Effortless Organizing Part I

Have you ever said, I am so disorganized, if only I could organize, I hate to organize, it is so hard, or I wish organizing was easy? If you have said any of the above, read on for great Do's and Don'ts that are so easy even you won't know you are organizing.

The key to effortless organizing is to "stay" organized. Let me explain, here are a few basic rules. Have a place for everything in your home and put things back in their homes when you are finished using them. Leave a drawer ajar a tad to remind you something has been taken out that you need to replace. When you see this reminder, get the item and put it away.

How does your closet look? How does the floor of your bedroom look? When you take off a pair of shoes instead of letting them fall wherever take a nano second and put them in the shoe rack. It takes a lot less time to put things away after you have used them than to have piles to put away later.

When you change your clothes instead of throwing them on the floor either hang them up or toss them in the laundry. It doesn't take as much time to put away one or two things than it will to put away a pile of things later, it becomes effortless.

When putting something away in a drawer, put it where it belongs. Use drawer organizers to keep everything in the drawer in its home. If you have a "junk drawer" decide it will be a resource drawer that will no longer waste your time. Use containers to contain those seldom used yet important items.

Look at your space and divide it up in your mind as to premium space, semi storage space, storage and hard core storage. Only put things you use daily in the premium space; which is at eye level and 12 to 24 inches above or below. This will make it easy to see things, to reach them, and it will make it easy to put things back.

In the semi storage space put things you use only once a week such as the good china, the night time cosmetics or dressy purse. In the storage area put things you only use once a month. You can easily get to these items but they aren't taking up valuable space. In the hard core storage put things you only use once a year like seasonal decorations. By doing this you have saved yourself a ton of time as you don't have everything mixed together so it is easier to get to the things you use all the time, thus removing the need to organize all the time a thing of the past.

Have a landing place for your mail; use my 4-D plan. These are not in any particular order. 1-Delegate, 2- Do, if there is something you can do in 2 minutes, do it right then; 3- Done, this would be anything that can be done without taking any action right then like a bill to pay, put it in the "to be paid" file folder or box, junk mail goes in the recycle bin or shreded; 4-Deliver, things you need to take care of later put them in an area where you will file in a resource file (insurance information, house hold information, etc.) or in a file or basket to be taken care of within two days.

Keep shoes corralled by the front door by using a basket or something as simple as a newspaper.

Put small pieces of games in a Ziploc plastic bag to keep pieces together. You won't have to hunt for game pieces when you are ready to play.

Put the remote controls in a basket so they have a home and you don't have to search for them. Put them away in their home after using them.

In the kitchen think containers, containers, containers. Put boxes of pasta, mixes, gelatin, cake decorating supplies, lids to plastic or glass left-over containers and measuring cups in containers so they stay together and aren't falling all over your cupboards.

Look around your home and repurpose things you have. A small dish can hold jewelry or loose change. Put your pierced earrings in pairs using buttons. Use an old tray or platter for bottles of perfume. This keeps everything contained and you don't have to reorganize every time you use them. Put greeting cards in a shoe box, label it and put it on a shelf.

Keep craft supplies together by category. Use baskets, bins or other containers for buttons, beads, paper, yarn, fabric. A tackle box makes an ideal storage container for small items.

Hooks can be strategically placed all over your home for such things as keys, belts, scarves, hats, or leashes for pets. When you need them they can be readily accessible and you haven't wasted time hunting for these items. Everything has stayed organized—how effortless can it be?

Do: decide to organize something. Don't jump right in. First look around and see what you want to organize—don't get discouraged you are only looking around. Then choose one place like a drawer or the kitchen counter and set your timer and put things in their places. When the timer rings—STOP. Do not wear yourself out so you won't come back another day. Break up your organizing by doing it for one hour (or less) and then do something you WANT to do for one and a half hours and repeat.

If it is too overwhelming or you don't have the time to get your home organized maybe it is time to hire a professional organizer. They are experienced, objective, have organizing tips galore and "many hands make light work".