It seems like before the Pandemic, I had more of a consistent routine daily/weekly schedule. Do you ever think how much better your daily life would be if your house was really organized? I have read so many wonderful books and articles about organization throughout the past several years.
Sometimes it is easy for life to seem to get somewhat out of control, such as with all of the changes in 2020. You may feel overwhelmed with so many daily responsibilities to accomplish, without enough time for you to relax a bit. You may even begin to feel anxious and depressed about the situation.
Maybe you actually started to spend money on shelving units, bins and containers, hoping to bring order to counteract the chaos. Don’t lose hope or motivation. You can turn your situation around. Start with a small, manageable project that won’t take too much time. Be consistent and keep going with this reasonable project until it is completed. It could be cleaning out and organizing one kitchen cabinet or drawer. Successfully finishing smaller tasks will help to build your confidence to tackle larger projects.
It is very important to understand that organizing is not all about throwing things out, but about identifying what is important to you, prioritizing and maintaining access to what you routinely need. Clutter control and finding the ideal storage area for your individual items are important keys to good organization. Home organization requires patience and consistent efforts. However, the end results are so rewarding.
By learning helpful organizing skills and techniques, you can begin to restore order and balance in your life. Organizing your home and cleaning may provide comforting, peaceful order to your life.
When families collect too much stuff, the unnecessary clutter can interfere with the tranquility and calmness of the home environment. Too much clutter can actually cause feelings of despair and frustration. Clutter takes up a lot of precious space in your home that could be used much more efficiently.
One of the first things I learned when I was studying to become a professional organizer was the major importance of assigning everything in your house a specific place or “home” so that you will know exactly where to find that item in the future when you are searching for it. This is a good habit to teach all of your individual family members.
You could start in your foyer/entryway area of your house and place a small basket or dish to hold your keys. A larger basket set on an entryway table could temporarily hold library or school books, so they don’t get lost and remain quick and easy to find. A coat rack could nicely hold your seasonal coat and purse.
I know you can think of several areas throughout your house for organized storage of various items. In the bedroom you can use drawer dividers for socks and tiny items. I have found useful, multi-purpose ottomans to store many things, such as seasonal throw blankets in my bedroom. They are also handy to store excess books.
In my own closet, if I find clothing that I haven’t worn for a year or is no longer my size, I decide if I want to sell or donate those items or store them. I use slim color coded hangers to display only the clothing that is currently my size and that I plan to actually wear often.
One thing I routinely do with my kitchen items is to try to donate a small appliance at the time that I purchase an upgraded model. I have a small kitchen with limited counter space. I do a lot of cooking every day, so I try to prioritize things carefully in my kitchen. It takes a decent amount of time, but I need to really maintain order inside my small kitchen cabinets for adequate storage purposes.
I find that my dining room table can easily get cluttered with excess grocery supplies or with mail/bills, etc. It definitely is a fabulous habit to keep your kitchen and dining room table clean and free of all clutter. Hopefully, you may have a spare desk or even a dedicated cart of some kind to keep your mail and bills, along with your writing supplies, calendars, notebook and menu planners.
I keep at least three boxes in the house labeled the following:
1.) Donate
2.) Sell
3.) Put Away
Then when I straighten out rooms throughout the week, it makes it easier to keep things tidy and organized.
There a few things to consider when you are deciding to donate items, such as:
1.) Have you used the item in the past year?
2.) Do you have duplicate items?
3.) Have you upgraded to a newer model?
4.) Are you holding onto the item just for sentimental value?
Part of organizing is deciding what is important to you and finding an appropriate place for your items, so your home can be maintained in an easy manner. You will reap the benefits of a calm, happy, “clutter-free” home environment. Hopefully, you will have more available quality time to spend enjoying your favorite things and more relaxation. Organizing is not about throwing out a lot of household items or buying lots of storage containers.
Don’t feel guilty for accumulating a lot of stuff over the years. Developing a unique smart organizing system that will work for you and your whole family will certainly help you maintain your household.
To create a lasting, successful organizing solution, make your system fit your personality so you feel comfortable with your home surroundings. Create neat order, clear surfaces, simplify your life by designing your own organizing system unique for you and your family!
