Aug 20

Best Clutter Busters for Home Organization

By Sherry Borsheim Blog, Free Articles, Home Organizing No Comments

One of the best ways to eliminate clutter is to use the “one-in, one-out rule.” If you want to get and stay organized, this best practice is one of the best clutter busters for home organization that can change your life, free up more space and that you can implement immediately!

What Does This Rule Mean?

The one-in, one-out rule is a general rule of thumb or best practice to keep clutter from piling up. If you keep bringing in more stuff into your home and run out of space to store all your new purchases, the stuff will start to pile up. When things pile up, the piles attract more stuff and before you know it, your home has clutter everywhere. Notice how things tend to pile up every available flat surface.

You may even say “oh, I’ll just put it down here for now and deal with it later.” But as we both know, later doesn’t come and the stuff keeps coming into the house and gets added to the piles if not dealt with immediately. It’s a vicious cycle when the “one-in, one-out rule” is not used on a regular basis.

How Do You Apply This Rule?

You might relate to this shoe scenario. You’re at a shoe sale and you come home with one or two new pairs of shoes. Your shoe racks are already full and you may even have out of season shoes tucked away or stored in another room. You bring your shoes and decide that the best solution is to buy another basket. A month later, you come home with another pair of shoes and add them to the pile on the floor or to the overflowing basket.

Before you know it you have a mountain of shoes and you can’t get to your clothes. So you decide to get organized and start sorting your shoes. You tell yourself that you wear all your shoes or you might need them someday when in reality you only wear 20% of your favorite shoes 80% of the time. Sure, you’ll have some fancy shoes for going out or seasonal shoes for summer or winter and that’s ok. After a several hours of trying to organize your shoes you give up and decide to keep all your shoes.

Letting Go Can Make a Difference

At some point you need to realize that you only have so much space in your home and on your shelves. Letting go of something isn’t always easy, but choose to focus on how something old is something new for someone else. When you bring something new into your home and give something away to someone else, you are making a difference in that other person’s life! The stories I could share with you when I gave items away to those in need would bring tears to your eyes I’m sure. Clutter busting tips are a life skill you can easily learn and pass onto your children.

Clutter busters for home, like applying the one-in, one-out rule, is just one way to eliminate the clutter and piles and you can pass on items to family or friends, someone in need, or donate to a charity that is near and dear to your heart. Letting go can be very fulfilling and cleansing at the same time! The next time you bring home a new pair of shoes, let go of a pair that are uncomfortable and you don’t like wearing, hurt your feet or are scuffed up beyond repair. It’s time to let them go and make room for something new.

Also, don’t let your out-going items pile up in your home and get them out of the house as quickly as possible. You can apply the one-in, one-out rule to articles of clothing, kitchen gadgets, books, magazines, tools, office supplies, and so much more.

Whenever possible, when you bring something new into your home, practice this clutter busting tip by donating, recycling or tossing items that no longer fit, are broken, you don’t wear, don’t use or does not enhance your quality of life. And get to know where donation bins, drop-offs centers and recycling depots are in your area and watch the piles in your home.

Where will you practice the one-in, one-out rule in your home?

Mar 11

Love0

Keeping Things Organized in Your Bathroom

By Sherry Borsheim Blog, Home Organizing, Quick Organizing Tips No Comments

Quick – think of the room that gets the most use in your home!

Everyone uses it at one time or another during the day… and just about everyone living in the house has stuff stored there!

Did you say the bathroom? If you did, you know just how important it is to keep this room organized and clean.

Since there are so many washroom organizational ideas out there, I’ve compiled my favorites that are useful for everyone! These inexpensive tips are especially handy for teenagers and university students.

Here are my ideas to help you keep things simple, organized, and easy to use in your bathroom:

Tip # 1: Makeup and Magnets

If you use cosmetics, one of the worst things is to waste time rummaging through your bag in the morning trying to find your blush, eye shadow, or that always-disappearing eyebrow pencil.

