The best way to keep your home as tidy as you can is to get to organizing all the stuff you have. We are all busy people, and trying to get everything done at once is next to impossible. Here are a few tips for you to conquer the clutter a little at a time, so you can be on your way to a tidier home.
One Room At A Time - Pick a room to start in. Maybe you need to pick the worst one to get it out of the way, then the rest will be easier. Maybe you need to pick the easiest room to organize so you can have a small victory to motivate you for the rest of your home! Just don't try to do it all at once. It can burn you out and overwhelm you to the point you just give up. Small steps make great gains!
Sort it All Out - Once you have picked the room you want to organize, start sorting your "stuff". Have an area to put all the stuff you are going to donate, stuff you are going to throw away, stuff you are going to sell and the stuff you are going to keep. Just having these four piles will be a huge step in your end game!
Grouping is Key - Now, after you throw out the trash, put aside the sale and give away stuff, you have this pile of things to keep. Sort this pile by things that are alike. Keeping like things together will be easier to store and to find later. Having things that make sense together make a big difference. We all have stuck something somewhere because we didn't know what to do with it. Hopefully when you are done with this step, the things you keep will make more sense when you store them as well.
Recycle When You Can - Use old boxes or baskets or other things you can recycle to store things together and put up. Don't spend a ton of money on cute organizer things. Sometimes an old cookie tin is great for a bunch of little craft items, or a plastic bin will keep things grouped together under the sink so it's easier to pull stuff out and find what you need easily. I don't mean to save a ton of stuff so you can use them to organize with--however, if you do have an old gallon ice cream bucket around, it might be nice to put some leaky small containers in it on your garage shelf to keep the mess contained. Save the adorable, expensive organizers for spaces where you have to keep things out in the open. A stack of shoe boxes might not look good in your craft room by the window.
Label Everything - No matter what you put in a box to store, label it. You think you will remember what all is in a certain box (especially if you have taken a lot of time organizing a certain space) however, you won't remember everything. Chances are if it is going to be stored, you have the "out of sight, out of mind" thing going on so having a label will keep you from going through 3 boxes before you find what you want. It will also make it easier for you to store something else in that particular box so maybe you won't have a disorganized mess like before down the road in the future.
Limit the Paper - Paper can consume so much space. Limit it where you can. Go paperless in your bank statements, bills, etc. Shred things you don't need right away and get them out of your home! Also, once you read a magazine or paper, throw it out. If you are one who does do projects around the house, save the newspaper right before you are going to do that project. You don't need stacks and stacks taking up space somewhere. Not only are they unsightly, but, they can become a fire hazard or pest magnet as well--and no one wants either of those things!
Hopefully after you have organized your home, it will be easier to put things up and keep things clean. Sometimes a tidy home can make all the difference in your state of mind!
