I am so excited to be here with Miss Mustard Seed to showcase a favorite hobby and healthy addiction of mine- ORGANIZATION!!!
Ever since I can remember, I have loved all things organized! I remember in 4th grade, my friend’s mom told me I was welcome to come play anytime because her daughter’s room always looked so much cleaner after I left! My poor friend wanted to play Barbies and dress up, I wanted to organize her bookshelves! What can I say, I love a big “Black Hole” and I welcome the challenge to tidy up any space!
Today I thought I would keep it simple and give 5 tips on organization and how to tackle the growing black hole(s) in your home. Let’s Get Started!
Tip #1: Only pull out what you can finish within an hour.
Too often we get ambitious and decide to tackle an all-day project when we really don’t have all day to finish it. This leads to frustration, discouragement and an even bigger mess! How often have you had the good intentions of cleaning and organizing an area only to be distracted or needed in another area of the house? Your good intentions are now covered up by a mess that is perhaps even messier looking than when you started- am I right? (You know I am right!) Take my craft area for example:
This is how I like my craft desk and craft closet to look:
But before it got this way, it was pretty bare and lacked any sort of organization system. Here is a before picture of the bare closet:
It wasn’t at all messy- just not a whole lot of anything going on it there. So what did I do? I pulled out every crafty thing I could find in all areas of my house and piled them next to my desk with the good intentions of organizing it all. right. then. that. day.
And here is what it looked like for days when I got distracted and had to stop:
And when an area is already a mess, it’s easier to just keep tossing things on top of the chaos! SUCH A DISASTER!!! So again, keep your task small and keep it simple. 1 hour at a time is all you need to plan for. If you have more time (and energy) when your hour is up, work for another hour!
Tip #2: Sort Everything! (again and again and again)
1. Start very basic by making piles or using empty boxes to sort your area into 3 categories: Things to Keep, Things to Giveaway/Donate to Charity & Things to Trash. Take your trash directly to the outside trash and put your charity items directly into your car so you can drop them off the next time you are out. (This way you will be less likely to rescue items or talk yourself into keeping them.)
2. Once you are left with only the things you want to keep, start sorting those items into sub categories, and depending on what you are organizing will depend on what those are. For example you might want to sort items in an office by Bills, Schoolwork, and Important Documents.
3. Make subcategories of your subcategories. Work on one pile at a time and organize it completely to your liking. For example, take the “Schoolwork” pile and now sort it by dedicating a pile for each of your children’s papers.
4. Find a home for all sorted items. Don’t leave them in the piles that you sorted them into- find a permanent home for everything, or it will all end up unsorted again in no time! When I sorted my kids school papers, I had these crates already waiting to be filled by their school papers:
Just a basic storage crate with hanging file folders- 1 folder for each grade from preschool to high school. These crates are stacked nicely in a closet and easily accessible and kept current.
Tip #3: Use Labels.
Before I had my vinyl machine, I used my DYMO. Before my DYMO I used a Sharpie, scotch tape and some printer paper. You don’t need to get super fancy- you need to use what you have on hand. May I suggest making the labels look as nice and orderly and UNIFORMED as you can so that you smile when you see them? Make them match, please. (Just as a favor to me!)
Here are some things that are labeled in my home that make my life a whole lot easier!
Canisters in my pantry:
My preschool area
My daughter’s book shelf. (My 4th grade friend’s shelf could’ve looked this good too!)
Tip #4:Use Baskets, containers, bins and boxes… and even think outside the box.
I am a sucker for baskets and fun containers. Watch for good deals and then stock up! The bins used in my daughter’s bookshelf were found at Lowes on clearance for a buck each! Baskets can be pricey, but are ALWAYS on sale somewhere- I’ve scored some great deals at Michaels.
One of the first conversations I had with Miss Mustard Seed on organization is one I am still looking to duplicate: She told me her diapers and wipes are stored in her kitchen in an old bread box! No one knows that behind the stylish exterior is a stack of Pampers!
I love this idea!
Tara, one of my readers picked up a few $1 trash cans from Ikea and used these to organize her daughter’s closet:
It doesn’t have to cost a lot of money to look good. And that brings me to my last tip…
Tip #5: Make it pretty
The whole point in organizing is to make your area look clean, tidy and pretty. Clean and tidy have a universal definition, but “pretty” does not. “Pretty” is such a personal opinion. What one may think is pretty, another thinks is hideous. We all have different styles and tastes, so it is only suitable for each of us to match our homes and areas to our tastes. You should be able to see your completed organization project and smile- that is the whole point- to make life easier and make life happier! I love this tip from Martha Stewart (it was probably her craft department’s idea, but all credit is always given to
Martha!) They take random containers and mismatched baskets, add some paint and make them uniform. I personally like the color they chose, but you can make them pretty to your liking!
You don’t have to spend a lot to be organized, and a neat and tidy place can make such a difference- don’t ‘ya think?
If you would like to hear more from me, I’d love to have you stop by Somewhat Simple! I update my site everyday with tutorials, recipes, craft ideas and more. I am in the process of launching another site called “Crazy Domestic” where I will feature items and tips specifically aimed at bringing out the best of our Domestic selves! Thanks for having me today Marian! Bye everyone!
