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Have you always wanted to organize some or all of your home, but you just can’t seem to get started? Below are some helpful hints to get you on your way.

1. Schedule it
First and most importantly, timing is everything. Pick a time of day when you have the most energy.
Keep in mind that if you’re tired, the effort will be over before you really make a difference.
Minimize interruptions as much as possible.
Be sure you’ve had something to eat before you start as you’ll need energy for decision making, moving, and lifting.

2. Ask why this is important?
Why has this project been nagging at you? Write down the reason. (I’m serious).
If and when you begin to have trouble with whether or not to keep or toss an item, you can simply ask yourself, “Does this item help or hinder the purpose I am planning for this space?”

3. Purge
There is logic behind minimizing and surrounding yourself with only the things you truly love and find useful.
Visual clutter is distracting, can hinder our attention, and is not conducive to a serene environment.
Depending on the purchase, the following years will require you to dust it, wash it, dry it, hang it up or fold it, maintain it, repair it, iron it, and, eventually, donate it.

4. Sort
Keeping similar items together will enable you to know how much you have of any given item, and it will eliminate unnecessary purchases.
If this is done in all areas of your home, it can add up to big savings.

5. Location, location, location
Everything we own should be stored in a carefully selected ‘home.’
Store items where you use them.
Staying organized needs to be easy.  For example, removing a lid on a hamper so things don’t pile up on top of it.
Schedule time to address these areas so the simple act of putting things away is a breeze.

6. Procrastination
Clutter often adds up to postponed decisions. Whether facing a stack of paper or an intimidating project, ask yourself these questions:

-Are you hesitating because you need information? If so, make a list of what you need and who might be able to help.
-Are you simply a bit intimidated by the scope of the task? If so, break the task down into bite sized pieces.
-Can you commit to scheduling each ‘piece’ to your calendar?

7. Maintenance
A few minutes each day is all you need. I’ve been asked on many occasions, “Will my home stay organized after doing this work?” I like to use the analogy of weight loss when responding. With a little effort, and some careful decision making each day, you can maintain your achievement with pride.

–Taking 5 to 10 minutes per day to put things in their ‘home’ will keep your house in great shape.
–You’ll want to limit what’s coming in. Consider instituting a ‘one-in, one-out’ policy. Space is not infinite. Therefore, when buying a new piece of clothing consider letting go of an old piece.
–Resist impulse buys. Wait 24 hours.
–Make conscience decisions about the life cycles of your possessions. For example, let’s say that you decide magazines will only be kept for one month. You would throw the last issue out when the new issue comes in.

8. The payoff, celebrating!
Achievements and goals can be anti-climatic without reveling in them.
Having a home that is organized provides a surprising sense of pride, relief, and readiness.
You’ll have the freedom to host a spontaneous dinner party or barbecue at a moment’s notice.
This is the lifestyle that no accumulation of small possession can replace.

Whatever you do to celebrate, I suggest you reward yourself with experiences, not possessions. The experiences are the things we remember far longer.

This time of the year many of us are gearing up to head to our favorite beach house or lake cabin. While it may be hectic getting ready to go, once there, you find yourself in a relaxed, organized environment where all you have to do is enjoy each other.

Isn’t it interesting how we can live in a smaller space with less stuff while on vacation but we can’t seem to do it at home? Ok, so maybe it’s because it’s for a short period of time. Nevertheless, take a look at your hotel room, or rented house on your next vacation. Notice how they were able to find usable space within a small area. When you get home to implement some of their space saving ideas, don’t limit yourself by the design of your space.

It always helps to first sort through your belongings and purge what you don’t need (easier said than done, I know). Maybe it’s time to be tougher with yourself…”Do I really need multiple hand towels: fancy, guest, and every day?” Once you have made those culling decisions, it will become easier to see the empty space for its potential.

Look up: In most kitchen cabinets, the top half of the shelf is empty space. You can add a small wire shelf to create a second shelf. Also, tension rods make great use of vertical space under your kitchen sink to hang cleaning products.

Look behind doors: For small bathrooms with pedestal sinks, making use of a medicine cabinet can be key. Strategically-placed acrylic stick-on pods can provide additional storage. And don’t forget about repurposing a shoe organizer for behind the door. You can store everything from toiletries…to toys…to crafts!

Be creative: Just because it doesn’t look like a place to store stuff, doesn’t mean you can’t create one. For those exposed walls with studs, use hooks and hang drapery to create a closet.

