Top 10 Tips
1.Edit: How many pots and pans actually fit on your stove at the same time?
How many clear vases can be filled with flowers at one time?
How many shirts do you need to save for your next paint job?
2.Be Honest: about what you need to keep. What do you NEED to survive/accomplish a goal?
3. One in-one out: When getting something new, get rid of something old.
4. Keep only what you use and love
5. Buy white: buy white storage containers, hangers, boxes, etc… to keep it clean and fresh. You don’t want to draw attention to the boring day to day stuff we all need.
6. Group and combine like items together. Blankets with blankets, pencils with pencils, combine:(ex: if you have 2 half empty bottles of shampoo, combine them together).
7. Organize one room at a time. Make a list of organizing projects for each room. Plan for what organizing items you need for each organizing project. Look for multi-functional items, furniture, storage, that blends in with the surroundings.
8. Establish a limit: (20) grocery bags, spatulas, pants, shirts, bibs, etc.
9. Make time to organize: 5-15 minutes a day or 2, 30 minute sessions a week. Set a timer.
10: Pick up as you go. Live by the Mantra if you throw it down, pick it up; if you open it, close it; if you take it out, put it back.
1. Basket Method: Get 4 baskets/boxes and a trash bag. As you take stuff out, sort it into five piles, throw away, donate, another room, keep, sell.
2. 6 Round Method: There are 5 main categories that create clutter in everyone’s home: trash, dishes, laundry, mail, toys, and your own items. Go around and pick up all the trash first, then pick up all the laundry…etc
3. Timed Method: Set a timer for how long you will organize for. Do 5-15 minute sessions daily or 2, 30 minute sessions a week.
4. Choose a number between 1-100. Mine is 25. Now pick up (25) things and put them where they belong. It doesn’t matter what items, just pick up the first (25) you see.
5. Use the two pass approach: When organizing your home, start by gathering things and getting them to the room where they belong. In the second pass, organize the contents into each room.
6. Get help. Find an organizing buddy or hire help.
7. Get organized while you watch TV. Pull out a drawer and organize it.
8. Household Rules keep it clean and organized. Create some household rules you can all agree and abide to.
Where to Start
1. Remember: Some progress is better than no progress. Even if you only put 1 item away, that’s still one item that wasn’t there before and your room has 1 less item lying around.
2. Tackle one room at a time. Organize that room one shelf, one drawer at a time.
3. Make a list of organizing projects in each room.
4. Make a goal and put it in writing.
5. Keep the end in sight. Imagine how beautiful and clean your room will look when it is organized.
6. Start with countertops or any visible surface. You do not want to start organizing inside drawers and countertops if the rest of the room is a mess. That will just create more mess. Clean the room first, before opening anything to get organized.
7. Take everything out and group like items.
8. Put back only what you use and love.
9. Familiarize yourself with organizing solutions.
What To Get Rid Of
The most important part of organizing is eliminating. Simplify your life.
*What useful purpose does this serve in my life?
*Do I need it for legal or tax purposes?
*Would it be difficult to get another if I needed it someday?
*Make a perfect home sheet. What do you want for this room? List everything that would make that room perfect and design it. Is there room for it? Does it belong?
*Be honest about what you need to keep.
*Establish limits on things. (20) grocery bags. Set a limit before you see how much you have and honestly think about how many you REALLY need.
*Is it expired? Outdated? What is the life expectancy?
*Thing you do not use or love
*Don’t keep memorabilia in storage. Display or use it. If it’s a large item, take a picture and let go of the physical item.
*Things without a home.
*Get rid of shower stuff you haven’t used in a month
*Anything unfinished or need of repair.
*Can you live without it?
*Be selectively sentimental. Keep a keepsake box.
*Take a photo of your child with favorite artwork. Let go of physical.
*Use it or lose it. Is it beautiful and useful?
*Create an umbrella rule. Will you be ok to let go of it if you haven’t used it in 3 months? 6 months? 1 year?
*Learn to part with things. Will I survive if I get rid of this?
