Dreaming of an organized home?

Tips for getting out of the clutter nightmare and making your dream a reality.

By Ann Springer

I doubt there is a person on the planet who enjoys being disorganized. It’s frustrating to misplace an important document or to pay late fees for bills that get tucked away and forgotten or to lose or damage a valuable item because it wasn’t stored properly.

Here are some tips for getting organized.

1. See your organizational fantasy. Imagine what your ideal bedroom, home office, or garage would look like if it were perfectly organized. How would you feel? What would it look like? What would you see? What would you not see? Keep that mental image with you and jot down a few notes about your organizational fantasy to give you a goal to shoot for when you’re down to the nitty gritty and you need motivation.
2. Pick a room, any room. Instead of overwhelming yourself with room after room of clutter, pick one room that needs the most attention and start there.
3. Set aside time to sort. You may not have an entire day to devote to organizing a room, but you likely can skip your evening sitcom and allocate 30 minutes to organizing one drawer, sorting through one stack of papers, or sifting through a mystery box in the garage. You’d be surprised how much you can do in a short amount of time.
4. Sort items into five piles, boxes, or bags by action needed: 1) throw it away, 2) give it away 3) fix it, 4) goes into another room, 5) stays in the room.
5. Ask yourself questions to evaluate the items as you sort. Is it something I’ve used in the last 12 months? Do I really need it? Do I love it? Can I live without it? Is this item in my mental picture of my fantasy room? If you answer “no” to one or more of these questions you should seriously consider pitching the item.
6. Getting organized is only worth the effort if you can stay organized. A well-oiled machine works well because it’s continually maintained. Remember those lovely words that have stood the test of time, those words that your mother or grandmother repeated: “A place for everything and everything in its place.”

One Response to “Dreaming of an organized home?”

1. Sara and Company says:

   July 21, 2009 at 9:39 PM

   I’m motivated! I especially need to get rid of the “well, one day….maybe…..for an activity…..or possibly……” yada yada because, quite frankly, even if that “one day” came around, I’ve already forgotten that I have it. I’m too much like my father, very frugal, that way, that I accept and hang onto everything. Some of that very good, but a lot of it just *stuff* I now have to deal with, get rid of, or store. Your previous thoughts area already motivating me and I’ve been able to attack things from my closet I haven’t been able to do for years. Keep ‘em coming! Thanks!