How to organize your home and keep it organized
We all know what a pain it is and how suffocating it can be to live in a space where you aren't well organized. It feels like your clutter and your belongings own you, instead of the other way around. A lot of the time we can end up feeling sort of desperate about the situation, but it's so overwhelming that we don't do anything about it except for walk out of the room, close the door, and try to imagine that nothing's wrong and that we don't really feel guilty about not cleaning out our bill drawer or taking care of our closet.
The National Association of Professional Organizers (no, I am not kidding about this-they really exist) says that we don't use 80% of what we own. It just sits there. We only wear 20% of the clothes we have. And 25% of people pay their bills late not because they didn't have the money, but just because they were unable to find them. So here are some tips that will not only help you organize your home in the first place, but will help you make organization part of your daily life so that you can stay organized.
Top 5 ways to get and stay organized
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1. Prepare the night before
One of the most frustrating times of your day can be the morning. And it's not just because you have to get out of bed. It's because you have to run around all morning trying to ready for you to go to work, trying to help your spouse get ready, trying to help your kids. Here's what you can do the night before to help with your mornings. Make lunches for your kids. Set out their clothes. Set out your clothes. Have your kids pack their backpacks the night before so that you can check them to make sure that they have everything done. Put your own briefcase and other items in the same place every night so that you can get them in the morning. Make your to do list.
2. Organize your bathroom
First of all, throw away everything you don't need. Secondly, don't try to find a designated place for absolutely every single thing. Instead, buy a large, attractive container to keep things in. Put the same kinds of things in the same containers-hair care products in one, first aid in another, etc. Do something similar with your shower-buy caddies made specifically for the shower so that you can keep shampoo and things in them. Buy drawer organizers. Buy a shelving unit so that you can keep things in there, like towels and extra toilet paper.
3. Organize your closet.
The very first step is to absolutely ruthlessly sort through your clothes. If you haven't worn anything in the last six months, toss it. If something doesn't fit, don't hang on to it because you're hoping that someday... toss it. Give them all to charity. Then buy a closet organizer that can help you organize skirts, shoes, ties, etc. Then buy a basket for your laundry, and another one for your dry cleaning. Only keep out the clothes for the appropriate season; store sweaters under the bed during the summer, and put away your swimming suit during the winter.
4. Organize your kitchen
Organize your cabinets by type of dish. Do the same thing with your food-keep all your pasta together, all your Jell-O together, all your cans together, etc. Buy a container for any small packages like gravy and put it on the shelf. Buy a spice rack and organize your spices so that you can reach the ones you use most frequently first. Clean out your refrigerator every single time you go to the grocery store so that you don't have a cluttered refrigerator.
5. Plan ahead.
Every Sunday night, sit down and go through the week's schedule. Make sure that you know who has to be where, when they have to be there, etc. Make sure you know what bills are due that week. Having everyone on the same page can help clear up confusion and can help you feel less scattered throughout the week.
