Attack Clutter

Organizing tipOrganizing is action and clutter is unfinished action. To prompt yourself to take action and attack clutter, use bright colored sticky notes to tag the clutter with the action that is needed to make it go away. Then give yourself time to follow through with the action step that’s written on the sticky note.

De-clutter in 5 Minutes

Organizing tipHave one empty container in each room of the house.  At the end of each day, go room by room, and put any clutter that has accumulated into the empty container.  At the end of each week, remove the contents of each container by putting items where they belong and tossing what you don’t need.

Host a Party

partyOnce a year host a party or event.  This is great incentive to organize and de-clutter.  In fact, having guests over is the number one motivator for getting organized.

Organize with Color

towelsUse color to help maintain order by  having a color distinguish an individuals belongings.  Have each person in the household pick a color she would like for her sheets, towels, lunch bag, hats, gloves, book bag, etc.  This way each individual can easily see what belongs to her, and then be held accountable for keeping those things in order.

Piles Happen

While having lunch with a friend, she proclaimed “piles happen”.  I readily agreed, and shared that the best way to combat piles is to store paper vertically, not horizontally.  For example, instead of setting the mail down on the counter, and letting it pile up, sort it into a divided vertical container.  Another example is to put newspapers, magazines, catalogs, and in a container that holds them upright.