I went over to a friend’s house recently, and she introduced me to the idea of putting small magnets on the back of your most used cosmetics! You can go to your local craft store to buy some super glue and small magnets, and secure them to the back of your individual makeup items.

That way, you can easily store your make up to the back of your medicine cabinet door, or any other metal surface in your bathroom! This makes them easy to reach, out of the way, and most importantly – easy to use.

Tip # 2: Hooks and Baskets

Everyone has their own favorites when it comes to cleaning their body.

Some swear by all-natural organics, while others prefer on the latest-and-greatest in aromatic science.

Whatever the case, keeping things separate is a good idea. And one of the easiest ways to do just that is to place hooks on the wall near the shower stall, with hanging baskets for each household member.

This way, you are freeing up valuable counter real estate for other things!

Tip # 3: Making Shelves Out of Nothing at All

Let’s face it – often storage space for such things as towels, toilet paper, and cleaning supplies is in short supply in many bathrooms.

It seems as if most bathroom designers don’t realize that these spaces are to be routinely used at some point!

If you find your bathroom woefully inadequate when it comes to storage space, consider using one of your empty walls instead. It’s simple enough to put up some brackets and a shelf, and you can easily make it look exactly the way you want.

Plus, what you need can be always within easy reach, instead of hidden away in some cupboard down the hall.

Tip # 4: Use Mason Jars

Worried about keeping smaller things organized and within easy reach? Things like tooth brushes, shaving materials, cotton swabs…

Consider using simple mason jars to keep things organized on your bathroom sink counter. The glass is easy to clean, they are inexpensive, and can be decorated in any manner.

Simply put one out for toothbrushes and toothpaste, one for shaving, one for cotton swabs, etc.

And if you want a little cleaner storage, you can use the lids to keep the contents safe from airborne irritants.

Aug 09

Love0

Conquering Office Clutter

By Sherry Borsheim Blog, Home Office Organization, Organizing Paper Files, Quick Organizing Tips No Comments

Feeling overwhelmed by increasing clutter?

Oh Clutter…. So quickly it builds up. So often it distracts. So difficult it is to get rid of. It is a rampant problem in our paper driven economy. It can be found in just about any office.

Why is clutter such a problem? For starters, just consider the mounds of paper that pass through the average office. The sheer quantity is overwhelming! Secondly, if what’s on the paper is not immediately applicable, it goes into the ‘later’ pile. The problem is that so often ‘later’ never comes. Thirdly, there are the papers that for one reason or another need to be kept and cannot be disposed of. And lastly, there are the piles that people want to keep for sentimental reasons. They might need it someday, or it would just be a shame to toss.

Knowing how to deal with and avoid office clutter is an important aspect of office management if an efficient business wants to be run. Here are a few tips to help you tackle your clutter:

Clear your desk.

Make room to work. Trying to work amongst clutter is anything but efficient and will only cause frustration and stress, and it slows down progress. In effect, having your desk piled high just makes more work. Having a clear desk area is calming and promotes quality and satisfying work.

Use paper trays.

They come in all shapes, colors and sizes. For those papers that you need to have on your desk, give them a home, one that is need and tidy. You are more likely to keep things organized if you have some equipment that makes it simple. Which leads me to my next point.

Implement an easy filing system.

The trays will work great so long as they get emptied periodically. Create a simple system that works for you. It doesn’t have to be fancy. So long as it is easy, efficient and tidy, it will work.

Date things to create deadlines.

You are more likely to deal with papers if they have a defined due date. Cycle through papers frequently and deal with those whose due dates are approaching. Resist the temptation to procrastinate. De-cluttering takes discipline.

Lastly, tidy your work area at the end of each day.

It is a simple task that often gets ignored when you’re rushing out of the office. It only takes a minute or two, and it will give you a jump start on the next day. There is a no more discouraging way to start day than coming in to a cluttered mess.

The steps are simple and quick. The results will be invaluable. Life at work is so much simpler when you’ve conquered the clutter!

Happy DeCluttering BizOrganizing family.

decluttering tips