 |
by Apryl Chapman Thomas
Have you ever told yourself, “This weekend I’m getting the house organized,” but never got around to it? You had every good intention — you bought containers and had a donation box ready; but, when it came to starting, the task seemed overwhelming and you didn’t know where to begin. So, you put it off yet again.
You aren’t alone. According to Vicki Norris, founder and president of Restoring Order, people want to believe there are only three steps to de-cluttering and organizing their houses, but in reality it takes a good deal of effort. “Perfection is unattainable and should never be the goal,” she said. “The goal is to feel good in your surroundings, and when it comes to organizing, one size does not fit all. By clearing out the clutter and reclaiming your space, you create more time for the things that are truly important in your life.”
It does take time to accomplish this organization goal, though. While it may be impossible to organize your whole house in one day, you can start small. A few experts share their tips on how to de-clutter and organize the most lived-in areas of your house.
Kitchen
1. Search and Sort
According to Norris, the kitchen naturally has a way of accumulating
papers, mail and various misplaced possessions. Reduce
kitchen clutter by first dedicating space for daily drop-offs such
as mail and newspapers to be sorted into manageable categories.
Create a permanent home for take-out menus, coupons, gift certificates, and commonly-reached-for phone numbers such as the dry cleaner, your florist and hairstylist. They will be easy to find, organized in one or two binders. Strategically place a trash, recycle and shred receptacle — essential tools for eliminating junk and keeping the paper from piling up.
2. Do the Dishes
“A great habit that would significantly reduce clutter in
the kitchen is to load the dishwasher at night just before you go to
bed and start it no matter how full it is,” said Christi Youd, president
of Organize Enterprise. “Then in the morning get up and
unload the dishwasher so it is empty and can store individual dishes
as they get dirtied throughout the day.”
3. Label and Reuse
A common challenge in the kitchen is the number of used cups
or glasses that litter the counter. You can minimize this problem
if you will make it more convenient to use a used cup than to dirty
a new one.
“If you get a drink of water out of the fridge door, store your new
cups far away from the fridge. Put a label on
the side of the fridge with each family member’s
name. After a family member uses a
cup, they put it by their label. When they
need another cup, they can grab the cup by
their label/name and be assured they are the
one who used it last.”
4. Divide (and Conquer) Your Kitchen
Divide your kitchen up into five smaller
regions — the cooking region, the food prep
region, the sink region, the refrigerator
region and the serving region; of course you
can vary these labels.
Store food and equipment inside the region where it is first used. For example every food item and piece of cooking equipment or utensil used on the stove top would be stored within arms reach of the stove top. That would be the cooking region. Do the same with the other regions.
Home Office
1. Work on the Avalanche of Paper
Joyce Dorney, editor of Organize
Magazine, is often shocked that, in this digital
age, we are still swamped with papers.
“Between bills and notices, the paper starts to add up. If you have a home-based business, you have even more paper,” she said. “Often times, you are stacking and running. It can become overwhelming.”
Don’t even let the avalanche of papers start; continually organize the papers. “Everything should have a specific place to go.”
2. Read, Toss or Keep
With each piece of paper you handle, ask
yourself, “Can I discard this yet?” or “Can
I handle this in 60 seconds or less?”
“Discard as much as you are able as soon as you are able,” said Youd. “If it is something that can be handled in less then 60 seconds, stop whatever you are doing and handle it. Get it out of your hair.”
3. Sort and File
Set up a paper-processing center wherever
you bring in the mail and set it down,
said Youd. Use a literature sorter with
enough cubbies for each family member
to have one, plus two extra cubbies for bills
to be paid and papers to be filed.
“All active paperwork, paper that needs you to do something with it other than just file it away, should be stored in the cubby of the family member it pertains to.”
4. Tame School Papers
Dorney, mother of six, knows all too well how school forms
and reminders can accumulate. “If it is something like a school field trip form or a notice, immediately
write down the important information on the calendar. If
that is all that I need to do, I then throw away the paper to prevent
it from piling up.”
Children’s Room/Play Area
Embrace storage systems. “The best system I have found to keep the toy room organized is to store toys in transparent containers,” said Youd. “All the Legos go together in one container. All the toy cars go together in another container. Get rid of all the lids.”
Store the containers on shelves and leave at least eight inches between the top of the container and the shelf above it; that way, you won’t have to move the container to put the toy away.
The objective, she says, is to be able to put toys away using one swift motion. Label the toy containers and label the shelf where each container belongs so the same toy container is always stored in the same place. “That way kids can go on automatic pilot and know where the toys belong without thinking about it or looking for it.”
If your children are too young to read, take a picture of the toys and put one copy of the picture on the container and another picture of the toys on the shelf where the container belongs. This system allows children to stand in front of the shelves and toss toys in their respective containers easily.
Send us your comments and feedback: contactus@valleyparent.com.
