Somewhere between having one kid and four, I became really passionate about home organization. It’s all too easy to get lost in the piles of paper that come home from school or show up in the mail, and even easier to get snowed under a pile of laundry or toys. For me, peace of mind means walking into a room where everything has a place and everything is in its place, and it might not be clutter-free at my place every day, but at least I know I can clean it up quickly when I need to.
Even if your dining room table is currently covered in electronics and newspapers or your closet is chaos, there are still simple steps you can take to organize your house. It doesn’t have to be overwhelming either – just take it one baby step at a time. Here are a few proven organizational strategies I’ve used to get control of my clutter and organize my home like a pro.
Purge first, organize after
So you’re surrounded by paper and you can’t figure out what to do with it. You first inclination might be to run out and buy storage containers and pile the paper out of sight in neat little boxes. This is a good thing to do if you’ve already recycled the paper, magazines, and bills you don’t need anymore, only keeping the paper you do need.
The number one rule of organization is to purge first. That way you don’t purchase one too many filing organizers for your bills or storage containers for things you’d like to keep like kid’s art or report cards.
Identify your problem areas
Is your hall closet a nightmare? Have your kid’s toys made their way into your kitchen and spread over into the dining room? If you took a look at all of the issues in your entire home and decided to tackle them all at once, you’d be overwhelmed in about 60 seconds. But one area at a time? That’s workable.
Take your hall closet for example – start by purging all of the shoes and jackets you no longer need, like, or wear. If you have a small closet you might want to put only seasonal items in it and pack away everything you aren’t using. Once you’ve purged, you’re ready to organize what’s left. A two-shelf bookcase will hold tons of shoes, or if you don’t have a lot of hanging space in the closet you can add an entryway organizer with shoe storage.
Say good-bye to clutter hotspots
There’s really only one reason why your desk is the home for most of your clutter. It’s flat, and flat surfaces are the perfect place to toss anything that comes into the house with you. One of the best home organization tips I’ve ever received is to remove flat surface temptation by adding something to ‘block’ you from tossing clutter onto it.
If it’s the desk you work at every day, try placing a lamp, a desktop organizer, or a huge notepad and paper in the center of it. Or, add a vase of flowers or a set of special mementos near the middle of the desk. You’d be surprised at how it stops you from cluttering the area with other things.
Organizing your home only seems like a big job at first. If you take your time and focus on purging then finding a home for everything you own, your house will be organized and it will be easy to keep it that way.
I’m always on the look out for more ways to organize my home, so if you have suggestions or home organization tips, please share in the comments. If you need to stock up on organization and filing options after you purge, check out the great storage and organization options available on Bestbuy.ca.
