We want to share some tips and insight to help live a clutter free life.
It’s helpful to start with your goals and objectives for your home or office and how your stuff fits into those objectives. Writing down your goals will help you achieve them in a constructive manner.
Next, determine where to begin. To break down the work, start in one place and complete that area before moving on to the next space. You will reap a sense of accomplishment to motivate you to begin the next area. Also, allow plenty of time so you don’t feel rushed.
To clean out your stuff, experts recommend starting with several boxes to manage the process:
A Keep box: For items you use regularly, keepsakes or other mementos.
A Sell box: For items you plan to sell such as vintage items or newer items in good condition.
A Donate box: For items you plan to donate such as clothes you no longer wear, old sporting equipment or books.
A Throw Away box: For items that you will discard such as broken objects, expired kitchen products and old medicine.
A Recycle box: For items you will recycle such as old magazines or newspapers, or confidential papers you will shred.
Once you have finished the above process, follow these tips for organizational success:
Take an inventory of what remains. Decide where it belongs and where it makes sense to keep it. If you are in need of more storage space, think creatively about overlooked areas such as over doors or underneath beds. Also, maximize your vertical space which could mean adding shelves in your kitchen if counter space is at a premium. You could also divide the vertical space by using containers for stacking or making additional shelves. Another great idea is storage options on wheels such as carts that can be wheeled in and out of a closet when needed. A useful strategy for a home office or children’s items is organizing by color. This proves effective in which each child gets their own color bins or certain files go in color coded folders.
Note three additional key components to organizing:
Visibility: Choose transparent containers so you know instantly what is inside each bin. This will save valuable time when searching for items.
Flexibility: Choose a storage system that will work with your life and accommodate changes as needed. You can reuse and renew your organizational plan for the future.
Accessibility: Keep the items you use the most within easy reach, and the ones you don’t need as often can be placed on a shelf or tucked away until needed.
If you have more specific needs or the project is too large, consider hiring a professional organizer who will assist you with the process and give you strategies geared for your individual situation.
While there are endless ways to stay organized, the best system is the one that will work for you and your family. It should be user friendly and easy to maintain, because once you have a clutter free home, you will undoubtedly have extra free time to enjoy your life without the burden of being bogged down by clutter.
“Your Journey. Our Passion.”
Source:
“Our Top 12 Organization Tips,” www.containerstore.com