Help to Organize Your Home

Has clutter added up in a random room in your house? Do you have a junk room because you don't have the time or the energy to decide where items should go? If so, let's fix that.

The cluttered room:
1)Pick a day when you have a lot of time free. Then roll up your sleeves and go through the clutter. It's great to do it with a friend because you'll have someone to talk to and, hopefully, egg you on to give up things you hate to give up. "Barbara, honestly that leg lamp might be funny, but well, to be honest it's tacky. Since you're not tacky you should get rid of it." Have two piles. One pile is for things to keep. The other pile, which should be bigger, is for items that are out of date, unnecessary, broken, or you really will never use. You can give this stuff away or throw it away. And/or have a garage sale. The proceeds of which can go into your bank account or towards a piece of furniture you always wanted and have space for. If you hate to part with an item, take a picture of it and let it go. It's better to have an album full of pictures of things you want to remember than a room full of stuff you will never use that get in the way.

2)Have a vision for the room for the way you want it to look. Draw a picture of it. Take measurements of furniture before you move them to make sure they fit where you would like them to go. Also, you might find you don't need five arm chairs and two sofas in the same room. Space things so that people can move around freely. The room will appear larger.

3)If you have a batch of magazines and hate to part with them because they have pretty pictures, or are expensive or useful you can A) have only two rows on a bookcase dedicated to your favorite, most resent issues, and/or B) give the rest or all of them away to your eye doctor, family doctor, or if applicable your child's school (for cut and paste projects). You will feel good knowing others are enjoying them. But call first and see if they would actually like your magazines.

4)For items that you would like to keep that don't fit in the room- put them in boxes or big plastic bins. Remember to label the boxes/bins so you'll know what's inside. You can store the bins on a shelf in your garage or put them in the attic. I personally like plastic bins. They are more likely to keep pesky rodents out. Plus, they keep the items inside from getting wet. Either from rain coming through the roof or from water on the ground.

5)If the room you are organizing is the kitchen. Organize the drawers and cabinets wisely. Put all cups and saucers on one shelf in a cupboard. Have corresponding salad and dinner plates on another shelf in that same cupboard. All dinner silverware should go in one drawer. If some don't fit, and they're expensive or heirlooms, put them in a dinning room drawer. The others get rid of. And I mean it. How often do you have thirty-three people over? Unless you have a large family or are quite the socialite you don't have a good reason to keep lots of cheap mismatching silverware around. And if you were a socialite you'd be using your good silverware from the dining room drawer anyhow. Keep utensils down to a minimum. Look at the utensil. Do you ever use it? Do you even know what it does? If no, release it to the trash or another person who will use it. Or give it to charity.

6)If you have receipts or other papers you need or want to keep, put them in piles with themes. Receipts for furniture. Work receipts. Letters from friends. Pictures kids painted. Use folders, shoe boxes (you can ask your local shoe store for them) or small plastic bins to put the corresponding paperwork in. Stack the bins/shoe boxes in a closet. The folders should go in a drawer or a filing cabinet. You can always buy a folder organizer to put in a bottom drawer of a desk. That way you can have several folders handy for other paperwork.

7)After you organize a room, vacuum it or wash the floor. Plus, dust. Even the mini-blinds. And wash the windows. Open them and let in fresh air. If the room is musty smelling, you can use Febreeze. I also spray it on curtains, but make sure you can use it on yours. If dust has been gathering on the drapes/curtains for years, have them cleaned or clean them yourself if you can. Or treat yourself to new ones. Wait and see how much money you make from any items you plan to sell at your garage sale. Then buy new drapes/curtains.