Don’t you just want to be her friend? I’d love to have her over to hang out and get some of my troubled areas sorted out. Her blog is a great resource for anyone who runs a household, so make sure you pay her a visit! Thanks again, Steph!
So, Donna, you’ve showed us all how to organize our workshops. Do you have any organizational tips for inside the home?
Donna: “My fav quick tip for organization is this 3 tiered basket. The basket is used as a means to store things in sections needing to go downstairs, as my main living is up. The top is for office paperwork, the middle is for things to go in my vehicle, and the bottom is for garage stuff such as tools. The basket helps me avoid having to make 1000 trips up and down the stairs to try and remember it all. AND it also helps alleviate ‘nests’ of clutter in my way.
One other hot tip of the day from me is to keep a spiral notepad by each telephone. I label the book in which room it belongs (as they tend to travel!) , then on each page I use, I date it. All phone notes and lists are jotted down making them a breeze to find again, and after I’ve delt with the task, I draw a line through it so I know it’s taken care of. BIG benefit over fly in the wind post it notes! Grocery lists are simply ripped out and carried with me.”
So, now that your head is packed full of ideas…get off the blogs and go get organized!
20 Responses
A great post and so timely; I am off next week and will be organizing my garage and basement. Wish me luck 🙂
Great post! If it wasn't 9 o'clock at night I would get off these blogs and go organize! But I'm tired and my head is still spinning from watching the latest LOST episode. Not a good time! I will however jump over to Somewhat Simple and hopefully get some ideas for tackling my guest room closet that is my spillover space and it has been mocking me lately. Instilling fear in me that I'll never get it done!
Love the three tiered baskets!
Great tips and so timely too. My new year's resolution was to get my house more organized. Love & blessings from NC!
Love the tips! Thank you for sharing!
Lovely stuff. Gee those IKEA stuff just turn to lovely shoes keeper…cute.
Great interview and wonderful tips!! I like where we should keep our task of organizing down to one hour. That is super good advice! I will start right away…one hour at a time.
Hugs
SueAnn
Great tips! I have a craft closet that looks organized, however, I don't have similar with similar so I wind out pulling things out. I also just did labels for the baskets and I must get them on. I think labels can be a big help. I'm always up for making something functional AND pretty ~ makes me want to be organized!
I DREAM of having a house all organized,, but thats where it ends at a dream. Great tips,, thanks for sharing.
We are singing the same song! I did the exact same thing at friend's homes when I was a child. My mother would "hire me out" to her friend's homes and I would spend the entire day cleaning, revamping, organizing! How funny! I would never have thought to share that with anyone!!!
This is wonderful!!! I love sameness – color, labels, size, whatever. It's gentler on my eye and spirit and psyche. If every thing looks nice then I have peace!
Love all the suggestions. The crate idea is FAB!!! I'll be doing that for my sons!!!!!
I also love the pantry containers! I'm going over to Stephanie's blog right now! Thank you SO much!
Good tips! Sometimes it's good to have a place that you've designated as "okay to leave stuff out" for a bit… otherwise I'd be constantly re-getting the same project out, you know?
I've had the same relationship with artichokes 🙂
I have a piano student who saw my label maker a couple weeks ago. She was in AWE. It was the most wonderful thing she'd even seen– she about fainted when I let her make a label for her notebook. She's 10 🙂 It starts young! 🙂
these tips are fabulous!!!!
Great post! Thank you! 🙂
This is a great post. I'm very guilty of pulling it all out and not being able to finish. Love the labeled containers. I use wicker picnic baskets for my storage on shelves, but need to get around to labeling them still.
I'll be visiting stephanies blog for more!
Rose
Awesome tips! I love organizing on the cheap while still making it look pretty. Thanks for the great ideas. I desperatley need those $1 trash cans from Ikea for my craft space!
~Amanda
i loved artichokes as a kid too! My grandma made the best stuffed artichokes and it ate them as soon as I had teeth. I never ate the heart b.c i was so scared of the pricklies that cover it.
I love organizing too and so enjoyed this post. I think people who love organizing are the ones reading the organizing books because it feeds our souls. those that need the help probably aren't getting it – just my funny little thought.
I LOVE this tiered basket, and have been looking for something similar for MONTHS!! Where can I find one??
Hi Jessi,
I found that 3 tiered basket at Costco several years ago. They come out with different variations of it from time to time so perhaps keep your eyes open at a Costco near you!
Another good place to scout out may be Ikea.
Donna
I did something similar to my workspace.. all things like administration photo books and so on are in this tiny room in white IKEA boxes … The rest of the house is pretty tidy now 😉
I thought I was the only crazy kid who liked to clean, especially when I was upset. My mom who doesn´t love the housework thing at all, would dedicate her time to irritating me until I started to clean. Now my love of containers, organization and arranging has stood me in great stead. My husband loves that I love to clean and our home is the envy of all my friends.
Isla from pergola designs