*If it takes you longer than 60 seconds to decide
*If you plan to fix something, give yourself a deadline.
*Toss promotional or freebie items.
*One-in,one out. When one catalog comes in, another goes out.
*Don’t buy things that take up lots of room or barely use.
*Is it covered in dust?
*When you decide to get rid of stuff, get it out of your house as quickly as possible.
*Pretend you are moving. Is it worth packing, unpacking?
*We tend to hold on to things, because we paid “good money” for them. What is the value of something we don’t use? Zero. That dress/suit you keep in your closet, could help someone get a job and earn 40,000 a year.
*Think of it as recycling. Giving it to someone who needs it and will use it more than you.
*When you have tons of one item and you can’t narrow it down, get a new one that will replace all of them.
*Have someone else hold objects. When you hold something it increases your attachment.
*Play dress up with your clothes. Try everything on, if it doesn’t fit, needs to be fixed, has holes or wear and tear, let it go. If you are holding onto clothes that you think you will fit in someday, get rid of them. When you do finally lose the weight, you can reward yourself with new clothes.
*If it’s not your clutter, it’s not your responsibility.
*If you are saving something because you might need it someday, ask yourself “could I get another one pretty easily and inexpensively if I needed to?
*If you cannot easily access it, you will never use it. Don’t store stuff in storage, up high where you cant reach, behind other boxes/bins.
*If you are not taking care of it properly or throwing it around, you shouldn’t keep it cause its not worth that much to you. Only store what you use and love.
*Look at warranty for boxes. Does the warranty expire in 90 days? If its passed the expiration date you don’t need to keep the box anymore.
*Don’t keep items just because they are good or new. Remember to establish a limit on how many you need, how often you use/wear it, do you love it, is it beautiful.
*Do you have something else that can do the same job?
*When comparing similar things or multiple of 1 item, consider which one would you choose to use right now if you needed to use it/wear it.
Getting Motivated
*Decide what your reward will be for completing an organizing project.
*Get the family involved. Then reward everyone by doing a fun family activity.
*Set a garage sale date.
*Play the clean up game.
*Listen to upbeat music while you clean.
*Host a party
*Compromise. If I complete this task then I can…
*Tell someone.
*Pamper yourself with a spa day when you complete your project.
*Mark an X for every day you do 5 minutes of organizing. Reward yourself for organizing if you got X every day of the week/month.
*Do it in the moment. Lower your to do list by doing it while you are thinking about it.
*Deal with spills immediately
*Organize as you put things away
*Give yourself a daily organizing reward
*Use self-discipline
*Give yourself a deadline. Invite guests over, party, dinner…
*Clean up today’s mess first
*Im only going to pick up 10 things…then pick up 10 things total or 10 things in each room. The hardest part is getting started, if you keep saying im only going to pick up 10 more things, you will soon have the entire room/rooms clean and organized.
*Think of your home as a model home. They don’t have boxes and bins out everywhere. It’s nicely decorated. Don’t leave things out in the open, lined up on counters, stashing items in corners, etc. Organizing is mostly done behind closed doors.
*Give organizing your full attention. Turn off computer and cell phone/maybe TV
*When buying organizing items, shop around first for best deal, but don’t buy crappy organization. Buy right the first time. If it’s worth keeping, its worth taking care of. Be creative UNTIL you can afford it.
*Just cause it’s there now, doesn’t mean you have to keep it there. Put items where they are used.
*When stacking things side by side, go largest to smallest or vice versa.
*Eliminate excess wrapping, boxes, etc. (ex: if you have bulk toilet paper still in the wrapping, you can take it out of the plastic and either store them or stack them)
*Use online to store important papers, documents, phone numbers, but save them to a disc,hard drive for back up.
*Borrow items you only use once a year or only on occasion. You can borrow big ticket items at bagborrowsteal.com; borrowedbling.com; renttherunway.com; onenightaffair.com; lowes/homedepot
*To see how much something is worth you can use the collectables price guide. Go to www.satruck.org/valuableguide.aspx.
