If you have a friend or family member who struggles with #clutter, consider giving them a #holiday #gift that helps get #organized. Good Housekeeping recommends a variety of #containers, #organizers, packing cubes and #storage bins that will help organize everything from charging cables to kitchen implements to yard tools, plus a labelmaker that can help put a name to the place. Once the essentials are organized and stored in a reliable spot, it’s easy to determine what’s extra and inessential — and those things can be #decluttered and #donated to benefit the nation’s #veterans through ClothingDonations.org.
Tag: organizing
When You Need Nothing, Declutter
If you’re anything like the authors of the The Organizing Blog, you don’t really want any thing for Christmas. That’s when you know that the #clutter has gotten to be too much. You need to step back, take a hard look at what you have, and decide — item by item — what can stay and go. Maybe you have enough base layers, sweaters and coats for winter, and you really wear only a tiny portion of them. Or you might have enough glasses and dinnerware to host dozens at your #holiday dinner party, but rarely have more a half-dozen people over at a time. Sort that #stuff into “use” and “don’t-use” piles, and schedule a #donation #pickup with ClothingDonations.org.
In Search of a Clutter-Free Summer
Memorial Day — the unofficial start of summer— has come and gone. If you’re anything like us at The Organizing Blog, you probably used the long weekend to plant some flowers, take a bike ride, visit with friends and/or have a cookout. Fine pursuits!
But do you know what can make one’s enjoyment of those pursuits (and most others) even better? #Organization! A #clutter-free environment knows no season — and it can provide you with the #clarity you need to truly live in the moment.
Think about it: A cluttered space demands attention. Maybe you waste a lot of time looking for things among the stacks of papers, piles of laundry and dusty gewgaws. Or maybe wrangling all that #stuff leaves you with little down time.
Summer is a great time to get those things under control. With good weather and a few hours each week, you can conquer that #clutter — and enjoy all of the seasons to come.
Start with the #garage. Has that #space attracted a lot of stuff that doesn’t have a home elsewhere ? Go through it and ask yourself why you hide #junk there and if you’ll ever really need those things again. Weed out what you don’t have a use for and set it aside.
Along the way, fine-tune your storage of the things that do have a purpose — even if that purpose is occasional, such as holiday decorations. Sort “like” items into labeled bins and boxes that you can find and access easily without a lot of hunting. Shelve or stack them thoughtfully, and you’ll be creating new space!
Next, do the same for the basement. Organizing your below-ground space likely will have the added benefit of helping you keep cool while you work. Set aside the things for which you don’t have a purpose or can’t find a place, and put them in boxes and bags.
See that growing pile of #junk? Slap some price tags on those things and have a quick #garage or #yard #sale. Or click though to ClothingDonations.org to arrange a #free #donation #pickup. You’ll be #helping the nation’s #veterans and be ready to enjoy the rest of the summer #clutter-free!
Organize the Spaces That Often Get Neglected
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
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.