Common Organizing Mistakes: Tips that can curb your clutter tendencies!

Feeling cluttered? Here are some quick tips for around the house that will inspire you to take action!

Bedroom Organizing Tips

Make your bed, even if you live alone or you’ve been married for 20 years. It’s a visual and physical cue that will help you keep the rest of the room tidy. Tackling a small task such as making your bed daily gets you into a tidying rhythm that can last the whole day.

Do you try on more than one outfit before choosing what you’ll wear? Designate a place where you’ll put clean-but-tried-on clothing before you rush out the door - perhaps a set of wall hooks. Later on you can avoid the extra step of sorting clean from dirty before you put things away.

Don’t underestimate the power of matching clothes hangers in your closet. Uniform hangers make it easier to see your clothes, are aesthetically pleasing, and save space.

Wooden hanger are classy, but do take up more room in your closet. So, if space is at a premium, then check out these slim felt hangers that come in a variety of colors.

Bathroom Organizing Tips

Although it’s called the “medicine cabinet”, it’s actually a better place for frequently used items, like Q-tips, toothbrushes, facial cleansers, and deodorant. Anything you only use once in a while, like Band-Aids or cough syrup, are better stored in a container under the sink. Also most medicine cabinets have a magnetic door. Use this area for important information you want to keep posted close by.

Contain clutter. If you’re the type whose vanity looks like the make-up counter at Bloomies, use a decorative tray to display your favorite beauty products.  Other frequently used items can find a home using bamboo drawer organizers or up-cycled box lids.

Kitchen Organizing Tips

Clear your countertops. You don’t have to display all of your appliances. Really think about which ones you actually use everyday.  Chances are you have some gadgets still out that you rarely use taking up prime kitchen real estate.

Invest in drawer dividers or make your own with box lids to separate kitchen miscellany. Your kitchen utensils should be categorized within each drawer making everything easier to find.

                                                                         

Don’t mix office with kitchen. If you bring in the mail, walk it directly to your home office (if you have one) or create an office nook that is out of sight for your important paperwork. A little paper station can be made on the inside of a cabinet or by emptying out a “junk drawer”. Your paper does not belong on the kitchen counter or dining table.

Photo courtesy of Houzz.

If you need to have some items on hand in the kitchen, make sure they are pleasing to the eye and match the decor of your space. I love containers with lids so that potential clutter can be concealed.

My Favorite Organizing Tip

What I have learned from being a professional organizer for almost ten years is that you don't need to over think a project before you get started.  Often, clients will become more exhausted from the amount of mental stress they have placed on any given "to-do" that is weighing on them that they become too overwhelmed to begin.  My advice is to have a quick brainstorm about the area you want to focus on and then dive in!  Starting a project will always make you more likely to finish it, than never starting at all.  Start falling in love with the feeling of completing things.  Become the finisher in your family. I promise it will give you a huge sense of accomplish that will manifest in other areas of your life as well.

I hope this post has inspired you to rethink some of the problem areas around you home and get started.

And remember...

"The secret to getting ahead is getting started" - Mark Twain