Tuesday, April 30, 2013
Monday, April 29, 2013
Making Time To Organize Your House
Photo Credits: By Barbara Raskauskas
Many people say they don't have enough time to get organized, but little do they realize that a well organized home or office environment will probably save them time in the long run. It may seem overwhelming if you think of organizing your whole house, but if you break down the work into smaller projects that can be realistically accomplished, it may seem like a feasible plan.
So many moms are extremely busy with their normal everyday homemaker responsibilities, such as taking care of their children, preparing healthy meals, running errands, grocery shopping, and routinely cleaning the house. In today's society many moms not only work hard in their homes, but they may also hold down a part-time or full-time job. Where do women find the necessary available time to actually complete organizing projects at home? No wonder women may feel stressed when they think of adding additional tasks to their already full daily schedule.
A positive way to plan your organizing projects is to write down some short-term and long-term goals of what you would like to accomplish and add a specific time period that you want the work to be finished. For example, one organizing project may be to clean out, declutter, and organize your bedroom closet. Short-term goals may include organizing one shelf or section of the closet for just 15 to 30 minutes a day until the whole closet is totally organized.
Another example would be a long-term goal of organizing your complete kitchen area. The short-term goal may be to declutter one shelf a day in each kitchen cabinet for 15 to 30 minutes.
Listed below are some other great examples of what you can possibly be motivated to organize or clean during a time period of 15 to 30 minutes.
Clean out and organize one desk drawer.
Wipe your kitchen and bathroom counter tops and make sure the surfaces are free of unnecessary clutter.
Sort and organize your purse.
Organize one to two bookshelves and check to see if you have any books you might want to donate.
Sort and organize one pantry shelf in your kitchen.
Organize your cosmetics and check for an expired dates.
Fold one or two baskets of clean laundry.
Make a meal plan for the upcoming week.
Make a current grocery list.
Wipe one or two shelves clean in the refrigerator.
Clean out and organize one dresser drawer.
Sort through a rack of clothes for any items you may no longer need or want anymore.
Organize your wallet.
Sort through and organize one bathroom shelf in your bathroom cabinet.
Go through your magazine collection to check for any magazines you want to donate.
Walk through each room in your home and look for any items that need to be put back where they originally belong.
These are just a few examples of what can be accomplished in a short time period. Just a little bit of dedicated time spent consistently each day will help you develop a good habit of organizing. One wonderful benefit that you will quickly realize is that once a certain area in your home is nicely organized, it will be so much easier to maintain that area. Home organization can be enjoyable and hopefully save you time and effort when you do your daily household chores in the future!
So, please don't think of “all or nothing” when you begin to visualize your organizing projects. Even a small amount of time each day should produce some long lasting beneficial results for you and your family.
I used to be extremely guilty of the “all or none” excuse for not starting many organizing projects in the past. However, I quickly learned there isn't hardly any occasion when a busy mom finds herself with 4 hours or more of uninterrupted time. So, recently I have gotten into the habit of doing a small amount of organizing each day and by the end of each week, I can appreciate my accomplishments.
I seem to feel more relaxed and productive with my work when my home and office environment are organized. I can focus and concentrate better on my tasks. I try to plan my organization for each room in my house while keeping in mind the main function I would like for each specific room.
For example, I divide my family room into three different zones, such as the reading area, the television area, and the computer area. I don't personally think there is just "one" correct way to organize a house because everyone will probably individualize their plans according to their own lifestyle.
Lastly, I found that once I had completed my organizational projects for the first room in my house, I was really motivated to continue with the rest of the house. And don't forget that you can reward yourself for a good job done by watching your favorite movie, reading your favorite book, writing your blog, or treating yourself to a great lunch. Positive reinforcement is a great motivator!
Sunday, April 28, 2013
Organizing and Decluttering the Kitchen
Are you ready to read about some helpful ideas on the subject of organizing and decluttering the kitchen, beginning with the kitchen cabinets? Most people have a very busy everyday schedule and it is so easy for our kitchen cabinets to become somewhat disorganized at times.
