How to Get Started with Home Organization

The 6 Steps to Home Organization & Room-by-Room Guides

1. Commit to home organization.

The commitment to home organization is a huge motivating factor. Once you've decided to have a
more organized home, the delcuttering, sorting, grouping, storing and maintaing your home
organization will be easier, because you have a goal in mind: home organization.

When you're deep into the declutteirng phase, it's hugely motivational to think about how this room
or space will look once you're done. Make the commitment.

2. Decide on a plan of action

Will you tackle your whole home in one weekend? That will lead to burn out. A better plan is to
follow a schedule. Here's how I do it:

1. First I decide which areas need to be organized (right now as I type this it's my linen closet, pantry
and my entryway). Check out the full list here:
2. I decide what to organize in my home.
3. Then I plan an order to organize the rooms and spaces in mv home.
4. Finally, I figure out how much time I can dedicate.

r ls it a weekend morning?
. Can I do 30 minute after work at night?
r Can I commit to working full time on this for an entire week?

Then I follow How-Tos found in my projects catalog. Each project is organized down by space and
by timing (10 minutes, 30 minutes, or weekend projects)

o 10 Minute Home Oreanization Proiects

. 30 Minutes Home Organization Projects
o 52 Weekend Home Organization Proiects

3. Declutter before you organize,

Never organize or store anything you can first get rid of. This includes:

. Trash and junk, like things you meant to toss, shred or recycle that never made it out of your
house;
. Things you never use but are taking up valuable real estate; and,
o ltems that no longer fit into your lifestyle, like jeans you haven't worn in 5 years or your old
treadmill you never run on

Learn How to Declutter

4. Grouprng and sorting for home organization.

Now that you've decluttered, it't ime to start organizing your remaining items. This will involve the
following:
 . Grouping "like" items together;
o Sorting clothes, furniture and appliances by season; and,
o CreatinB groups based on use: daily / regularly / rarely

Learn How to Organize

5. Give everything a home.

Storing your items will involve:

. Assessing your storage space;

. Learning how to store specific items; and then
. Choosing the right storage solutions.

This is really the key to keeping up your home organization: if you have a specific place for
everything in your home you will successfully cut down on clutter, and know exactly where to find
things when you need them.

Get Starled with Home Storage

6. Maintain your home organization,

Finally, you've got to maintain your home organization so you don't have to keep starting from
scratch. In this guide you will learn how to follow:

. Dailv Home Organization

. Weeklv Organizing
. Monthlv Organizing Calendar

Follow the Home Organization Routines.

What to Organize In Your Home (and When

to Organize it)
23 Things to Organize in Your Ilome Right Now
Before you begin organizing, it's imperative to have a game plan for what exactly you're going to
organize. To that end, I've created this checklist for every room in your home you should organtze
from attics to workspaces, and guides to how to organize, store, donate or recycle everything in
your home and office.

Related: What Organize to Organize Room in Your Home

:t. The kitchen, including the pantry, cabtnets and appliances.

Organizing your kitchen regularly will cut down on lost time, food costs, and nasty leftovers
lurking in your freezer and fridge.
 When to Organize: Declutter this space twice weekly, and do then do a full re-organization
two or three times ayear.

2. Sort out your attic + basement

An organized attic is a great asset because of the (sometimes huge) amount of storage space
it offers. Make sure things are placed on sturdy shelving for easy access, and labeled for
easy retrieval.

When to Organize: Organize this space twice ayear.I like to tackle the attic when it's time
to take down and then re-store holiday decorations.

o What to Store in the Attic + Basement

o Overhead storage solutions
o Top Plastic Storage Containers

3. Organize basernent storage spaces.

Much like an attrc, an organtzed basement is a great asset because of the amounts of storage
space it offers. Make sure things are accessible -- this is where your buckets and bins come
into play -- and safe from water damage. I like to use this shelf-and-bin combo for storage:

1. Heavy Duty shelving from Durashelf +

2. Clear Stacking Bins +
3. Brother Label Maker

These three products make it incredibly easy to store, and then easily retrieve out-of-season
clothing, kitchen items, office supplies and more, while keeping them out of your main living area.

