to reduce visual clutter. In the bathroom, set a tray with what you use regularly including a small dish for jewelry. In the kitchen use a tray to lay keys, wallets, and other essentials. When items stray off the tray, it is time for a reset.

23. Store Linens Smartly

Cull out extra linens and use shelf dividers or baskets to keep sheets and towels neatly stacked.

24. Embrace a weekly reset

Life is busy! With little time to put things away, your home gets out of order. Set a weekly time each weekend to prepare for the week ahead with a reset of getting everything back in order.

25. Involve the Family

Teach everyone in your home these organizing habits for shared responsibility and maintenance.

 

Start with one small step to implement organizing in your home. Remember, only you know what is best for an organized home that works for you and your family. Start small, stay consistent, and enjoy the peace of mind that comes with a tidy and efficient living space!

 

Questions to ask yourself while decluttering

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decluttering

 

Letting go of stuff is hard work.  Besides your every present thought that “I might need this,” there is a pull at your heartstrings of an emotional attachment and a pull at your purse strings for what you paid for that stuff.  As I meet with clients, we are sorting through their items and asking questions to help them make decisions to edit. Asking yourself questions to help you declutter makes this task easier.

 

Questions about use

Questions about use help you determine how often you use an item and if so, whether to keep it.

Do I love it or use it?

When was the last time I used it?

If it is less than $20 and it takes less than 20 minutes to get it again, can I let it go?

If you could fit in this right now, would you wear it?

 

Questions about quantity

Questions about quantity help you let go of excess.

How many of these do I need?

Would I buy this again today?

Where do I store it to find it again?

 

 

Questions for lifestyle

Questions about lifestyle help you acknowledge your feelings about an item.

Does this help me be my best self?

Will my future self use this?

Is this holding me back?

 

Questions about emotional attachment

Questions about emotional attachment define whether to keep an item or let it go.

Is this something that makes me sad or reminds me of a sad time?

Does this make me smile?

Do I honor it as a keepsake?

 

Questions about finances

Does this have value greater than $50?

Should I sell this or donate it?

Can it be a blessing to others who have great need?

 

As you are decluttering and editing, think about this question, will your life be better for editing your stuff?  At the end of the day, less stuff means less to take care of and more life to experience.

Start Small Go Big

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Start organizing small, then go big

 

 

How can SMALL and BIG be used together for organizing?  When we think of these opposites, can we use these together in getting organized?  Well here’s how!

 

Organizing and productivity are overwhelming. The most frequent question is how do I get started?  Whether your view is a cluttered desk or home, it’s not clear where, when or how to get started. And what about the next steps? Is that starting with the small of units, like organizing your paper clips or the shoes in your closet?  Or do you go big with the big stuff? Here’s answers to these 2 important questions.

Start small

I love the question, how do I eat an elephant? Its the analogy I use most often in presentations.  Of course the answer is one bite at a time!  It’s in getting start in a small way that gets you started at all.  It doesn’t matter if you take a nibble at the trunk or the foot, starting with a nibble gets you started. Your nibble in your home could be the junk drawer in your kitchen, the floor of a closet, the shelf in a linen closet or the papers in your kitchen.  Nibbling can be an amount of time, like only 15 minutes.  A nibble can be a number, like picking up 3 items to donate.  Your office nibbling can be your inbox, a bookcase, or a file drawer.  Decide what small looks and feels like to you then set a date on your calendar to commit.

 

Go big

Look around at your home or office.  What’s the big stuff in your way?  We organizers call it macro organizing.  Start with the big stuff when you keep on organizing.  It’s not the time to launch into complex sort ing of your stuff. It’s also not the time to go to that shoebox full of small random items.  Work on the big stuff first.   Big stuff open up space. That’s the space you see and feel.  It’s the big stuff that helps you break through being stuck and you feel the openness of your space.  Take a big picture with your papers too.  What are the big categories you can sort?  Broad categories make it easier to work through tedious papers.

 

Is this a new perspective for you?  Have you thought you needed hours to organize and never started?  Have you walked about from your papers after creating an overly complicated system?  Here’s a new way to make organizing happen for you.

