Getting Organized and Staying that Way

Everyone has to take the time to get organized once in a while. When your closets and living areas overflow with junk, it’s time to take control. Using these professional tips, you can get your most bothersome areas organized and keep them that way!

First you need to identify areas that are the most trouble. Most people have a “pile it on” spot, like the kitchen counter, an end table, or the bathroom counter. Sometimes we clean in a hurry, throwing everything into a laundry basket, bag or box, and then never get around to sorting it out. Places like these make our homes feel cluttered and disorganized. Tackle projects one at a time and come up with logical solutions to the problems.

A clean counter is very alluring to someone looking to set something down. Identify what type of items are constantly being put there so that you can provide a space for them. If it’s papers from work, try a wall file. If it’s keys, wallet and pocket knife, place a small basket there, or hang a shelf with hooks. It helps if you arrange your organizational products in the area where your family is used to putting things. We are, after all, creatures of habit. If you normally come home and drop everything in the kitchen, putting an organizational set of baskets, shelves and hooks in the living room will only work for so long.

Use this same principal for controlling other things, like laundry. If your child’s laundry basket is in their closet, but they always leave their clothes at the foot of the bed, then you need to move the basket to the foot of the bed. You can slowly move the basket closer to the wall, and even back into the closet after they get the hang of using it all the time. Getting them to have some successes in the beginning is the key to making it a habit for them.

When you get around to the biggest job, the closet, be ready to make a real plan. Don’t just go out and buy a bunch of baskets and bins without planning for the space that you have available. Sort out and separate everything that you have in your closet. Get rid of what you can, and then plan on which containers will work best for you.

Arrange things according to how often they are used. The things that you need the most often need to be easily accessible. If they’re not, you’ll end up keeping them in a more convenient spot, eventually. You want to make it easy to keep things where they go. Get some high quality clothes hangers, like a good wood hanger or coat hanger for your dress clothes. You may decide to go with some space saving hangers or specialty hangers to help improve the organization of the space. Home organization is an ongoing process, so don’t get discouraged if it takes a few tries to get it right.

About the Author: Joe Granville is on the staff of Only Hangers, a leading online resource for wood hangers, coat hangers and all types of clothes hangers which is recognized for the excellent quality and value of its wood hanger and coat hanger offerings. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyhangers.com.

Keeping Closets Organized

Many homes are built with small closets. Homeowners need to find new and creative ways of either using their space more wisely or expanding their closets to suit their needs. The closet is the space in most homes that is in the most need of organization. Since this is an area of the house that is used daily, it is important to find a system that works for you.

An ideal closet system would have a space for everything that you use daily, plus enough room to store things that you don’t need all the time. We definitely need our closets to store our clothes that we wear every day, but some people need to also store their out of season clothing, linens, socks, jewelry and more. Things end up just crammed into spaces where they cannot be easily accessed, or thrown into boxes where you are likely to not see them for a few months or even years.

You may be thinking that even when you get it organized, it will be a challenge to keep it that way. Keeping the closet neat once you get it organized can be a challenge for most folks. But, by following a few simple guidelines, you can make it easy on yourself. One way to keep it clean is to come up with a system for making sure that everything goes where it is supposed to the first time.

When you fold your laundry, do you do it in the laundry room or in your bedroom? A lot of people find it easiest to keep their closets straight if they hang and fold their clothes as soon as they come out of the dryer. You can use a rolling garment rack near the dryer to hang everything on clothes hangers as soon as they come out. They won’t get wrinkled and they’ll be ready to go directly into the closet.

You may need to mount a permanent hanging rod above your washer and dryer. Stock it with enough clothes hangers that you do not constantly have to return to your closet for more hangers. You can get an inexpensive hanger rack for easily transporting empty hangers from the closet to the laundry room without getting them tangled up.

Hang the things that you use often at about eye level. Avoid storing items that you use a lot lower than your knees or you won’t be able to see where they go very easily, and you’ll end up putting them in another place where they don’t belong.

Use buckets, bins and shelves to store other items around the outside, top and bottom of the closet and label the container. You are less likely to put something into the wrong container if the label is staring you in the face telling you that you are doing it wrong!

Use a sturdy coat hanger or wood hanger that is thick enough not to get tangled or crossed up on the bar. If your clothes hangers stay straight, your closet will have that nice organized appearance that you are looking for.

About the Author: Joe Granville is on the staff of Only Hangers, a leading online resource for wood hangers, coat hangers and all types of clothes hangers which is recognized for the excellent quality and value of its wood hanger and coat hanger offerings. For more information, please visit http://www.onlyhangers.com.