The world is full of useful things, but if you’re not using them, they are not useful to you. So, remove all those things that are not useful to you, by giving, donating, recycling, or removing them every week. This helps prevent clutter from happening and piles from building.
When reading an organizing book think of the content as a menu where you can pick and choose what fits your unique situation. Otherwise you can get overwhelmed or discouraged with advise that is good, but just won’t work for you. Be selective and choosy. After all the best organizing tip is the one you will do!
Two organizing books I’ve read recently:
Two of my most recommended organizing books:
A great way to prevent clutter is to stop it from coming in the door in the first place. Put a trash can, recycle bin, and shred container in the garage, and use them to clean out the clutter from the car, your purse, your work bag, and school backpacks. Also use them to toss or shred as much mail as possible before bringing it into the house.
To save time, remove items that are used frequently, from their boxes, and toss the box. For example, take small appliances, like hand-mixers, blenders, and mini choppers out of their boxes and store them directly in a kitchen cupboard or on a pantry shelf. Also remove smaller items from their packaging and store them in containers without lids, for example batteries, paper plates, q-tips. This eliminates the step of opening and closing the box or packaging each time the item is used, and makes it easier to get things out and put them away.
Before stocking the pantry with items for your Thanksgiving feast, organize it. Clear off one shelf at a time. Check expiration dates. Remove all expired items. Donate anything you won’t use before the expiration date to the local food bank. Group like items together and put back in the pantry with the closest expiration dates in front.
Janine Cavanaugh, CPO
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