How to Organize Practically Everything

The last of my holiday house guests left yesterday morning.  Since then, I’ve been washing sheets and towels and trying to get my house back in order.  Today, the Christmas decorations will start coming down and I’m just itching to get everything organized and the house back in shape.

Even if you have been reading this blog for awhile, you may not know that I have a bit of a love affair with all things organization.  

Home organization stores set my heart aflutter and I have been known to swoon over little things like a divided organizer tray.

I am kind of a nerd that way.

My husband has often wondered why this blog isn’t an organization blog.  

He mentioned it the other day.

I had to sit down and think about it a little bit.  Why isn’t this blog an organization blog?  I am every bit as passionate about organization as I am decorating and DIY.

I guess I didn’t feel like others would get as excited as I do, or my posts wouldn’t be compelling because I don’t always organize with matching or pretty bins.  I was afraid my organized spaces wouldn’t be very “blog-worthy.”  

I decided that I was being kind of silly.

No, I’m not turning this blog in to an organization blog, but I have decided that I will be doing more posts on organizing here.  

After all, this blog is about “all things home” and my goal has always been to inspire, help and encourage others who feel the same passion about their homes as I do.  And, I am a big believer that being organized makes you feel as good or even better as buying a pretty new throw pillow or a rug.

For me, my home wouldn’t be as comfortable and welcoming to me if I didn’t keep things organized and functional.  So, when I thought about it, I decided that I might be able to bring you some real value if I share some of my organization thoughts, ideas and tips on a regular basis.

 

Beginning this month, I am starting a regular series I’m calling, “Get Organized!”

 

Each week, I’ll be bringing you simple tips for getting and keeping your home organized.  I’m kicking off the New Year with several organization posts up front, but the ongoing series will become weekly.  So, don’t worry, I am not abandoning my love of decorating, cooking and crafts.  It will all be here.  I have so many projects in my head there will be no shortage of decorating and DIY!

To kick things off today, I’m sharing my tips for How to Organize Practically Everything.  

  

Using these six simple principles, you can organize almost every space so it remains tidy and functional: 

1.  See your home as a funnel

I heard a professional organizer say this once and I really like the verbal picture.  Simply put it means that when you bring something new in to your home, something old should go out.   Does this mean you need to get rid of everything you own?  No, just purge regularly so you don’t end up with packed closets, attics and basements. If you don’t use something within a year, get rid of it!

 

2.  Create a home for things

My kitchen island is an easy target for clutter.  Mail, school papers, purses, wallets, you name it…it all collects there daily.  As a result, every night after dinner I sort through the pile and put it where it goes.  Opened and read mail gets filed in to the recycle bin, bills are put in my husband’s study where he keeps unpaid bills, coupons go in our coupon folder, school announcements get recorded on to the family calendar or posted on the bulletin board, etc.  The point is, everything should have a home.  If something doesn’t, create a designated space or ask yourself how much you really need to keep it.  If you don’t need it, throw it out. Period.  

 

3.  Use bins, baskets and organizers

I am a huge fan of bins, baskets and organizers.  They help me corral all my stuff in a neat and organized way.   And, here’s the thing…contrary to the beautiful pictures we see in blogs and magazines, it’s okay if they don’t match.  They can even be inexpensive bins from the dollar store or re-purposed shoe boxes. Organization can be achieved on any budget.  

 

 

4.  Practice the mantra, “easy in, easy out”

Several years ago my husband and I were cleaning out our garage.  He was trying to find a good place to store the wheelbarrow so he installed a hook in the ceiling at the back of the garage resulting in the wheelbarrow being stored directly above a parked car.  I complained to him that it wasn’t a good spot for the wheelbarrow.  He gave me a quizzical look and said all we would have to do is back the car out of the garage to reach it.  In my opinion, there were two major problems.  First, the car that was parked there is his very first car from high school.  It doesn’t always start and it is a beast so I have never driven it…ever.  Problem number two…I’m 5’5″ tall and that wheelbarrow is heavy.  How in the world was I going to take that thing down and put it away myself?  I do a lot of work in the garden and use the wheelbarrow regularly so that storage place was a huge problem for me.  As a result, we moved the wheelbarrow.

Whether you’re finding a home for something large or something small, make it a place that’s easy for you to take out and put away.  If it’s hard to put away, you probably won’t do it and you’ll find yourself with a clutter problem. 

 

 

5.  Make it easy to access

This sounds a lot like my “easy in, easy out” rule, but this is actually about finding homes for things that are in locations that makes sense in terms of where you use them.  

The kitchen is the best example of this.  Like most people, I keep all of my pots, pans, and cooking utensils near the stove.  Towels and wash cloths are near the sink.  Silverware is kept near the dishes.  Everything is kept within reach of where I use them most as much as possible.  

 

 

I use this same concept throughout my home.  If bulk items need to be stored in a separate space, I make it as easy to access as possible.

 

 

Organization is as much about neatness and clutter-free zones as it is about making your life simpler and easier.

 

6.  Keep like things together

When my kids were small I worked as an assistant preschool teacher at my kids’ school.   When the head teacher and I were setting up our classroom at the beginning of the year I sorted all the toys in to categories.  As I recall, we ended up with four bins — Legos, Barbies, toy cars and trucks and  dress up clothes.  I made picture labels for each basket to help the kids put things back in the appropriate spot.  Kelly, the head teacher with years of preschool and elementary school experience, wasn’t sure our 4-year-old students would be good at sorting.  She thought everything would get mixed up and cluttered in no time.  To her surprise, the kids not only caught on to it immediately but they were sticklers about it.  If they found something during clean up that didn’t fit in to one of the categories they came to us and asked us what to do with it!  It was comical!    

The kids knew exactly where to look for what they wanted and when it was clean up time, they knew where everything needed to be put away.

The point of my story is this; it’s easier to find and put away items when you keep like things together.  

 

 

Organization doesn’t happen by itself.  It does take some effort up front and it is ongoing to keep things tidy.  However, I think it is so much easier and causes less stress to know where things are and where they go as opposed to living in messy, disorganized chaos.  

These simple guidelines enable you to organize any space and, better yet, keep them organized and tidy with minimal effort. 

In upcoming posts I’ll be showing you specific spaces like kitchen cabinets and drawers, entry ways, the home office, bathrooms, etc.  I’ll also be showing you how I organize smaller things like recipes as well as give you quick organizing ideas.  I hope you will find this series helpful so you can keep your home tidy and clutter-free.  Let’s kick of 2015 with organized and stress-free spaces!

 

Wishing you a beauty-filled day,

 

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