Organizing the home is a process. Unfortunately it’s not something you do once and it is done forever. The good news is that you can easily teach yourself new habits that will greatly improve the tidiness of your home. Small effort can lead to great impact, and you will likely feel more organized quickly.
Where to begin?
The easiest way to begin the process of organizing your home is to stand in your front entryway and look around. Think about areas of your home that you use the most, and also areas of your home that look unorganized or bother you. Chances are, these areas are the same. This shouldn’t surprise you given that the most used parts of a house will have more stuff moving through. Keep walking through your home while taking mental notes. When you are done, make a list in priority order of the areas that you would like to organize. Many people will have the kitchen or laundry room top on the list, but maybe your bedroom or living room need some work.
Clutter – get rid of it!
Most rooms or areas can be organized by simply getting rid of clutter. Ideally you should only place things out in the open if you use them frequently. However, most of us have a few pictures, candles, or memorabilia we like to display out in the open. Don’t get carried away with these things; if you have too much out your home will look cluttered, it will feel unorganized, and it will also be hard to keep clean. (Who wants to dust all that stuff?) If you have a lot of pictures to display, try keeping a few out and rotate them every so often, or put them on the wall.
Straightening Up
Another quick way to organize your home is to put things where they belong. (if something doesn’t belong anywhere, you’ll need to find a place or get some storage bins to put in the closet or garage) Clean clothes should be put in the closet or drawer, dirty laundry should be placed in a hamper, mail put away (or at least stacked in a nice pile), jackets in the closet or on a hook, newspapers put in the recycle bin – you get the idea. If you make it a habit to put things away after you use them (or at least soon after) your home will be more organized on a daily basis and won’t seem out of control. Life is busy, so knowing where things are can save you time.
Start Small
Keeping your home organized is a commitment, and it can even become a nice habit. Start by making small changes in the way you use your home. If your kitchen sink is always full of dishes and it bothers you, make a pact with yourself that you will clean your dishes at least once a day. There is something refreshing about waking up to a clean kitchen in the morning. Try this out for a week and see how it goes. If laundry tends to stack up and get in the way in your bedroom, get a hamper and commit to throwing your clothes there instead of on the floor. Then set a schedule for washing your clothes, such as on the weekend or on a weeknight after dinner. Instead of putting the mail on the kitchen countertop as it comes in each day, try putting it in a basket and go through your mail in the basket once a week. It’s important to make organizing easy for yourself, so start small and think of tools you can use (such as a basket or bill organizer) that will help you. If you add a few more changes each week or month you may find your home in much better shape.