Five Steps to Get Rid Clutter and Organize Your Home
A pact, according to Dictionary.com is “a formal agreement…such as one between nations”.
Well, I want you to have A-Pact with your clutter. Although this turns into more of a battle (that you win)…it’s a great way to remember the steps to organization.
Here’s what it means and how it works …
A–>ASK
Ask yourself what you want out of the room or area you’re going to organize. What are the goals of the room? What are you shooting for by getting organized. And the thing is, you want to dig a little deep into how you want to benefit. This will help you get motivated and work towards the final goal.
For instance, if you’re going to start the process of organizing paperwork in your home office, the question is “why do I want to organize this space?” The answer could be “I don’t ever want to have a late bill again” or “I want to find any document in less than two minutes.”
Once you’ve answered the question, then move onto step 2…
P—>PILE
What you do in this step is pile “like” items together. In your closet, you make a pile of all your shirts. Another pile of all your pants. Or let’s say we’re in your home office (or wherever you do keep paperwork.) Start with your file drawer, or grab a pile if that’s what you’ve got for a “filing system”. Put each piece of paper in “like” files. For example, all the insurance paperwork will go together. All of your 401K paperwork goes in another. All medical expenses from the present year in another.
A—>ANALYZE
Next you go through the piles and break them down even more, this time into two piles of “treasure” or “trash”. I like to assign each category with treasure or trash so there’s no in between. No room for “I’m going to decide on this later.” Now, decide right there and then if it’s either staying or going. No in between. Now the thing is, the trash doesn’t necessarily mean it’s going to the garbage.
That step comes next… and remember the saying, one man’s trash (or junk) is another man’s treasure.
So next…
C—>CASH-IN
This is where you go through the “trash” and break it down once more, deciding what can be donated, what can be sold, and what’s going to the dumpster. Next step is where you get organized…
T—>TIDY UP!
This is where, once you’ve gotten all the “trash” out of the area, you organize the items you’ve decided to keep. Tidy up, put it back in an ordered, organized fashion. When you’re organizing, always keep like items together whether on a shelf, in drawers or in any other type of storage you’re using. Have items you use more frequently be more accessible and within reach, too.
So there you go…
Have A-PACT with your clutter today, and get organized!
If you are running a home-based business, you must have a home office right at your own home. However, after some time, that home office could look and feel more like a storage room. The result: you go there seldom and you dread having to enter the room to find business stuff. You might be forced to work at the kitchen or at other places in your house. Here are several organization tips that could help you properly organize your own home office so that it could always be functional and presentable no matter what.
First, get cleared out. You have to categorize each item in the home office and decide which things should stay and go. Perform a basic de-cluttering activity. It would be advisable if you would classify items into things that you would: Keep, Trash, Donate, and Hold on while Deciding. The last could be given a six-month shelf life. After that, you must already be decided what to do with the item. If you are not able to do so, you could put it into your trash items. Items that are not useful anymore should be categorized at trash and should immediately go to the trash can. Keep things that are obviously and logically useful and important. Donate or recycle for other purposes things that could still have other uses other than its former function in the home office.
Then, clean the room to dust it off. It would be ideal if you would decide to paint or repaint the room. Prefer bright and stimulating paint color like bright blue or yellow so you could re-energize the room. Experts assert that a room designated as a home office could be more useful and cheerful if it would be painted or repainted with attractive colors.
Turn to the desk. It is a table you would be using most time of the day. An ‘L’ shaped one is most advisable. Put your computer, fax machine, phone, and printer in one wing. Assign the other wing for spreading out on. If you are right handed, put the phone on your left side so that you could talk and at the same time take down notes with your right hand (Do otherwise if you are left-handed). It would also be advisable if you would prefer to invest in all-in-one equipment, which combines phone, fax, printer, and scanner in one device for space efficiency.
Take out al personal things from the home office. Such items could only be a cause of distraction and could practically and visually clutter up the home office space. Have a box where you could put in all your magazines and print outs. If you think all your magazines and periodicals are just piling up and you do not get to read them all, get rid of those and cancel your subscriptions.
You could save a significant amount of money, too. Put into a drawer all light office paraphernalia like staplers, paper clips, notes, and scissors. These organization tips would surely make your home office better.
