Stepping into your home you about break your neck as you trip over shoes left in the middle of the floor. You throw your keys on the table that you will be searching for later. You’re going to be late for work because you can’t find anything to wear. Where is that favorite tube of lipstick? How nice it would be to read a magazine if you only knew where it was. Your child almost missed the field trip because you didn’t know where you had put the permission slip. Sure, you could be organized—if only you could figure out how to declutter. How? Set aside one day (or a few evenings) and devote the time to figuring out what works for you and what isn’t working for you. Follow the day long schedule to start organizing clutter.
Morning:
9:00 a.m.
Make a plan to declutter your home. It will be eye-opening when you start looking around. Get a notebook and going room by room write down the things that are working for you and then write down what isn’t working. This will give you new insight about how to declutter. If you can’t get every room done at one time, break it down into one room at a time. It will depend on how much clutter you find how long it will take you to complete. Plan on taking baby steps—go as slow as you like.
9:30 a.m.
Evaluate what organizing tools you have. Necessary tools include: containers (plastic bins, paper, plastic bags, cereal boxes, baskets, cigar boxes, or cutesy containers to name a few), heavy duty trash bags, (for donations and trash) marking pen, masking tape, (to label bags) tape measure, and timer.
11:00 a.m.
Do you spend time searching and reading web sites? Is this a big time waster for you? Set your timer for a certain length of time to be on the internet and get off when it rings.
Midday: Take a break
Noon
Get two baskets. One use as a landing place for mail. The other one use as a BE basket. The Belongs Elsewhere basket is used to remove unwanted items from a room. Place the items in the BE basket and when finished with the organizing project in that room then take the BE basket and put things where they belong in other rooms.
1:30 p.m.
Choose a room and remove 5 to 10 things from that room that don’t belong. Don’t leave the room, put them in the BE basket until you have rounded up all 5 to 10 items. Then leave the room and put them where they belong.
2:15 p.m.
Check your magazines. If you subscribe to magazines you aren’t reading, stop your subscription. Some magazines will prorate the cost and you’ll get a refund. For the magazines you do keep, contain them in a basket as soon as they come in to your home. Rotate new and old at least every three months. Keep resource magazines in magazine holders that you label and place on a shelf.
3:00 p.m.
Plan meals a week at a time. Poll your family members for their favorite meals. Write menus on an old calendar. If the recipe comes from a cookbook write the source and page number by the recipe. Write any ingredients you need to purchase on your shopping list.
3:45 p.m.
Place a container by your entryways for shoes to be placed in. (A shoe rack, basket or boot tray). This will give them a home of their own.
4:00 p.m.
Create homes for everything in your home. After using anything put it back where it belongs, this will save you time, energy and frustration and it keeps you organized.
4:30 p.m.
Have a designated place for children’s school papers and back packs when they come home from school. Then later in the day you can check the papers they brought home to see how they are doing in school and if there is anything you are responsible to do.
5:00 p.m.
Use a planner to keep track of appointments, dates, contacts and phone numbers and addresses. If you have a family calendar on the wall be sure to write the activities in your personal planner that you carry around with you at all times.
Implementing these makeover ideas on how to organize clutter in your home is invaluable to help you keep your home clutter free.
Article Source: http://www.wahm-articles.com
Marilyn is a professional organizer who works with women and seniors in clearing clutter and providing organizing tips. Visit her website http://www.marilynbohn.com for free organizing tips on her blogs, articles and videos.
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