When to Organize: Organrze this space twice ayeat.I like to tackle the basement seasonally,
when it's time to take down and then re-store holiday decorations, clothing, or outdoor gear like
patio furniture and beach supplies

4. Declutter and streamline the bathrooms.

A clean, well-organized, and clutter-free bathroom can help you get a good start to the day, and is
all-around healthier as you'll be purging the space of old medications regularly.

When to Organize: Declutter this space weekly. I like to tackle the bathroom on Sundays to start
the week fresh

5. Organize the bedroom (including under the bed).

Keep as little as possible in your bedroom*, making sure your clothes and shoes don't overwhelm
the rest of the room. This is supposed to be a restful pace.

*The exception is if you live in a studio apartment, and then organize it into zones: sleeping, eating
and cooking, entertaining/relaxing and your dressing area.

When to Organize: Declutter this space twice weekly, including a quick closet sweep, a good
dusting, and decluttering for un-worn or dirty clothes that haven't made their way into the hamper
yet
 6. Get the closet organized.
An organized closet will make your bedroom more peaceful, and will help you maintain sanity on
early mornings while trying to get yourself and your family out the door to work, school, and
errand-running.

When to Organize: Declutter this space twice weekly, and do a major over-haul and re-
organrzatton twice a year.)

7. Get control of the clutter.

Banishing clutter for your home is process that requires daily upkeep. The resources below will
take you step-by-step through your home with a plan to declutter a little bit at a time.

When to Organize: I recommend staying on top of clutter every single day, but following the
Weekl)z Organizing Routine, or committing to declutter your home once a week

B. Organize your donatrons,

Knowing a good place to donate clothing and household items makes the decluttering and
organizing process much easier. I donate all of my belongings to a charitable organtzation that
picks them up at my doorstep (Its the Vietnam Veterans of America), which makes the process even
easier for me, because all I have to do is clean and bag things, and then leave them on my front
porch on the appointed date.

When to Organize: Take some time to research an organization whose mission you supporl, read
their donation guidelines and then start donating on a regular basis, either monthly (for a large
household) or seasonally

9. The entryway to your home.

An organized entryway is going to help your efforts on many fronts: it will assist you to get out the
door more quickly in the morning, and it will aid in a more organrzed, neater walk through the door
when you return.

When to Organize: Organize this space weekly as part of the Weekly Organizing Routine, and
then do a seasonal re-vamp

l-0. Sort and store your financial documents.

Once you've organized your financial and important documents (think birth certificates, social
security cards, credit card statements), you're going to feel very accomplished. This task is worlh
the time in peace of mind alone.

When to Organize: I like to go through these documents once a year, and then I incorporate
decluttering these documents into my weekly routine while handling mail and paper

11. Streamline your garage.

Not just for cars anlmore, the garage, when organized into zones can be a place to work on home
improvement projects and even used for entertaining in warmer climates,
When to Organize: This one depends on how you use your garage. If you're a "weekend warrior"
doing a lot of home improvement projects that use your garage space, then you want to do a full re-
org every season; those who simply use this space to store the car can get away with organizing it
once or twice a year

12. Organize your holiday "stuff,"

The holidays are so stressful for most people that having a plan of attack is a no-brainer. Start by
making lists early and using the slower month of November to do your cards and organize
decorations and meal plans. I have lots of resources to help youl

When to Organize: Take advantage of the (relatively) slower weeks at the beginning of November
and start your holiday organizing early

13. Get your laundry room in good working order.

An organized laundry room will make this dreaded task a little bit easier, especially since laundry
rooms tend to be clutter magnets ("Oh, I'm not sure what to do with this new widget someone gave
me. I'll just put it in the laundry room.")

If your laundr), room is also meant to be a storage space, make sure you organize it into zones to
keep the tools you need to clean your clothes separate from the storage items.

When to Organize: Every time you do a load of laundry, clear the clutter, empty the lint trap, and
empty the garbage. Then do a re-org twice ayeat.

L4. Organize and tidy the living room.

