Home organization seems like one daunting task before it gets tackled. You know it will be wonderful once you find the motivation and stop procrastinating. After all, wouldn't you want to be able to find everything when you need it? Wouldn't you want all the clutter to just disappear?
Try these three steps to see if they can help you get started towards making your home organized, clutter free and manageable. Just remember to start small and finish one area before moving on to the next one. Tackling your entire home all at once can make it too overwhelming.
Get Rid of Stuff
Get rid of stuff you don't need. Go through your space and and separate stuff you don't need or use from what you like and want to keep. This applies to everything in that space, from clothes, or scraps of paper to furniture, rugs or lamps.Recycle or throw away stuff that is useless and beyond repair. Figure out whether you want to repair, sell or donate the rest. Store all give-away, sales, and donation items in the garage or basement, till you have been through the entire home. Once you have collected all your discarded items in one place, you can decide how you want to dispose of them. Hold a garage sale or call your favorite charity to pick it up. Only put away items for repair if you think you will get to them soon.
A Place for Everything...
You may be surprised to see how much space you already have. Now is the time to start putting away things where they will be easily accessible to you as needed. Purchase underbed storage, containers or closet organizers to hold all the items you need to store. Boxes, baskets, or repurposed pieces can help you organize everything in a space efficient and attractive way. Just remember to store like with like, in a system that works for you. If you are planning to buy new furniture, look for pieces that offer hidden storage.
Kitchens and garages need special attention as do bedrooms. People tend to store numerous items in these rooms.
...and Everything in its Place
Since everything now has its own place, you know where it goes after you use it. Even better, you know where to find it next time you need to use it. For instance, collect everything in a basket or other container near the bottom of the staircase and carry it all upstairs last thing in the evening.
Take a look from time to time to see that everything is in its place and that needless stuff is not accumulating again. Every six months or so seems to work, because the longer you let it go, the longer it can take to clear out your space again.