I find that it saves me a great deal of time and effort when my kitchen cabinets are neat and organized. I can prepare my family meals more efficiently and I happen to enjoy cooking a little more when my kitchen is decluttered. So, if your kitchen needs a bit more organization for you to function well on an everyday basis, you may truly enjoy the following information. Let's declutter and organize some kitchen cabinets.
However, before I start describing my method of decluttering kitchen cabinets, I will tell you about my sincere interest in home organization and that is the main reason that I began my blog, which I truly enjoy very much.
I have a great passion for organizing and decluttering. I have been reading a variety of informative books on the subject and I also have been viewing many helpful videos about organizing the house. You may find it fun and very interesting to check out my organizing/declutter book selection on my blog.
After reading and researching lots of great ideas and techniques for organizing a house, I came to my own conclusion that I don't actually think there is just one perfect way to organize a house. There are many steps and methods that everyone can choose according to what they feel comfortable with for their personal lifestyle.
When I was researching everything that I could find about organization, I came across some useful items that could very well come in handy when decluttering and organizing the house.
You may wish to check out a nice variety of organization and storage products, along with the following organizing items for the home. Now, let's get back to talking about cleaning out some kitchen cabinets to make life a little easier while working in your kitchen everyday. It is one place in particular that many moms need to spend a lot of time on a routine basis, so you might as well make that time less stressful and more enjoyable.
I try to begin by doing one kitchen cabinet shelf at a time and just focus and concentrate on that one specific task. Personally, I begin by making a clean area on my kitchen countertop or a nearby kitchen table to place all the items from the shelf as I remove them, so I can easily sort through everything from that one shelf. For example, as you are sorting through the items, you may find that you have way too many items in one specific category.
In the photo below you will notice there are many bottles. If you happen to find out that you have too many items for one category, such as bottles or cups and saucers, you may decide to donate some items to your favorite local charity. The items for donation can be placed in a separate cardboard box and labeled for donation. I usually try to take my donation boxes to the charity or make arrangements for them to pick up the items within a short time period after I am done with my organizing project, so the boxes for donation don't sit around my house very long and make even more clutter.
Now, some people may even choose to clear out a larger area for sorting. I always like to make sure my sorting area is a very clean, flat surface. Below is just a photo of sorting kitchen clutter.
During the sorting process, you may also want to check for any items that you feel you no longer want or need anymore, in addition to any items that are broken or don't work anymore. I sort through everything and neatly place "like" items into categories before thinking about putting things back onto the shelf again.
Next, after I sort through my items, I clean the shelf before I neatly place the items where I want them to be in the cabinet. I place all the "like" items that I decided to keep together onto the shelf.
I make a habit of keeping bigger, heavier objects on my bottom shelves. I also keep items that I don't use on a regular basis on a bottom shelf. I place most of the kitchen items that I frequently use in an appropriate, safe area where I have easy access to them.
For example, I keep my dinner plates and bowls on a shelf that is very easy to access in my kitchen. I keep my water glasses on a separate shelf, and also my small collection of coffee mugs are located on a separate shelf in my kitchen. I have my large, heavy mixer machine on my bottom shelf. I also have my heavy cast irons pots and pans on a lower shelf too.
I happen to keep some of my vitamin supplements inside my kitchen cabinets. I use a clear plastic bin without the lid to hold similar vitamin categories together and then I neatly label the plastic bins, so I can easily read what the contents are inside each bin. There are many useful bins and containers for storage and organinzing the kitchen. Below are just a few examples.
You probably noticed that each of the containers are nicely labeled. There are many helpful organizational products for the pantry, as you can see below.
Great cabinet storage and organization for pans and more:
So, maybe if you remember the kitchen cabinet photo at the very beginning of this post, you can check out the organized view of the kitchen cabinets now.
You can see how kitchen organization with easy access can help a kitchen become very functional for the busy homemaker. I have even started to use clear containers for a lot of my food in the refrigerator and I label each container with the name of the contents and the proper date.
I find that it saves me a great deal of time and effort when my kitchen cabinets are neat and organized. I can prepare my family meals more efficiently and I happen to enjoy cooking a little more when my kitchen is decluttered. So, if your kitchen needs a bit more organization for you to function well on an everyday basis, you may truly enjoy the following information. Let's declutter and organize some kitchen cabinets.