Because the living room is meant to be a relaxing environment, it's imporlant to arrange it in a way
that keeps things simple and uncluttered. This will mean working on it regularly to declutter and
purge the space of things like extra magazines, locate and organize remote controls and toys, and
un-coil wires and cables.

When to Organize: Tackle the living room as part of your weekly routine by decluttering and
cleaning

15. Sort out the matl and paper work.

Paper, when not kept in check, can really cause a lot stress in your home. Piles of mail and stacks of
magazines become signs of clutter and you may be tempted to a) just toss every,thing or b) ignore it
for far too long. Get in the habit of regularly sorling, recycling and shredding your mail and papers.

When to Organtze: Resist the urge to shove this in a box for "later," and begin sorting, responding
to, and recycling or shredding mails on a daily or (at least) weekly basis

16. Organize your meal plans and grocery shopping.

Meal planning is such a time saver I wish I had incorporated this habit into my weekly routine years
ago. Planning your meals out a few days in advance will assist you in keeping your kitchen, grocery
shopping, and coupons organized, and your daily and weekly routines going strong.

When to Organize: Incorporate meal planning into your weekly routine, and then review your plan
daily, editing your grocery list and your coupons
Continue to 17 of 23 below.

17. Establish good household daily, weekly and month routines.

Organrzing your routines will take decision making out of the equation, freeing up time to start
doing and accomplishing. Example: if you know every single Monday you work on your kitchen,
then you will spend less time worrying about when you're going to clean and declutter your kitchen.

When to Organize: Review your routines at least once a month. This allows you to adjust what is,
and what is not working.

18. Store your shoes properly.

I'm combine shoe organization and storage because the two go hand-in-hand. Shoe have always
been a huge pain for me, especially since I live in a climate with four distinct seasons: snow and
ice, mud, humidity and then leaf-peeing aka Winter, Spring, Summer and Fall.

When to Organize: I organize shoes seasonally since I live in a four-season climate. Those who
live in warmer areas can get away with twice ayear.

19. Maximize space in your small closet.

Small closets need more TLC than their larger counterpafis. The great thing about small closets is
that they discourage hoarding; there is literally no room to hide the clothes you haven't worn in
years.

The downside is you need to stay on top of closet clutter more often than with a larger closet space.

When to Organize: Declutter this space twice weekly, and do then do a re-organization once a
month. You can do this every-other-month if you are stringent about decluttering once a week.

20. Declutter, organize and manage your storage spaces.

Storage spaces can be so powerful because they keep things you need sometimes-but-not-every-day
organtzed and easy-to-find. Cases in point: holiday decorations which you need for a few months a
year, but not every day, or your flip flops which you need in the summer, but not in the winter.

Storing items means they are not crowing out the stuff you really need immediately.

When to Organize: Go through storage spaces seasonally.

21. Sort and organize your tool collection.

Keeping tools organized is imporlant because a) some are dangerous, and it's good idea to know
where they are at all times, and exactly how they are stored, and b) if you don't use them that often,
it's nice to know exactly where to find each hammer and wrench.

When to Organize: Every time you work on a project, declutter, and clean the area.

22. Get organized for trips and travel.

Being an organized traveler is important to me; I don't' like the feeling of rushing through the
airport or train station wondering if I'm going to make my flight or train. I like to know where my
tickets are, exactly what time my flight is, and what I've packed. Being organized can cut down on
a lot of stress and make any trip more enjoyable.

When to Organize: Before a trip or when planning your vacation.

23, Declutter and clear your workspaces and office.

An organized workspace may mean different things to different people, depending on your work
style and they type of office you work in, but a few things remain constant: you need the right tools,
a comfortable seat, and a way to catalog your projects that makes sense.

When to Organize: This is a daily task, then do a re-assessment of your organrzation every month.

What Order to Organize Your Home

ave you ever wondered the correct order you should use to otganrze your home? The plan is to starl
with your storage spaces. This may seem counterintuitive. Why wouldn't you start with your
kitchen or living room? These, after all, are the places you use most often in your home.

The idea is to create create storage space before you tackle the rooms you use most often. This way
when you move on to the rooms and spaces you use most, there will be storage space available.
This means that when you decide you are not using the Kitchen Aid mixer that's been sitting on
your countertop for 5 years, there's a place to store it.