*Keep in mind it can take awhile to sell something, so if you have a lot to sell, choose only big ticket items $20+. Everything else list it on a paper and add it to your receipt they give you when you donate it and you can write it off on your tax return.
*Organize papers in a binder
*If you put something down and plan to come back to it later, put it away. That’s how clutter is created is because we leave things out thinking we will get to them soon. Before you go do something else, clean up what you are doing now, first.
*If you are waiting to do it perfectly or wait for the perfect time, it will never happen. How does something become perfect? Practice! You will never be completely organized cause its always an ongoing process. As soon as you get today’s mail done, tomorrow’s mail is on the way. Don’t wait for the ideal time to begin something. There is only today, do what you can today with what you have, while you are here. You may not be here tomorrow. If something where to happen to you, do you want people to go through your stuff you really don’t want them to see, or see your messy lifestyle that they now have to clean up?
* Don’t take home items just because they are on sale or free. Do you really need or use it? Do you already have it? The cheaper something is, the more likely you are of not taking good care of it. If it’s easy to get, it’s easy to dispose of. Buy stuff that you will want to take good care of. Buy one and done. (Buy right the first time and you won’t have to buy it again. Buy it cheap the first time, you will have to buy another in the future equaling the same amount that you would have paid if you got it right the first time)
*Live within your budget. If it is worth having, it’s worth working for.
*Have a list of what you need to buy at a store so you don’t buy anything you don’t need. Don’t impulse buy. Walk quickly through aisles, and if you see something you like that was not on your list, take a picture of it to remind you and you can go home and think about it. Give it at least 3 days to a week and if you still want it and you have the money for it then go ahead.
*Create a Life Organizer (on my blog www.pendletonmoms.blogspot.com)
*If you have 2 of the same item, place the opened item in front and use that first.
It can get overwhelming so start off just pick up the first ten things. There is no where special to start, you just need to start.
The key to having a well kept and organized home is by having just what you absolutely need. Don't try to make room for something you only use once a year or once in a lifetime. Eliminate the clutter. Get rid of what you don't need, haven't used in the last three-6 months, anything broken, outdated, clothes you dont fit into, things that you say you will use but end up never using. Take in mind when you eliminate, say "if i had the choice to choose between this (clothes, appliance, etc.) and this, i will always choose this one even though they may be both nice. Just keep the one you use. Dont keep something because its nice. If you dont use it, get rid of it.
Buy things that serve a multi-purpose. As you see in my pictures, the utensil holder also has a removable spoon rest. You will save space by getting multi-functional tools. The ottoman serves as an ottoman and toy chest but its something you would have never thought would hold all these toys. The decorative box looks like a decoration but it opens up as a remote control holder. The toilet paper holder nicely organizes your toilet paper and keeps it hidden and decorative. Buy furniture that has organization on it.
Your closet should have plastic white hangers. Make sure they all match. No wire hangers! You will see the difference. When you take a shirt of a hanger have another designated spot where you keep all your empty hangers so you dont have empty hangers sticking out between your clothes.
Just because you have had that vase on your top shelf in your closet doesnt mean that it has to stay there or even belong there. Keep things where you use them most. Your closet is meant for clothes, shoes, accessories, not storing other items. Laundry room is a Laundry Room, a Kitchen is a kitchen, keep things where they belong.
There should be a place for everything in your home. Think of a model home. They dont have things lying about or stuck in corners. Make it so your items are stored away where others cant see them. No one wants to see your junk.
Dont buy anything unless it can be stored away nicely. Dont impulse buy. Research. Keep things that you use on a regular bases. Constantly go through your stuff and eliminate. Think "Will i die if i get rid of this? Is my life going to end? Do I really need this? Is it something I can replace?"
Get stuff that matches and fits into each other. Instead of having a million different types of tubberware or different mixing bowls, get ones that stack inside of each other. Big ones on bottom, smaller items on the top.
Put like things together. You dont need blankets on all floors. Put all your blankets in one spot. You dont need mixing bowls in each cabinet. Put them all together in one cabinet. Put all your books in one spot. Think of things that you have that are in different parts of the house. All the same type of item goes together.
