6 Tips for Home Organization

Here are a few tips to make sure your transition back to school goes smoothly.  Organization is key to successful mornings and easy evenings!

1. Have a mudroom or designated area for your purse, briefcase, car keys and the kiddo’s backpacks.  Keeping all these items together will make heading out the door faster.  Check out Closet Factory for some awesome mudroom designs.

 
2. Clear plastic containers work great for food as well as non-food items.  Everything is easy to see, plus you can see how much you have remaining before you run out.

 
3.Keep your countertop clean.  By this I mean, keep the decorative items to a minimum. This reduces clutter and discourages others from adding things on the counter. Want to add décor?  Opt for decoration above your cabinets.

 
4.Use a decorative basket or tray on your coffee table. This can hold remotes, coasters, toys, movies etc. Have a lot in your family room?  Storage ottomans work great! Target has some cute styles and they double as extra seating.


5.Set a timer and have everyone in the household spend 10 minutes picking up around the house.

 
6.Color code and label as much as possible.  I can’t stress this enough!  Hit up an office supply store such as Office Max for a label maker!  Use colorful bins or lids and colorful labels. 

Hopefully these few awesome tips work well for you!

 

Problems Associated with Clutter

Feng Shui has always been an interest of mine.  I have read countless books on the subject and decided it was time to take this interest a step further to really be able to use this in my design consultations.  About a month ago I started training under Sylvia Watson, an expert in the field.  I’m currently reading a book she co-authored with Connie Spruill titled Feng Shui With What You Have.  It really is a great book and I encourage you to read it. Check it out at Amazon.com here.

This evening I was reading the chapter Clearing Clutter and was very interested to learn how clutter usually indicates certain problems.  Take a look at the chart below.

Location of Clutter                                                      Could Indicate

Entrance of a home or office                                      A lack of concern about first impressions                                                                                    

Inside a closet                                                             An inability to deal with unfinished business or painful issues

In a kitchen                                                                 Care-taking responsibilities that are overwhelming

Beside your bed                                                          Inability to make effective change in your life; desire to get away

On a desk                                                                    Overextension; frustration; fear of letting go or needing control

In a corner behind a door                                            Stifled feeling, detachment from others

Under a piece of furniture                                           Concern with appearances

In a basement with old collections                              Living in the past; difficulty moving on in life

In the garage                                                              Procrastination; put off dealing with issues or allow what is urgent to become a crisis

All over                                                                      In denial; overwhelmed and angry

Do you happen to have clutter in one of these places?  Hmmmm....makes you think doesn't it?  

Keep watching for a posting on the best ways to clear clutter coming soon!

Spring Cleaning and Organization

It's that time of year again! Time for spring cleaning. While you're at it, why not better organize your spaces? Invest in just a few pieces and get creative.

I found this great organization video of the Most Organized Home in America with Alejandra Costello. Check it out, I'm sure you'll pick up some great tips like I did!

The Container Store

While living in St. Louis I fell in love with The Container Store. Unfortunately a lot of people here in Cleveland don't know about this amazing store because the closest one is a couple hours away in Columbus.

The Container Store "The Original Storage and Organization Store" has a solution for every type of storage and organization need you may have....in every color, size and even style you could ever want. You can shop by category where you search by the room you're working on such as garage, closet, kitchen, office and more which makes finding everything super easy.

These Water Hyacinth Bins start at $7.99.

 

 

This Large Acrylic Make Up Organizer is on sale for $24.99.

I love this Expandable Bamboo Kitchen Utensil Tray. They are $29.99 each.

They also carry the Elfa line for your closet organization needs. 

Click here for The Container Store's website and here to locate the store nearest you!