L. Storage Spaces

Your storage spaces are the place to begin organizing. Once you dive deeper into your house, you're
going to be doing a lot of decluttering and re-aranging of items. Organize your storage spaces first
so that when you find appliances, clothing, shoes, books, and papers that need a place to go, you'll
have a place for them. And it will be neat, tidy and clutter free.

Think of it like this: Before you un-load groceries, you've got to create space for them to go into the
fridge. Before you load the dishwasher, you've got to unload the dishwasher.

Start with a project that you can easily complete. Like a junk drawer. Then, move onto a hall closet
or a zone in your basement. Break larger spaces up into smaller spaces. For instance, in your
basement or attic, tackle one corner, then another. Or one box at a time.

1. Junk drawers
2. Utility or storage closet
3. Basement + Attic
4. Garage
2. Shared Spaces

Shared spaces should be organized next because they are the most trafficked areas in the home.
Start with the kitchen, followed by the foyer, living room and bathrooms.
A big plus to organizing these areas is that if you live with
others, they will start to see these spaces
organized. Next, they will start to expect these places to be neater which will prompt them to be
neater. They and may even join in to help you organize. Or they may begin working on their own
personal spaces like bedrooms and home offices. Whether they notice or not, organizing is
decluttering, sorting, and finding a home for )rour obiects. so before you begin working in shared
areas, tell your roommates or family exactly what you're doing, and let them collaborate on the best
places to store shared items.

Example: If you have children, let them "help" you to pick out a storage space for their toys in the
living room. As long as you can live with their decision (i.e. it's in a corner, and not in the middle of
the room), go with it. They will feel a sense of orvnership over the project making them more likely
to work with you, not against you.

But, if your fellow house dwellers are resistant, go ahead with your plans. Just make sure they
know what goes where when you are done.

5. Kitchen
6. Entrlrway
7. Bathrooms
8. Living room
9. Dining room
10. Dorm room

Personal Spaces

Personal spaces like bedrooms, closets, and home offices take more concentration to organize. You
need to touch and assess most items in these areas to organize the space. That means looking at
each paper and examining it, or each grabbing each sock and hunting for it's mate.

When organizing the kitchen, you can organize 25-40 items at once if you're dealing with utensils.
In a closet, you have to make a decision on each button-down shirt, and in an office, you've got to
sort each paper and receipt.

These spaces will definitely tax your energy, so it's a good idea to begin these on a weekend
morning, with a good cup of coffee or tea.

11. Closet
12. Bedroom*
13. Home office

*Don't try to organize a bedroom before tackling the bedroom closet. Closets have a tendency to
spill out from behind closed doors very easily. Get them in check before working on your bedroom.

4. Small Spaces

Now, stafi on smaller spaces like linen closets, laundry rooms, guest rooms, and mudrooms. These
small spaces often get a short shrift because they are not very exciting. Yet, having them organized
can make your home a more efficient place.

Example: If you have guests coming to visit, having an organtzed linen closet will make your life a
whole lot easier. It will make your guest's visit easier for them as well.
You'll be able to locate extra linens, toiletries, and bathroom supplies, and if you're not around, they
can grab these supplies themselves. Likewise, an organized laundry room will make that chore
easier by placing the soaps and tools you need front-and-center.

14. Laundry room

15. Linen closet
16. Mudroom

Organize Your Home in 10 Minutes or Less

Home organrzatron projects that only take 10 minutes may not seem like they are worth the
effort, Many people feel they need to put aside an weekend or an entire week to organize their
home or "get their life organized". They need more planning, more products, and of course, more
time.

I think you'll be surprised how much you can accomplish in 10 minutes, especially if you focus on
one small area.

It's amazing how much organizing you can complete in )rour kitchen in just 10 minutes, and ditto
for your bathroom and clothes closet.

Think about how many times during the week we are presented with time in a ten-minute
increment: waiting at the doctor's office, waiting to pick your kids up at school, waiting for that pot
to boil. Stop waiting and start doing, with this list of ways to be more organized l0 minutes -- or
less !