So, take some tips from your next vacation. We love how rested and relaxed we feel after time away from home. There is no reason we can’t create that same type of sanctuary for ourselves year-round.

Organizing your beauty products will cut down on the time it takes to get ready in the morning and will start your day off on an organized, empowered note. Here are 12 easy ways to get started:

1. Keep only the items you use every single day in your medicine cabinet. Leave room for the basics like your toothbrush and skincare. At least that part of your routine can be simplified to just one product for each step, even if you have a million choices for color and finishing touches.

2. For beauty items that coordinate with your outfit or the season, like blushers, eye shadows, and lip color, group them together by category so you can see your choices at a glance.

3. Use clear acrylic drawer dividers or decorative boxes to hold groups of each makeup type in drawers or on shelves.

4. Use wall space by adding bins like those found in kitchens to hang utensils. Add magnetic or hook and loop (Velcro) fasteners to hang items in plain view on the back of the medicine cabinet door. The back of the bathroom door can offer even more storage space with the addition of a clear see-through shoe pocket organizer.

5. The under-sink space is super-high value real estate. Use a 2-tier sliding organizer to make use of all the room under your sink, and to reduce spills and messes.

6. Minimize the amount of beauty product in your tub area. Find a shampoo and body wash that the whole family enjoys using rather than tripping over multiples.

7. Most tubs don’t have much built in storage. Add racks that hang over the shower head and offer 2-4 shelves to hold beauty products and gear. Or suspend another shower rod on the inside back wall at eye level to hold baskets that can hold even more beauty items or bath toys.

8. The 80/20 rule applies to most beauty products. We usually use 20% of our products 80% of the time, and most products get used barely at all. Decide which items are your favorites, and pack the rest away for a month. If you don’t go back into the box to retrieve any of those items, you can probably do without them altogether.

9. Repurpose whenever possible. Use mason jars, wooden boxes that were original packaging for nicer beauty products, and small tin pails from the garden department to help you sort items together and make them look nice.

10. Even simple plastic bins from the dollar store can look great if they are in the same color scheme and labelled nicely.

11. Update your light bulbs. It’s hard to organize what you can’t see.

12. If you are updating your space, ensure there are plenty of drawers to store your beauty products in. Most basic vanities don’t come with drawers. With drawers, you can easily separate your beauty stash and keep your counters clear so you have room to prep each morning.

Here are five ways to freshen up your home for spring:

Bedding-blitz  As you prepare to leave colder days behind, get ready to pull out lighter blankets and sheets. Refresh blankets that come out of storage by fluffing them in the dryer with a dryer sheet. Remove heavy blankets and flannels from beds to clean and store. This is also a good time to wash the mattress covers and give the mattresses a flip. Lighter, brighter spring-fresh bedding is sure to brighten everyone’s mood!

Counter-attack  Throw open the kitchen and bathroom windows and take a look at your counters. The fresh air will help energize you while you remove all items and give the counters a good wipe-down. Throw out any trash or items you don’t need and put away anything that has wandered out of its appropriate home. Return to the counter only those things that you absolutely must have out or that make you happy.

Pantry purge  During our winter hibernation we tend to stockpile supplies. Cupboards can become stuffed with soups, cocoas and comfort-snacks. As this happens, other food items get pushed out of sight. Set aside an hour on a nice spring morning to empty out a shelf or two at a time, wipe them down, discard outdated or unwanted food items and reorganize what’s left back onto the shelves.

Sew or go  Do you keep a sewing or ironing pile? If you do, make sure that what is in your pile has not been there longer than 6 months. If it has, it is likely that it may not fit, will be out of style, or will no longer be something that you think would be worth the effort. Now’s the time to sew or go! Pick an evening and an interesting TV show and get the ironing and sewing done. If you’re not going to do it – let it go. It will only sit there and make you feel guilty if you don’t. And, no one wants to feel bad on a sunny day!

Shoe-review  The warmer days of spring and summer will mean a change of shoe style. Take time to gather any and all of your shoes together. Separate cold-weather shoes from warm. Before storing shoes you won’t wear again until fall, try them on. If they don’t fit comfortably or you don’t like them, this is the time to donate or toss them. If any need cleaning or repair, get it done now, before storing. Next, look at their sunny day counterparts and go through the same process. If you find that your favorite sandals are broken or that those cute open toe shoes you bought last summer don’t really fit right, get rid of them. Take note of any shoes you may need to add to your shopping list for replacement to complete your wardrobe. Finally, make sure each member of your household has adequate shoe storage.

