Organization
How To: Get Organized!
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
It’s a fact of life that we all accumulate stuff. Some are better at controlling it, while others of us need a little help prioritizing what goes where. Regardless of your home size you’re always going to feel like you just don’t have enough storage space. Here’s where you need to start going through your belongings and make some decisions!
Before we get into the organizing part, you’ll want to determine what you want to organize. You might say your whole house, but to be effective you will want to tackle one area at a time. Once you have picked a section to work on you are going to have to analyze all your stuff. Why are you holding on to that old anniversary gift you don’t use? How often do you use that fancy chinaware? Do those jeans still fit? Since you’re taking the time to organize your belongings you might as well determine what can go and what you want to stay. If in doubt, throw it out! Make a pile for donations and let it grow. Consider the practicality of what you want to keep and be honest with yourself if it’s just junk that you’re emotionally attached to. Because those objects were gathering dust already, it’s unlikely you’ll miss them once you set them free and donate them or throw them away.
Once you’ve determined what you’re sticking with you’ll need to prioritize it. Are they objects you use frequently, annually, or only for big occasions? Perhaps you don’t ever use it, but would like to hang on to it for sentimental value or to pass on to your children. That’s fine too; you don’t have to throw everything away!
You might be tempted to group all your holiday items together, but if you’re only using half of them each year you should keep those separate. Depending on where you have been putting those items before you’ve either been wasting precious convenient space with things you don’t use, or are making it difficult to access items you need. By separating based on frequency of use you are making space for regularly used items. Instead of putting your 4th of July decorations with your holiday things, put it in the summer section! Then you’re getting a box full of things you know you’ll use, instead of having to root through Easter eggs and hand-drawn turkeys. Follow this pattern for all your objects. Put the daily use items in areas that are easy to get to and hide those things that don’t get much action in the attic or basement.
Make sure you label all your boxes and include the contents on each box. That way you won’t have to open them to examine what’s inside. Clear boxes work great as well.
By prioritizing your belongings based on frequency of use you’ll be able to straighten out your life and get to the things you really need.
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Effective Organizing Solutions
By: Kelly Goldthorpe
Whether it’s your New Year’s resolution or you’ve just had a bout of inspiration, you’ve probably gotten yourself psyched up about getting organized at some point. In order to tackle the task of managing your clutter you might have gone out and bought a label maker, tons of plastic storage containers, and a variety of other home organization solutions. While these can definitely help with the organizing process, more often than not they just gather dust and become obsolete. Next time you get motivated to get organized consider these home organization tips.
Hold off on the gizmos and gadgets that advertise how much they can help simplify your life. These might be functional, but they can also be difficult to set up and not conducive with your daily routine. Instead, consider ways to improve the way you do your tasks. Time-tested items like jewelry boxes have proven their worthiness. These home storage solutions are practical. Technology has certainly changed the way we go about things, but sometimes you just need to keep it simple.
When it comes to labeling there is no need to buy an expensive machine. The classic solution of masking tape and permanent marker will do just fine. It may not look as professional, but it certainly gets the job done. This will save you the space and money that a label maker would consume. This is just one example of how organizing can actually be counterproductive. The same goes for things like time management. Instead of buying a pricey smart phone to schedule all of your appointments just purchase a day planner. This is an especially wise investment because you can’t break a day planner like you can a phone of PDA.
Just as you are trying to simplify your life through organizing, the best method is to use simple organizing solutions. Storage organizers are great so long as they’re easily accessible and get used. Remember this cardinal rule that anything you buy in the sake of organizing should see frequent use.