I'm here to argue that 10 minutes is more than enough to make a dent in home organization, offrce
organizatron, or life organization, How much can you accomplish in just 10 minutes? Small, 10
minute spurts can actually be a very powerful amount of time.

Maintaining focus for 10 minutes is very doable.

Even for the chronically distracted, 10 minutes is easy-peasey. Here's a guide to stay on track if you
need a little kick-in-the butt to focus better at home.

10 minute chunks of time seem to pop up everywhere.

Think about all the 10 minute chunks of time that pop up throughout the day:

' waiting for everyone to finish brushing their teeth in the morning,

' the first ten minutes after you walk through the door,

' sitting in the waiting room before an appointment,

' or when you have a few minutes to spare in the kitchen while that pot is boiling.
You can break large organization projects down into L0 minute segments.

Say you need to organize your bathroom but you can't find a full 3-hour chunk of time on your
calendar to set aside.

You can complete the whole bathroom organization task in 10 minute projects: inventory toiletries,
declutter under the sink, wash your makeup brushes, etc.

So you're in but you're not sure where to start, put yourself to

work by completing one of these
tasks. Whether you're in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom or at your computer, we have an idea for
you to be more organized--quickly andfairly painlessly.

1. Go through your dresser and choose one drawer. Take everything out and re-fold and
stack.
2. Choose one collection (athletic equipment, tools, cleaning supplies) and declutter. Toss or
recycle anything you no longer use.
3. Vacuum your car.
4. Locate the different places you store batteries. Designate one go-to spot for them going
forward. This way you'll always know where they are stored.
5. lnstall hooks in your garage to hang beach chairs, tools, or bikes.
6. Declutter the tops drawer of your night table. Dust, tidy, and purge your night table of
any.thing you no longer need.
7 . Create a fitness drawer in your dresser. Gather your yoga pants, tank tops, sports bras,
specialty.
8. Go through your dresser and choose one drawer. Take everything out and re-fold and
stack.
9. Declutter the tops drawer of your night table. Dust, tidy, and purge your night table of
anything you no longer need.

1. Create a fitness drawer in your dresser. Gather your yoga pants, tank tops, sports bras,
specialty
2. Save important people's contact info on your smartphone in a way they are easy to
find in case of emergency. For instance, I have my mom saved under her full name, but a
second entry other mom. I also do this for my boyfriend and my brother. Another idea is to
save a contact called +Emergency contacts. Using the * means they'll come up first in your
address book in case someone else needs to get help using your phone.
3. Walk around your home and gather the following: batteries, light bulbs and stamps. Make sure
you store these in the same spot so you don't buy more than you need.
4. Organize business cards and any addresses you've written down and add them to your contacts
list. I like using my Gmail contacts list since I can refer to it from any computer or mobile device.

1. Organize your t-shirt drawer.

2. Go through one file drawer and declutter. Recycle old papers, shred credit card statements and
re-file anything out of place.
3. Store your receipts. Sit at your desk, open your wallet an input receipts into your filing system.
4. Take 10 minutes to go through your calendar and RSVP to any hard copy invites and electronic
invites.
5. Purge your fridge of anything rotten.
6. Declutter your desktop making sure that you favorite writing utensils are neatly organized.
7. Organize your social media in one place. Move your Twitter, Facebook, Foursquare, Linkedin, and
lnstagram account streams to Hootsuite.
8. Declutter your Facebook profile. Peruse your Facebook friends--this is a good reminder of who's
seeing your personal information, pictures and reading your status updates. Un-friend anyone who
should not be seeing your vacation pictures.
9. Walk around your home and collect al! of the loose change. Empty pockets, drawers and wallets.
Put all change into a Ziploc bag. Next, store it with your laundry supplies to use at the laundry mat,
store it in your car for parking meters or take it to the bank to deposit.
10. Label some frozen food in your freezer.
1"1. Organize your entertainment. Make a list of movies you'd like to see or update your Netflix queue.
This will save time on upcoming dinner-and-a-movie nights. Bonus: it's fun. You can also save your
ideas for movie and TV show_ylew.i-ng_hlq._pg-tfvernoh. I find this saves time when you decide to
watch a movie but can't think of what you want to watch.
12. Declutter one desk drawer. Toss gum wrappers and pens without ink. Group like items with like
items for easier retrieval.
13. Draft a general email and save it in your draft file. This is a great tool when you hear from
someone you haven't seen/spoken to in a while. I absolutely dread having to reply to those "So
how are you?" emails. This way I have the basis of something already written.
14. Purge your Twitter account from following people/topics that no longer interest you.
15. Clean your makeup brushes. Wash them with antibacterial soap and then allow them to dry while
laying flat on a washcloth.