Happy Spring!

Happy New Year! Organizing ranks as the second most popular New Year’s resolution – second only to losing weight and getting in shape. Follow my simple suggestion to open up some space in your house for all the new items that came into your life during the holidays; organize your flower vases.

Start by deciding how many flower vases you actually need in your life and where you use them. It’s nice to have one casual vase for those bouquets you pick up at the grocery store (especially during the winter when we yearn for something bright). A beautiful crystal vase is wonderful on the dining room table and another in the family room where you spend so much time during the cold weather. A pretty vase for the guest bedroom is a lovely touch when you have company. And let’s use one in the master bedroom. A vase of flowers in your foyer is always a perk. Or, keep it simple and just put a vase in every room of your house. Sound extravagant? For a 4 bedroom house that’s probably about 7 or 8 vases.

Now gather all the vases you have all around your house (several of my clients found over 20!)Place them on the dining room table – now count. Surprised? Now sort them – beautiful crystal vase/s you received as wedding gifts, glass vases from florist shops you are holding on to, old vases that belonged to a relative, seasonal vases, etc. Select the best or favorite vase for each room you counted. Take a hard look at what’s left. I’m betting there are many more than you said you needed. There are so many ways you can use these other than having them take up valuable space in your storage areas where they go unloved and unused.

Arrange fresh flowers from the market or from your garden during the various seasons and give them to:
• a friend celebrating a birthday or anniversary
• a new neighbor
• a neighbor who has collected your mail while you were away
• someone who has just lost a loved one
• the host of the party you are attending
• someone who just had a baby
• someone whose feelings you (unintentionally, of course) bruised

The vases you’ve stored away, sometimes for years, could now bring people smiles and spread happiness. All it cost was a little time and a few flowers! Now you have a beautiful touch in each of your rooms and space to store things you really need to keep. Happy New Year!

Let me be the first to wish you Happy National Get Organized Month! I saw a sign hanging in Lowe’s that said “Resolve to Declutter” and it was surrounded by a colorful array of storage containers. It’s that time of year when many of us look around our homes and ask “Where did all this stuff come from?” Taking the first step and staying organized can be daunting, but if you think you are alone, you are not. Here are ten barriers that keep my clients from starting and staying organized. Let’s break it down:

1. Don’t have the time. Time won’t magically appear when you want to achieve something. Use a day planner or your smart phone to schedule the time to organize, have fun, or accomplish something great. When you do, there is suddenly time to be spontaneous!
2. Allowing others to dictate your schedule. I’m not talking about going out and having fun, but I am talking about setting boundaries so others don’t infringe upon your personal time to get your own life in order.
3. You aren’t good at organizing. Some people need more practice than others and developing a habit takes at least 30 days to make it stick. Use books and websites to help.
4. Staying focused. Our brains aren’t wired to stay on task so use cues, rewards, or a stop watch. Use whatever you deem necessary to stay focused on the project at hand.
5. Perfectionism. If it can’t be perfect why start at all? If that sounds familiar, start small and celebrate small accomplishments. Practice saying the words “good enough.”
6. Too much clutter or CRAP: Clutter that Robs Anyone of Pleasure. If your things do not bring you joy, pleasure, usefulness, or life to your home, it should leave your home.
7. Once and done should do it. All homes need maintenance to remain organized week after week, but if you have a home for everything, cleanup will be a breeze.
8. The voices around you. Don’t allow others to make you feel bad about not being able to get organized yourself. Ignore the naysayers and enlist a friend or call a professional.
9. House isn’t big enough. The size or layout of a home isn’t always the issue. Organization methods, storage tools, and less clutter will usually do the trick.
10. Health issues. Even if you have the desire, you may not have the ability or the energy to do what is needed to get organized. Enlist help.

If you or someone you love needs help moving forward in the New Year, don’t hesitate to get in touch with a professional: a cleaning service, a senior care agency, financial planner, insurance broker, senior move management company, or a professional organizer. Professionals are trained to listen and narrow in on your specific needs. They can give you a jump start or much needed tools to help you or someone you love live their best life.

Clutter Quote: “As a single footstep will not make a path on the earth, so a single thought will not make a pathway in the mind. To make a deep physical path, we walk again and again. To make a deep mental path, we must think over and over the kind of thoughts we wish to dominate our lives.” Henry David Thoreau