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Organizing: 15 Steps to a Clutter Free Home

Its time to get into the habit of letting go of excess stuff, rather than finding
a place to stuff it. Having to walk around stuff or over stuff does not make
for a peaceful living environment. Lets go room by room and take care of
some of the most common clutter problems.
1. !itchen" ask yourself what items do I use daily#
$hese items really deserve the primetime space in your kitchen. $hey
should be within arms reach in the best location available. %atch out for
space hogs in the kitchen such as multiple coffee mugs, plastic bags and
cleaning products.
&. 'ext ask yourself how many of each of these items you need to have a
reasonable amount on hand.
(o you have ) of something but only use one. $his is a common problem.
*etting limits will help you maintain an organi+ed kitchen easily. ,ny
broken, stained or chipped items need to go.
-. (onate or discard your extra items, or in the case of glasses or dishes
store them in long term storage until needed.
$hat is only if you have room in or for long.term storage. If you already
have a long term storage problem go ahead and get rid of your excess,
unless its an item that you can not replace like grandmas good china, in
that case get rid of something else and store grandmas china. /emember
to periodically go through cabinets and drawers to purge extras and replace
worn out or damaged pieces.
0. 1lear your counters" the most visible part of your kitchen.
*tart by clearing all items into boxes or onto trays. $ake this opportunity to
clean your counters thoroughly. 'ow put back only the items that you use
daily. 2x. $oaster, coffeemaker, crocks of utensils. 3nly display decorative
items on you countertop if you have plenty of space to do so. 3therwise
decorations in moderation should be on the walls to save valuable real
estate in the kitchen.
4. (iscourage paper piles from forming by creating a /,5 file or as some
people call it an action file.
, /,5 file can be anything that can hold - files or folders. /,5 stands for
read, act, and file. ,s paper comes into your house you need to use your
/,5 file to place each piece either in to read, to act 6meaning you need to
do an action or to file. 2ach piece of paper you save is important for one
reason or another so you need to be able to find it 7uickly. $hen of coarse
there is the trashcan, use it regularly. 8ou can also set up binders with clear
plastic pages for things like receipts, recipes, take out menus, school
information and fre7uently called numbers.
). 1lean off your fridge9
*cale down or eliminate old refrigerator magnets or at least move them to
one side. 1lear everything off the front, put important items such as take
out menus in a binder or in your /,5 file. *ave your kids best artwork in a
plastic bin with their name on it, be sure to write their age on the back with
an acid free pencil or acid free pen that you can find in the scrap booking
section of any store. 3nce the fridge is clear, only put back current items.
$I:" !eep a wipe off calendar on the front of you fridge, update it the 1st of
every month from you pocket calendar that you keep in your pocketbook or
briefcase. $hat way you wont miss any appointments or meeting or double
schedule yourself.
;. <athroom" 1lean out your medicine cabinets.
(ispose of expired medicines and toss bottles of perfume, lotion and nail
polish that are almost empty. !eep on the products that you like and use.
(ont keep products that you either didnt like or were not effective =ust
because of what it cost you. In the long run they cost you more in space
wasted.
>. 1lean out stuffed drawers.
3k we have all done it at one time or another shoved one more item into an
already full drawer. 'ow its time to change all that. ?o drawer by drawer
take everything out and ask yourself @(o I love this#A (o I need this#A %hy
am I keeping this#A $he answers to these 7uestions will tell you what you
need to do. $hen you keep it, donate it or toss it. <y lightening up your
drawers you will reduce stress and be able to find the things you need
faster and easier.
B. 1lear bathroom counter.
It makes it so much easier to get ready in the morning and reduces stress
when your bathroom counters are clear. $his is also a time save because
cleaning is a bree+e. *ee tip C1& for the solution to where to put all the stuff
you cleared off the counter.
1D. Ese your wall space.
If youre hard pressed for storage solutions look to your walls. $here are
many options to create storage and reduce clutter on countertops. ,sk
yourself is there anywhere that I can add a shelf or shelves# Faybe a wall
soap dish or toothbrush holder. Look on 2<,8 for hotel towel holders they
hold & bath towels, & hand towels and & washcloths each.
11. 1reate a peaceful retreat.
Fost bathroom tubs and showers seem to be over flowing with bottles of
shampoo, conditioner, bath toys and body washes. ,gain start by removing
all itemsG clean the surfaces well with a soap scum.removing product. $hen
only put back the products that you use on a daily basis. 1onsider getting a
shower caddy if you dont already have one and a stick on basket or bag
for the kids toys.
1&. Fake personal bath totes.
2ach member of your family should have their own container to store and
transport their own personal bath items. $his container can be a small
plastic crate, a wicker basket or any other small container that can hold
your items neatly. :lacing each family members items in their own
container makes it easy to store these things under the bathroom sink or in
the bathroom or in the linen closet until they are needed. $his also keeps
their personal hygiene items together making it easy to find their comb or
hair detangler and its no problem to move to another bathroom when
company comes.
1-. 1reate a peaceful haven.
8our bedroom should be a place where you can rest. It is not the place to
do work or other stressful activities. (o not allow things not related to sleep
to accumulate there. $his room should contain a bed, dresser, nightstands,
lamp and maybe a chair or bench. (o not over crowd your bedroom with
furniture it will make it feel small and will not promote peace. 8our
nightstand should be clear except for reading glasses 6if you need them, a
book or maga+ine 6=ust one, not a pile, alarm clock and maybe some
tissues. *tart by clearing the room of all excess stuff, only put back those
items that promote peace and rest. (onate or store extra items elsewhere.
10. /emember the one in one out rule.
3nce you have your house down to where it looks and feels good for every
new item that you ac7uire you will need to donate, sell or give away one
item. 3ne for one, its the only way to maintain the balance that you have
achieved.
14. :lace 0 containers in your laundry room.
$here are 0 containers every laundry room should have. $hree of them can
be boxes, bags, laundry baskets or whatever you have on hand. $he last
one is a trashcan. Label your containers, donate, mending, rags and trash.
$he donate box means that you continually separate out items that are past
their prime but still have some wear or are too small. $he mending means
that you need to do a small repair. /ags means they have holes or bad
stains so you can use them to clean or stain furniture, cotton or wool
clothing make the best rags. $he trashcan is for items found in pockets,
dryer lint and other trash. $his way it doesnt pile up on your dryer
eventually making its way to the floor.
$here you have it 14 steps to a clutter free home.
$ina *eay is the author and webmaster of
http"HHwww.Learn*omething$oday.com a website that promotes 7uality of
life. Her goal is to help others achieve a happy healthy lifestyle. Her other
websites include http"HH5or$he1atLover a website for cats and the people
who love them and http"HH8our%edding*tory.net a site that helps the whole
bridal party get ready for a dream wedding.
8ou can contact $ina at %ebmasterILearn*omethingtoday.co

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