1". Match up your socks. Set any single socks aside. The next time you do laundry you shuld
2. Create spot for incoming mail. Make sure you have the tools in place to manage your mail when
you walk in the door with it.
3. Delete old addresses. Go through your smartphone, hard copy or electronic address book and take
out old contacts--especially ex-boyfriends or anyone else your phone should not be "accidentally"
dialing.
4. Donate books. List 3 books for swap on paperbackswap.com and then assemble the packing
materials you will need to ship them off to their new lucky owner. A Sharpie, packing tape and the
blank side of a brown paper shopping bag will do.
5. Do a clutter sweep. Sit on the couch in your living room and notice any distracting piles. Declutter.
6. Find a storage space for something in your living room. What's on your coffee table that needs to
be put away?
7. Label cables. Grab the label maker and label the cables behind your entertainment console,
8. Delete old shows. Go through your TiVo or DVR series manager and purge shows you're not
watching. Bonus: you get to sit on the couch for this one.
9. Stack and store magazines in a tray,
10. Gather your throw pillow and blankets. Fold and stack you blankets and re-arrange your throw
pills on the couch or chair they belong to.
11. Organize your remote controls. Gather and label your remotes with the name of the
corresponding device: DVR, DVD, Stereo, lPod, television, etc.
t2. Face your books. Go through your book collection, turning each volume in the same direction. This
process is called "facing" and it's used in retail stores to make everything look super neat and
organized.
13. Choose a room that needs work, get your calendar out and plan. What resources do you need to
get that done? When do you have time to accomplish this? Plan aheadl
14. Just store one type of item. Peruse this list of home storase ideas and store one item in your home
that has been just "hanging around," like batteries, paper towels or toiletries.
15. Recycle some electronics--the right way. Do you have an older item (television, gaming system,
VCR) you're not sure how to recycle? Check the list How to Recvcle Everything, then schedule a
time to recycle it, or do this right away.
16. Measure the inside of each closet in your house (this is a lot quick than it sounds-promise!).
Write down the dimensions-depth, width, and height-of each space, shelf, nook and cranny on an
index card, one per closet, and store them in your wallet. The next time you're in Bed Bath and
Beyond, Home Depot, Lowes of the Container Store, buying closet accessories, you'll have the
information you need with you.
17. Gather all of your umbrellas from around the house and store them together.
18. Go through your luggage. Remove any leftover papers, gum wrappers or clothes/toiletries you
forgot to unpack.
 19. Create a meal plan for next week.
20. Edit your lnternet bookmarks.
21. Unsubscribe from blogs you no longer read.
22. De-clutter your email in box (computer, blackberry, lPhone) of as many un-needed emails as
possible.
23. Create and designate a place to always, always, always leave your keys. A few ideas: a cake
stand, hooks, a small tray, a decorative plate, an old cigar box.
24. Gather mail from around your house. Divide it into 3 piles: action, recycle, shred.
25. Choose one item--scarves, hats, handbags, coats--gather them, return them to their rightful
storage space.
26. Go through one bag--work bag, gym bag, school bag, lunch bag, etc.--dump it out and
declutter the contents.
2T.ldentity a bin, basket, tray or box you can designate as an "outgoing" container to hold
anything you need when you leave the house (think: school papers, outgoing mail,
permissions slips, work papers, etc.)
28. Unsubscribe from 5 emails you receive and never read (although you really should sign
up for my newsletter which comes out once a week on Thursdays).
29. Emai! your old boss/influential work colleague to check-in. You never know when you'll need a
recommendation.
30. Check your Facebook privacy settings. Here's a guide .
31. Spend 10 minutes organizing your freezer. Toss old food that is freezer-burned, clean the ice
makers and ice trays.
32. Organize business cards and any addresses you've written down and add them to your contacts
list. I like using my Gmail contacts list since I can refer to it from any computer.
33. lnventory paper products: toilet paper, paper towels, napkins. Are you running low?
34. Pull 5 items out of your closet that you haven't worn in 2 years. Do you still need these?
35. Schedule a pick up from 1-800-775-VETS (or schedule vour dona ). Fill a bag or box with
items to donate: clothing, linens, appliances, etc.
36. Organize your desktop file. lf you're following my s-file paper manaq , you know how
important the desktop Action file is. Spend L0 minutes sorting and organizing.
37. Create a checklist for everything you need to before before you go on your next vacation.
38, Find all of your reusable grocery bags and store them together in the same spot. I keep mine in
the car and after I bring them home and empty them, they hand on the doorknob until I take them
back out to the car.
39. Find your keys. Then, designate a place to store vour keys for eternity so you never have to find
the in your own home again.
40. Throw something out. Here's a list of 35 pieces of clutter vou can get rid of rieht now.
41. Grab three bags (handbags, purses, gym bags, school bags, etc). Dump them out and then
sort the contents into four piles: Trash, recycle, shred, keep.
42. Shred or recycle any mail, magazines, flyers or extra paper sitting around your entryr,vay.
43. Declutter your , recycling old invitations, expired coupons and any other clutter.
44.\n the entryway, locate all of your loose umbrellas and corral them into one spot. I like to
store mine in an old wine bucket in the entryway closet.