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When organizing your home, you want it to look neat, but you also want it to look nice. There are so many options out there that are well designed and fit into almost any décor. There is something to fit any taste.
1. Baskets are always a popular organizational item. If they are wood baskets, they give a nice natural look to the room. They are handy for holding all kinds of things, from makeup to toys.
2. Shoe organizers are something no family should be without. Who doesn’t get tired of either tripping over shoes as they come in the house or not being able to find the mate to the kids’ shoes as you are getting ready to head out the door? There are different styles available, from shoe racks that fit in the bottom of a closet to those that hang on the back of a door.
3. Closet organizers are becoming big business; as a matter of fact there are companies dedicated to helping you design the perfect closet organizer for your home. They can be as simple as plastic or metal adjustable shelves, or beautiful wood cabinets that are built to fit in your closet. They can have shelves, drawers, and places to hang clothes and baskets.
4. Desk organizers are a must-have for any home office or homework area. In addition to the standard pencil can and paper clip holders, there are nice wood pieces that are great for sorting mail and important papers. A classic desk blotter and penholder will add a touch of class to any desk.
5. Clothes trees can add an old-fashioned flair to any room. There are also more modern designs to choose from. They can be used near an entry for guests’ coats, or in the bedrooms as a great place for kids to put their PJ’s, robes, or even a towel after a bath.
6. Furniture with drawers can be great in homes with limited space. There are couches and beds that have drawers built into the bases that make great places to store out of season clothes or toys. There are also coffee tables that come with built in storage.
7. Video and audio storage are often wonderfully crafted pieces of furniture. They can be incorporated into a media center in the home, or used as stand-alone pieces. Some of them are designed to look like antique pieces of furniture.
8. Jewelry boxes are a wonderful way to not only organize all your precious pieces, but many are almost as beautiful to look at as your jewelry. You can find hand-carved pieces, or boxes with inlay. They look great on a dresser.
9. Carts with wheels are a handy form of storage, as they can be used anywhere in the house. Plus, if you don’t need it all the time, they can be tucked away in a closet, pantry or corner. They can have drawers or shelves and offer additional workspace. They are great for kitchens.
10. Caddies are great for things that may need to travel from room to room. They can be nice looking buckets or baskets. There are also fabric caddies that have pockets that can be hung on the wall. These can be found in a wide variety of styles. They are great in kids’ rooms for storing small treasures.
No matter what your taste is in decorating, it’s pretty easy to find great accents to your home that add not only to the form, but to the function of your life.
It is so easy to let disorganization and clutter take control of a house. It can be overwhelming. It didn’t get chaotic in one day; it won’t get cleaned up in one day. It has to be taken step-by-step. It is important to make a plan on how to get your house organized. Walk through the house and make notes of what needs to be done in each room. Once you have a list, make a goal to complete at least one thing off the list each day. Keep the list where you can see it.
Start with small projects, things you can see improvement in quickly. Try organizing a closet. Sort through it and get rid of things you don’t need anymore. You can donate them, get them ready for a yard sale or just throw them away. As you make more room in your closet, think about ways to maximize your storage space. You can add shelves and other closet organizers.
As you move through the list, some projects may take more than a day. That is ok. You just have to make sure you keep working on it till it is done. Take about thirty minutes in the morning and thirty minutes in the afternoon working on your list. Before you know it, you’ve gone through the entire house and organized it. The trick now is to keep it organized.
Each day, keep up on maintaining your newly organized home. The key is to not get into the “I’ll do it later” mindset. If you have something that is in the wrong place, take the time to either put it away right away, or have a designated area on each floor, like a box, to put things that need to go to another floor. Then at the end of the day, everything in the box gets put away.
Another idea to help keep the house organized is to establish a schedule where each room of the house gets a thorough cleaning one day each week. It may take awhile to get in the new routine, but if the family works together, it will be easier. If people remember to put their own things away, that will also help. Try not to be too impatient when people forget at first. Be sure to remind them gently, without nagging.
If you set up a checklist, similar to your original goal list, you can keep on top of the things that need to be done around the house. Why not assign each family a specific area of the house to help keep organized. They simply have to go through the room and make sure that everything is in its place. While it takes time and a bit of effort, it will be worth it once the house is clean, neat and organized.