 

Want to learn more organizing and productivity tricks?  Join my newsletter here.

 

Clutter: A Hoarder’s Success Story

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I love sharing success stories!  It takes courage, tenacity and a team to make a big change from a home filled to the brim to a home ready to sell.  I am fortunate to share Audrey’s story!

Audrey and I started working together in 2007.  We met in her home to get started organizing.  It was a meeting that stayed on my mind, a professional and proper woman who had a home filled to the brim.  Audrey was recently diagnosed with ADD, had become a member of our local ADD chapter and knew of her challenges all too well.  She was just at a beginning stage of recognizing what was ahead of her.   Audrey was still in denial about the challenges she faced. 

About two years went by, and Audrey contact me again to help her. At this time, she had recently purchased a new home and wanted to sell her hoarded home.  It was troubling to her, but in a compelling way.  It was difficult to part with items in her old home, even though the new home was fully furnished.   She shared that at her new home, she had wished to build a shed that was hold all her belongings.   It would have walls and walls of shelving, just to keep her stuff.  However, with the economy and her husband’s poor health, their new home would not include this shed.  It was beginning to dawn on her that her belongings would not fit in her new home.  She was beginning to part with her stuff, but it was still very difficult.

A year later, in 2010, Audrey was in touch again. This time Audrey knew it was time to make a serious change.  She must sell the old home and dispose of the contents. Together we applied to a number of television shows to get her help.  She was willing to tell her story in exchange for the assistance provided. We were declined by all the shows.  It was in being declined that Audrey realized she must build her own team. She invited church members over to help her declutter and move items.  She hired a mover who also took off items and donated or sold them. Audrey paid college students to help her.  She was making great progress.

This week Audrey invited me to see her success! I am thrilled for this transformation for her.  What did she share that made this success happen?

  • Her husband and daughter Lisa supported her in this  work of decluttering. They would go with her to the home and be there as a sounding board.
  • She had the support of her therapist in working through grief issues that had been reasons behind holding on to some of the items.
  • Her realtor said to her, “What could be of such great value in this home that you are paying monthly for the utilities and more?”  Audrey realized that the $200 she pays monthly for electricity is an unnecessary expense.
  • Me! Audrey would check in for accountability regularly, just to share with me her progress.
  • Audrey realized that this home and its stuff was a barrier in her relationships and had held her back long enough. 
  • What did Audrey uncover that was most valuable to her?  Jewelry and a bible belonging to her brother.  What was the hardest thing to let go of? Her grandson’s papers from elementary school and anything belonging to her mother.  What did she do with the items? Mainly donate, but also throw away a lot of it.

I am attaching a gallery of shots from Audrey’s home.  Each before picture is taken from the hallway.  In the first picture, you can’t get in the room, it is just a view of plastic bags.   Each room has enormous items to tackle.

 Audrey is courageously sharing this success and her story.  Thank you Audrey for partnering with me to make a difference!

Organizing for the Busy Mom Teleclass

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Take a fresh perspective to improve your and your family’s quality of life! 

The Family Manager™system transfers management skills and strategies from the business arena to running your homeand personal life.  Teambuilding, delegation, standard operating procedures, and other sound

business practices will help you reduce daily stress, create a smoothly running home, and have time for self care and recreation.  The teleclass is offered by Ellen and Marla Regan. 

In this teleclass series, Ellen and Marla will focus on 4 departments in the Family Manager™ series.

4-Part Teleclass featuring:

  1. Learning how to have a Family Team creating House Rules to guide your family’s interactions and form Standard Operating Procedures for the running of your home.
  2. Organizing tips for your home.  Learn how to declutter your home and use your Standard Operating Procedures to ease the stress of daily life.
  3. Techniques for time and schedule.  Learn how to manage the family calendar and daily schedule.
  4. How to have “you” time. Learn to care for your body, mind and nurturing your spirit.

Classes are every Wednesday in October, October 6, 13, 20 and 27.   Cost for all 4 classes  is $49.  Call in to the bridge line (long distance charges apply) and be a part of the class.  Register today as class size is limited!