Feb

Simple Strategies for Home Organization

By admin

Home organization means being able to find your stuff when you need it, not after an hour or more of searching. But
home organization does not necessarily mean you are neat or clean. It does not even mean you are not a pack rat. Home
organization just means everything has a place and you know where that place is in your home.

Of course, when you practice home organization and clearing clutter together you do inevitably get a neater and
more organized home. Why? Because you can find your stuff when you need it AND you are not tripping over your stuff. So
instead of allowing yourself, or your family, to consistently put your shoes in the entryway (where you do know their
location), you designate another spot such as a shoe rack in the foyer closet. Thats blending home organization with
clutter clearing techniques. Here are 9 strategies for home organization that also may help you clear clutter in your
home:

1) CLUSTER LIKE ITEMS – When you organize an office storage closet at home or work, put the different types of paper
beside each other on a shelf. And what goes with paper? Envelopes. Put the different types of envelopes adjacent to
the paper. Adjacent to that you might put writing instruments used on paper like pencils and pens. And so forth.
Organizing holiday ornaments? Keep bins of Christmas supplies together. Keep bins of Easter decorations together. Then
put all of these holiday storage bins in one clustered area in your garage or attic. You can also use the cluster
mindset for toys and sports equipment.

2) MAKE THINGS CONVENIENT – This simply means put most frequently used items toward the front of shelves or on shelves
within arms reach or at eye level of the user (whether Thats you, your spouse or your children). Put infrequently
used items in those hard to reach cabinets in corners, cabinets above your refrigerator, in the attic, etc. Put
shelving or other organizers in convenient places such as put shoe racks, umbrella stands and hanging baskets for
gloves in a closet near the entryway you use most often.

3) LABEL IT – Invest in an inexpensive label maker. you will have fun labeling items (e.g. home recorded DVD tapes) or
labeling places where items should go so they always get returned to the same spot. For example, label specific garage
shelf spaces for hand tools or power tools. That way nobody in your family will ever forget where they got an item
They are using and they will know where its exact home is.

4) do not KEEP AN ITEM IF… – …you can find it elsewhere. So much research, forms and other paperwork is easily
accessed these days through the Internet. Just keep a simple list of Websites and useful phone numbers and then you will
always know where to return to or who to call in order to access that information again.

5) HANDLE IT ONCE – And handle it now. Thats how the organizing professionals suggest you handle paperwork, whether
it is incoming mail or something on your home office or work desk. If you can not handle it now, then put it in a tickler
file labeled with a specific intention (e.g. holiday cards to mail by month, bills to mail by week).

6) MAKE IT YOUR SYSTEM – I once knew a woman who placed labels inside her kitchen food cabinets. So cans of green
beans and peas always went on their designated label or row and a can of tuna went on its labeled space. When you
could see the label that just meant it was time to buy more tuna or green beans. Was this a bit over the top with
detail? Not for her. The system suited her personality. It worked for her. Lesson learned: Own your home organizing
system. You can use other peoples home organizing tips but only if they suit you, they suit your thought process and
they mesh with your daily routine. you are the ultimate user of the home organization system.

7) BE FLEXIBLE – If your entire home organizing system, or just part of it, is not working, change it. Try a different
method. Put something in a different spot. Observe other peoples homes and work spaces for ideas. Look at photos in
home decorating magazines for ideas. do not be afraid to admit temporary home organization failure and start again as
often as needed. it is okay!

BE PATIENT WITH OTHERS – You know the clich