Home Organizing

Host Bee on Monday, January 15th, 2007

Top Tips for Ultimate Organization

To begin organizing an area, gather several bins for sorting, cleaning supplies, a label maker or labels, a marker, scissors, rubber bands, and large and small plastic baggies.

Clear out all contents in the area and sort by

“Keep”
“Give Away”
“Trash/Recycle”
“Store elsewhere”
“Don’t know”

This way, you won’t waste too much time on the “don’t knows.” Go back to the “don’t know” pile after you have finished sorting – it may be more obvious what to keep. If still uncertain, wait until the project is finished and then go through the pile again.

If you’re really unsure, store the “don’t know” items in a bin in your garage / attic / basement. Go back to it in 6 months and it will be obvious if you need the item. If it is a family keepsake, consider taking it out and displaying it in your home.

Sort the items you are going to keep by like size, variety and frequency of use.

Store like items together.

Store frequently used items more accessibly.

Store items at or close to their point of use.

Use storage containers and dividers to keep items in their place. This is your only hope to maintaining your hard work! Try places like Bed, Bath and Beyond, Target, Linens and Things, and the Container Store for storage containers.

Use large and small ziplock baggies to store loose items.

Where possible, label containers to help maintain your categories.

Take a photo of your finished project as an inspiration to maintain your hard work.

Go back to your finished organization project after 3 to 6 months and make a second pass at purging any additional items.

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