Tips for organizing your home

You will see how the following tips for organizing your home rotate or go hand in hand:

• Sort your items, belongings and stuff before it becomes a mess
• Take steps daily to keep clutter down
• Make the most of existing space by having a designated place for everything

Now things don’t have to be spotless and you’re sure to have those days where you won’t do any of the steps mentioned above, but following them regularly can help you get organized.

So, let’s start with the classification of your belongings. As you work on this, keep asking yourself the following questions:

• Do I need this item?
• Will I use this item?
• Did you know you had this item?

It’s much easier to get rid of things if the answer is “no” or even “maybe.”

Start with something small like old magazines. If they are one year old, throw them away! If you haven’t re-read any articles recently, chances are you got what you needed and it’s time to toss it. This will only help free up some shelf space.

The same goes for your daily mail. Go through it, get rid of the junk, and put the bills on your desk instead of the kitchen table or counter. Take a look at the things you could have hung on your fridge. Discard old invitations, expired coupons, and shopping lists. By sorting the smaller items first, it will help you make the decision to part with the more difficult items like shoes, clothes, etc.

Now you may be thinking that taking daily steps to keep clutter down sounds a bit excessive. But this step can be as simple as storing brushes, curling irons, styling products, etc. when you’re done with them. Fold and put away your clean clothes instead of letting them sit on the couch or a bed in a spare room. Put your dirty clothes in the hamper and not on the bathroom or bedroom floor. Yes, this is all clutter and putting it away can give you a quick sense of accomplishment.

You’ll notice that the key is to put things away now so you don’t have to later. This also helps when it’s time to clean up. Not having to pre-clean (clean counters or floors) can reduce the actual time it takes to clean a bathroom or any room.

Another helpful tip is to make a schedule for your homework. Why spend a whole day doing all the heavy cleaning? Why not focus on one area for about twenty minutes and call it a day? Vacuum, sweep or mop floors one day, clean your bathrooms another day, clothes and bedding another day, etc.

Lastly, make the most of your existing space by having a designated place for everything. This tip was mentioned briefly, but once you have a place for an article, save it. One way to help with this step is to make sure things are convenient to get to, if not then saving an item won’t be easy either.

Again, these are just a few tips for organizing your home. Just focus on achieving something every day. You’ll soon find that you spend less time trying to keep things organized because they already are. Then you can spend more time doing the things you’d rather be doing; spending more time with family, friends, or working on your favorite hobbies.