Tag: organization tips

The Holiday Countdown Has Begun

Posted on by Jordank

Maybe The Organizing Blog’s neighbors are overachievers, or the end-of-month #Halloween and return to standard time compressed the timeline. But only hours into November, the spooky ghosts and fake cobwebs were coming down from homes, and the Christmas lights were going up.

Whatever the reason, the countdown to the #holidays has begun. There’s barely two weeks’ time to get a feast together for the initial hurdle — #Thanksgiving — and just four more to get everything together for Christmas gift-giving and entertaining.

If you’re hosting #Thanksgiving, you should already have a guest list in mind. But it’s pretty low-stakes, as long as you can plate a feast. These days, you can do as much or as little as you want — cook a huge meal with all the fixings yourself, make it a potluck or order the main dishes catered.

Christmas is another matter. It has lots of moving parts — decorations, cookies, meals, parties, cards, gifts. Don’t stress. The first order of business is a few hours of #organization, Real Simple says. Take a morning and sort out the details: meal plans, budgets, gift ideas. Put the important deadlines — shipping dates, for example — on the calendar.

If you plan on baking, audit your pantry, #organizing cooking supplies and tools, tossing expired spices, and buying fresh if necessary. “You really can taste a difference,” says professional organizer Megan Barnhart. If you see a sale on butter, flour or sugar, buy extra.

Next, prepare your home, says Organize Me Inc. If you are having overnight guests in an extra bedroom, #declutter the room and change the linens. If you’re hosting a dinner, get out those special serving pieces.

The goal is to create functional #spaces for the special, once-a-year occasions you’ve had the luxury of ignoring for 10 months. If you find a few items that are still useful but no longer work for your scheme, #donate them to ClothingDonations.org with a free #pickup.

Write things down if you want to get them done without being overwhelmed. Use a laptop, tablet, Post-it, whiteboard or phone; just make sure you can refer to a checklist and see next steps. This will also help you delegate tasks to family members or hired professionals.

The best part of getting started on #holiday planning now is that you can engineer the remaining weeks to emphasize the aspects you like best. But don’t think you can put it off for much longer. The clock is ticking! #HolidayCountdown

Organize the Spaces That Often Get Neglected

Posted on by Jordank

Even the most organized people have areas they neglect to #organize and #declutter, Real Homes says. These areas likely include the #junk drawer — that catch-all space that holds everything pens to pills to old phones. The pantry is another area that gathers random items (sometimes in multiples) and must be #cleaned and #organized regularly to avoid eating expired foodstuffs. Linen closets should contain only the towels and bedding you actually use, not the many backups used for cleaning or guests. Instead of neglecting these spaces, tackle them before everything else, professional organizers suggest.

Organize the Hidden Areas That Spring Cleaning Missed

Posted on by Jordank

You may think you’ve done a thorough #spring #cleaning, Houzz says, but you may have missed some areas that tend to attract lots of #clutter. Living room cupboards, coffee tables and sideboards can fill up with stuff you don’t need, such as old DVDs, candles, menus and flyers, decorative objects, photos, and assorted electronic devices. The home-office desk attracts paperwork, bills and other items that need to be hidden quickly, as does the bedside table. The food storage container cabinet in your kitchen is probably crammed with old and mismatched bowls and lids, and every home has a “dump zone” where incoming goods get dropped.

Declutter the Most Troublesome Spots

Posted on by Jordank

Want to #declutter but don’t know here to start? Strat with the area that “gives you the most grief,” says The Decluttering Club. It might be the kitchen, since it is a frequently used space; the bedroom closet, which attracts lots of clothes and other #stuff that has no regular home; or the bathroom, where half-used cosmetics and sundries tend to pile up. Pick an area and start small, filling a bag or box with #stuff that hasn’t been used in a while and trashing the stuff that can’t be saved. Once you start #decluttering a trouble spot and see progress, it will give you the momentum you need to move on to another area of the home.

Decluttering the Forgotten Spaces in Your Home

Posted on by Jordank

Homes often contain spaces you forget to #declutter, says The Ethicalist. But those spots may be easy to handle because they hold the #stuff you rarely miss — things you use only for holidays and special occasions. Forgotten places may include the pantry, attic, garage and the space under the sink. Take a few hours (or a few days) to do a thorough editing of the junk in those areas, and you will feel refreshed. “Clean and clear spaces have a great impact on our mental health and make us feel happy,” says Sana Brohi, operator of a coaching business in Dubai. “When we have a sense of well-being and achievement, we function better.”