Weekend Home Orga nization Proj ects

Many home organization projects can be completed quickly in under 10 minutes, and some
can take 20-30 minutes to complete. There is another set of projects that really need a few hours of
work, and I am calling those Weekend Home Organization Projects. This way you can devote an
entire weekend morning, aftemoon, or evening to completing a project.
Or, you can choose to break up your work in 15 or 30 minute installments over the course of a
weekend,

1. 52 Weekend Home Organization Projects You Can Do This Weekend

Figure out what you should be storing in the basement and attic, and what you
shouldn't. This will help you to envision what to store in these space and how to layout your
storage scheme.

Get started with eoal settine. Setting goals properly will make them much easier to achieve.
There's a right way and a wrong way to do this.

Get your closet organized. This no-holds-barred guide to organizing the closet will help you
declutter, sort, store and maintain an organized closet.

Create a personalized dailv routine to suit your daily schedule. This will help you to figure out
what you need to get done, and when you're going to complete daily tasks.

Figure out what to store under your bed and how to store it. Under bed storage is an easy place
to store frequently used items.

Store everythins in your kitchen properly. This guide will take you through your kitchen to
ensure that every dish, bowl, appliance and ingredient is stored properly.

Get your book collection organized. Cookbooks, references books, fiction -- we cover every kind
of book and how to organize and store them in this step-by-step guide.

Install some bathroom organizers. Make this small space a little more organized and streamlined
by employing some bathroom organizers.

Learn to maximize the storage space in vour kitchen cabinets. This way its content will be
easier to locate and you'11 have less "stuff'to dig through.

Learn how to store everything in your home and office. Once you know how to store every'thing
in your office, home office otganizatton become much easier.

2. Weekend Projects to Organize Your Horne

Spring clean vour clothes closet. Get your clothes closet ready for warmer weather, or just give it a good
decluttering in a weekend morning or afternoon.

Ouicklv orsanize the linen closet. You could do this one in 30 -- if your linen collection is small
and you don't need to launder anything -- but for most households, this is a weekend morning or
afternoon project.

Learn to use your daily routine to achieve your toughest goals. Time to check in on your goals
and goal setting. Use your daily routine to reach your long-term goals.

Map out a plan to orsanize the bathroom. Organizing the bathroom will help make busy
weekday mornings easier, and create a sense of calm in an often overcrowded, small space.
Organize your entrvwav. This home organization task will make your daily life getting in and out
of your home much easier.

