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Get {and stay} Organized

By Amy Patterson

The key to organization is this – start small – yield big. How many of us have started an intense organization mission only to lose our motivation and call it quits halfway through? I know I have. Then, of course, the remainder of the junk gets piled back up – in the same place it was in originally (only a slightly smaller pile). But, we shouldn’t let this discourage us! Rome, my friends, was not built in a day. Likewise, your basement (which likely holds decades of stuff), cannot be Martha Stewart ready in a day either! Here are the best tips to organize any space in your home in a timely and reasonable fashion.

Start small – Aim to tackle a small amount (in its entirety) every day, week, weekend or month – pick the time frame that is most realistic for you and make a plan. Chances are, once you see the time frame it’ll be completed in, you’ll be encouraged enough to work through the plateaus and stay on track.

Junk the junk – Get rid of junk as you go. When’s the last time you wore that sweater gifted to you four Christmases ago? If you know you don’t need it or won’t use it, don’t spend time organizing it.

Sort and label – Labels are your friends. So as you’re sorting through boxes or bags or whatever method your room was previously “organized” in, create labels for the new system. Labels will prevent you from tearing all of your hard work apart while trying to remember where you put that one little thing.

Store sensibly – If you were organizing your kitchen, chances are you wouldn’t choose to store your dish soap by your oven. Organize and place things where you will use them; this will save you time in this phase, and down the road.

Do an annual inventory – Items like food products, over the counter medications and toiletry items have a limited shelf life. Make it a point to go through (at least) annually and toss out expired items that may have gotten pushed to the back of a cabinet.

Tags: DIY, organize

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