Organizing Tips - Where to Begin?

If organizing your home seems like a daunting task, ask yourself what bothers you the most. By starting with one problem area the task will seem less overwhelming. Put these organizing tips to work for you and in no time you will have an organized home with an ongoing plan to keep it that way!

1. Begin with just one problem area

Choose one area of your home to work on at a time. Decide where to start based on what area bothers you the most. For example, the constant flow of incoming paper is a problem for many families. By getting rid of excess paper, a lot of clutter will be eliminated immediately. Once the paper is under control, an important organizing tip is to decide what organizational system to use to handle incoming paper on a daily basis.

2. Decide what organizational system will work for you

Take time to research various organizational systems for ideas and choose something simple that will work for you; anything too complex might become overpowering. Keep in mind that if managing paper, for instance, was easy for you, you would not be drowning in it!

3. Put together the items required to put the system into place

In the “organizing your paper flow” example, you might need a file cabinet, file folders, labels, in-boxes, shredder and other basic office supplies. A basic organizing tip is to use a suitable basket as a catch-all for daily incoming paper.

4. Decide on an appropriate place for items that have accumulated over time until they can be sorted, filed or discarded

Gather your accumulated papers together and put them in a designated place and work on them as time permits. Spending 15 or 20 minutes a day on this project will result in great progress and much less paper in your home.

5. Start using your organizing system immediately

Start using your organizing system immediately to prevent disorganization from spreading into other rooms. Use this process to organize the other rooms in your home.

6. Make adjustments

If you find that the system you are using does not tackle a particular problem, such as what to do with schoolwork papers, for example, make a decision about this right away. You may simply designate a single place for school papers and make sure they end up there. You can change your system at any time and reorganize things, so do not wait for the perfect idea before you try something new.

7. Use the system consistently every day!

The only way any organizing system will work for you is to consistently use it and make adjustments as needed.

Implementing these organizing tips will get you started on the road to a more organized, peaceful and enjoyable home—a home that will “work” for you!