Get rid of clutter in vour bathroom. The bathroom can become cluttered both because it's
normally a small space and because everyone has lots of little products they like to keep around.
Spend a weekend morning or afternoon rooting out clutter like old medications and empty tube and
bottles.

Organize your kitchen cabinets in 5 simple steps. Simple steps to declutter and organize the
cabinets will make cooking, shopping, and meal planning much easier.

Organize your closet for summer. Be organized in your clothes closet for summer by swapping
out wool for linen, and more tips.

Declutter your clothes closets. Go through your closet and purge some old clothing. Then donate
or consign it.

Learn to maximize storage space in a small or smaller closet. In this guide you will learn how to
utilize pre-existing storage in a small closet.

Organize your garage. Can you fit your car in your garage? Spend the weekend organizing by
zones, decluttering and sorting items.

tearn when, where and how to donate clothing" shoes and household items. Go through this
checklist and start the vital home organization project of figuring out when, where and how you
willdonate household items.

Learn how to organize your time efficiently. This is a big one. Take some time over the weekend
to figure out how you're organizing your time and where you can improve.

Organize proiect bins for tasks you do resularly. This project will make storage easier and you
home organization around projects like entertaining, holidays and home decor more, well,
organized.

3 Organrze The Home Over the Weekend

Maximize closet storage $pace. This project will help you learn to maximize your already-existing
closet storage so you can fit in more clothing and make the clothes you wear regularly easy-to-
reach.

Organize and store your shoes the right wav._Before you can store your shoes and boots, it's
absolutely necessary you get them organized.

Organize your tools. Make your next home renovation, ctaft, or DIY project a bit easier by
organizing your tools.

Organize vour To Do list in a new (read: better) way. Be more organized by learning to
organtze your task list in new ways.
Get your mail organized. Cut down on junk mail, create a system for answering mail, and
declutter and shred what you no longer need.

Declutter your clothing. This will help you organize your closet easier, get dressed more quickly
in the morning, and make laundry day a bit more pleasant.

Learn how to store clothes. and get organized. If you want to make closet organization easier,
organizing and storing your clothes properly is a key component of this process.

Sort out your clothes for donation. It is much easier to declutter your closet when you know your
clothing, shoes, and accessories are going to worthy charity.

Orsanize all your iewelry properly. Organizing and storing your jewelry is a big part of
organizing your accessories.

Store your shoes properly. Get control of your shoes (and boots with this guide to where and how
to store your footwear.

Plan out your closet storage. Rather than just dive in and starl buying new closet storage
solutions, take time to plan your closet storage.

Store and organize everything in vour kitchen cabinets. Rather than a full cabinet overhaul,
simply take everlthing out, sort it, and re-store it. trust me, this will make a difference, but you
need a weekend to do it.

Learn how to store kitchen appliances. This will make kitchen organizatton, cabinet
organization, counterlop organization and pantry organrzation so much easier.

4 Weekend Organizing with Projects

Orsanize your closet for fall. Get your closet organized for fall now by swapping lighter fabrics
for heavier and getting control of your boot collection.

Get vour meal planning and food shopping organized. Meal planning can be made much easier
with these tips for eliminating meals first, and then working around fresh produce.

Declutter your kitchen cabinets by learning what not to store in them. Cabinets can become a
breeding ground for clutter. Spend a weekend decluttering, sorting and organizing.

Get your boots organized and stored properly. Several different types of boots call for some
quality time planning a storage scheme that makes sense for you.

Figure out how long you need to keep all of vour documents. This included tax documents,
general financial document, academic records and medical records.

Get your closet orsanized for winter. Store the bathing suits and pull out the wool hats. Spend a
weekend deep-diving into your clothes storage and re-organizing your closet.

Locate a good clothins donation center. Spend some time researching a local charitable
organization who will accept your donations.
Get all of vour holidal decor organized and storgd properlv. There's an easier way to store
your holiday decorations and it starts with organizing them.

Make an grganizi4g ca.lendar fgr the ngxt ye?r. Follow my calendar for being organized year
round and chart out when you will organizing with spaces and items.

Organize vo,ur nantrv. Dive into your pantry and get your kitchen basic organized over a
weekend.