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
It may be a good possibility that you recently found my organizing blog while searching online for home organizing ideas in general or looking for great methods to declutter a home. A common theme to discuss today would include several ideas about organizing and decluttering the kitchen cabinets. I will try to easily explain some helpful steps that I practice when I am cleaning out kitchen cupboards.However, before I start describing my method of decluttering kitchen cabinets, I will tell you about my sincere interest in home organization and that is the main reason that I began my blog, which I truly enjoy very much.
I have a great passion for organizing and decluttering. I have been reading a variety of informative books on the subject and I also have been viewing many helpful videos about organizing the house. You may find it fun and very interesting to check out my organizing/declutter book selection on my blog.
After reading and researching lots of great ideas and techniques for organizing a house, I came to my own conclusion that I don't actually think there is just one perfect way to organize a house. There are many steps and methods that everyone can choose according to what they feel comfortable with for their personal lifestyle.
When I was researching everything that I could find about organization, I came across some useful items that could very well come in handy when decluttering and organizing the house.
You may wish to check out a nice variety of organization and storage products, along with the following organizing items for the home. Now, let's get back to talking about cleaning out some kitchen cabinets to make life a little easier while working in your kitchen everyday. It is one place in particular that many moms need to spend a lot of time on a routine basis, so you might as well make that time less stressful and more enjoyable.
I try to begin by doing one kitchen cabinet shelf at a time and just focus and concentrate on that one specific task. Personally, I begin by making a clean area on my kitchen countertop or a nearby kitchen table to place all the items from the shelf as I remove them, so I can easily sort through everything from that one shelf. For example, as you are sorting through the items, you may find that you have way too many items in one specific category.
In the photo below you will notice there are many bottles. If you happen to find out that you have too many items for one category, such as bottles or cups and saucers, you may decide to donate some items to your favorite local charity. The items for donation can be placed in a separate cardboard box and labeled for donation. I usually try to take my donation boxes to the charity or make arrangements for them to pick up the items within a short time period after I am done with my organizing project, so the boxes for donation don't sit around my house very long and make even more clutter.
Lots of bottles:
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
Now, some people may even choose to clear out a larger area for sorting. I always like to make sure my sorting area is a very clean, flat surface. Below is just a photo of sorting kitchen clutter.
During the sorting process, you may also want to check for any items that you feel you no longer want or need anymore, in addition to any items that are broken or don't work anymore. I sort through everything and neatly place "like" items into categories before thinking about putting things back onto the shelf again.
Larger sorting area:
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
Next, after I sort through my items, I clean the shelf before I neatly place the items where I want them to be in the cabinet. I place all the "like" items that I decided to keep together onto the shelf.
I make a habit of keeping bigger, heavier objects on my bottom shelves. I also keep items that I don't use on a regular basis on a bottom shelf. I place most of the kitchen items that I frequently use in an appropriate, safe area where I have easy access to them.
For example, I keep my dinner plates and bowls on a shelf that is very easy to access in my kitchen. I keep my water glasses on a separate shelf, and also my small collection of coffee mugs are located on a separate shelf in my kitchen. I have my large, heavy mixer machine on my bottom shelf. I also have my heavy cast irons pots and pans on a lower shelf too.
I happen to keep some of my vitamin supplements inside my kitchen cabinets. I use a clear plastic bin without the lid to hold similar vitamin categories together and then I neatly label the plastic bins, so I can easily read what the contents are inside each bin. There are many useful bins and containers for storage and organinzing the kitchen. Below are just a few examples.
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
Another example of organizational containers for the kitchen:
Photo Credits By:Rubbermaid Products
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
Organized canisters below:
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
Lazy susans for cans:
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
A nice corner shelf:
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
Great cabinet storage and organization for pans and more:
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
And lots of modular containers that can be easily labeled:
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
Additional view:
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
You can see how kitchen organization with easy access can help a kitchen become very functional for the busy homemaker. I have even started to use clear containers for a lot of my food in the refrigerator and I label each container with the name of the contents and the proper date.
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
I am even using lunch containers.
Photo Credits By: Rubbermaid Products
I hope you
enjoyed our discussion about organizing and decluttering the kitchen
cabinets. Now, you may want to check out some wonderful books about the
topic of planning and preparing meals.
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