Wall space is often the most overlooked real estate in your home, especially in closets and mudroom areas. Hooks are a great solution for hoodies, backpacks, keys, handbags, umbrellas… the items we all throw on the floor or table when walking through the door. Hooks can be decorative or utility-like, but most functional. There are hanging solutions for stick cleaners like your Swiffer, brooms, small vacuums… Let’s use this “real estate” and get hung up!
Weekly Tip
The key to organizing is to edit, then sort, then place. If you don’t have room for it, don’t love it or don’t use it, donate it. Break up the daunting task into smaller, manageable chunks. Even 15 minutes a day can chip away at the project – in time you will cover it all.
“The beauty of the house is order. The blessing of the house is contentment. The glory of the house is hospitality.”
“If I were asked to name the chief benefit of the house, I should say: the house shelters day-dreaming, the house protects the dreamer, the house allows one to dream in peace.”
“We shape our dwellings, and afterwards our dwellings shape us.”
“Home interprets heaven: home is heaven for beginners… is yours?”
“A comfortable house is a great source of happiness. It ranks immediately after health and a good conscience.”
“A thousand days at home are a pleasure; an hour away from home is a trial.” Can you say this about your home?
Perhaps in college surrounded by friends discussing hopes and dreams… the possibilities were endless and exciting! Where might we live? Would we get married? O! the career plans, families and adventures that awaited!
I think it’s safe to assume none of us ever said “I hope I have a big house full of things that I bought just because they were on sale.” We never talked about our intentions to own so much stuff that we would spend our free time trying to organize it all. No one said, “I hope my future kids have so many toys that they can’t pick them up because there is nowhere to put them!”
Why do we trade in our hopes, dreams, goals and plans for things that will eventually end up in a garage sale, consignment store or landfill? We pull this baggage behind us as we go through life thinking about the next thing we can add to it! Stop doing that!
I still love shoes and handbags, kitchen gadgets that slice and dice… but I don’t like the idea that someone would trade in special hopes and dreams for something that can be bought. I like my stuff but I am SO OVER IT!
Give me passion, pursuits, wholeness, healing, compassion, audacious goals, love, grace, kindness… give me those instead, and let me not be distracted by anything less.
Are closets and cabinets overflowing with never used possessions while everyday items cover your home? What is in that confusing hall closet-vanity thingie? Has emotional clutter stolen your focus and zapped your creativity, productivity and enthusiasm? O yeah! that asymmetrical under-the-staircase junk repository. Tossing and turning all night long? There is that messy forgotten bedroom nook…
It’s never too late to change all of that into a positive, stress-free lifestyle… make that lifestyle change today by calling a professional! organiZare can help and allow you time for family and fun! Think of it as a personal trainer for your home. Refresh, try something new, help is a good thing and just a call away!
Is your electronic device your ball & chain? It could be a compulsive behavior says Christine Carter, a sociologist. Schedule a small block of time several times a day to check, respond to and properly file those emails.
Always check before heading into a big task or work project so you don’t break focus.
Keep dinner and date night separate from emails and social media. Gaze into the eyes and listen intently to the words of the one you love.
Each time we go from one thing to the next, our brain has to go back three or four steps to reorganize before it can move forward. This is inefficient and stressful. We are much more effective when we focus on one thing at a time.
The act of writing a to-do list doesn’t really allow you to let it go. Your unconscious mind worries about unfinished tasks. Don’t spend valuable time writing a long list.
Telling your brain when you are going to do something creates a sense of calm. Use a calendar for scheduling specific work tasks, personal time or meal planning.
A random square of extra space full of clutter and piles? With a nice bookshelf and some decor baskets or bins, a redo turns it into a cool, comfortable enclave for reading before bed.
This goes for a child’s room as well… why clutter it with a pile of toys? Organize those wonderful classics and colorful stories into an inviting cozy corner.
$200 worth of storage bins for what?
If you start with the product you spend money on things that don’t fit your needs. Narrow down the belongings so you know what you need and the sizes you need BEFORE you shop.