I keep my home organized by using a zone plan. I divide up my house into 10 zones. Each month I work on one area except for July and December. By the end of the year I have touched everything in my home and decided if it is still important and if it is still stored in a logical place. January, I worked in my office zone. http://timespaceorg.blogspot.com/20019/01/organize-your-office-zone.html In February I work in my spare bedroom. My spare bedroom has a closet that stores

As you prepare to work in this zone, make a list of all the items you store there. The list might include: Seasonal decorations Seasonal house items like fans or heaters Extra household items you are not currently using but want to keep Toys or items to pass on to family or friends Out of season clothing or sports equipment Suitcases Archival papers Plan where each category will be housed. Items you do not plan to use in the next year are best stored furthest from the entry.

Laundry zones can be large (a big area in the basement) or small (fold-out doors covering a washer/dryer combo in a closet size area) or somewhere in-between. Depending on the size of the laundry zone this area may have other functions besides doing the wash. If there is room, it makes sense to store ironing supplies in this location. My area is large enough to store pet supplies, recycling bins, cleaning supplies, and some over sized or underused party supplies. All that wor

As you remove winter items, look carefully at each piece. Is it clean? Is it in good repair? Does it still fit? Do you feel good when you wear it? In fact, did you even wear it last season? If it is clean and in good repair but no longer fits or you no longer love it, donate it to a charity. If it is torn or stained, throw it away. If it needs a good cleaning or some repair and you still love it, take care of it now before you put it away for the season. Now, pull out your sp

Take my food processer – please! That food processer with its gadgets (several of which have never been used), takes up almost a whole shelf in one of my cupboards. I maybe use it once a year. It’s cumbersome to set up. The main container has a small crack. It’s hard to clean. A good knife works as well as anything for chopping. A good mixer or immersion blender will take care of about anything else I would want to do. Many kitchen gadgets that promise to make food prep easie

Seriously, I thought by now CDs and DVDs would have gone the way of the old VHS tapes and cassettes. I know a lot of teens do stream music, listen to their music on YouTube with videos, and “bump” music from iPhone to iPhone. Movies are watched from the computer or Netflix. But, I can tell from my clients’ homes (and my own), there are still tons of CDs and DVDs out there. We have quite a few of both at my home but it seems we rarely listen to them or watch the movies. We are

Valentine’s Day has just past. The two cards I received this year are still up on the shelf in the kitchen where I can enjoy them every day. Depending on where you are in your life, you may receive just a few cards or a ton. If you have small children, they may make you cards. If you are a teacher, you will receive cards from your students. You might have a secret pal give you a card at work. Special friends might send you fun cards. A very special someone in your life may gi

This time of year is great for organizing the pantry. It gives you a chance to organize your food items to see what is on hand for the increased amount of cooking that comes with the holidays. The purging of unneeded items as well as organizing what you are keeping will open up space for the extra items you bring in for special holiday dishes. It doesn’t matter if you have a very small pantry of only a few shelves or a large walk-in pantry, after a year things will have gotte

I choose to work in the workshop/garage zone during September. The weather has begun to cool down. Summer equipment is ready to clean and store. Fall yard equipment needs to be accessible. Storage areas can get pretty messy and unorganized in a year. They are not in your main living area and therefore not so visible. It is so easy just to walk in and dump items “just for now.” I actually have two areas to tackle. One is a small room off the carport that also holds the hot wat

The last day of school is almost here! The children are soooo ready for this final day (not to mention the teachers). On the last day, you just know they are going to run home, dump their school stuff in a corner, and run off to play. OK, so give them one day. But that pile in the corner has to be handled and throwing it into a closet is not the answer. Those stacks of old school papers, that whiffy backpack, old supplies, and the end of year mementos have got to be dealt w

You look into your closet and declare, “I don’t have anything to wear!”, yet your closet is bursting to the seams. So much jamming in of clothes makes it impossible to find and coordinate outfits. If this shoe fits (what a terrible pun!), then follow these tips for a closet that makes it easy to get dressed for an outing. Pull out your clothes. If your closet is really large, do this by sections. Sort your clothes by type – tops, long and short sleeve; pants; skirts; dresses;

You look around your home and see little stacks of clutter here and there. How did that happen and how can you control this situation? Everything that is in your home should have a purpose and a “home” where it stays when not in use. Nothing should “float.” Even if you use your laptop in several places, it should have a place where it lives when you want to put it away. Like items should live with like items. This helps you keep track of what you already have. Laundry items s

While it has been a long time since I have had children living in my home, I remember some of the “stuff” that started pouring into our home before the first little guy even arrived. I look around at friends and clients with children and grandchildren and see how the “stuff” can take over parts of the home. Each new child in a household increases family possessions by 30% and that’s just in their preschool age. How can that happen? Extra furniture, clothes, linens, toys, and

The last day of school is almost here! The children are sooooo ready for this final day and the beginning of summer break. On the last day you just know they are going to rush home, dump their school stuff in a corner, and run off to play. OK, so give them one day. But, that pile in the corner has to be handled. Those stacks of old school papers, that whiffy backpack, and the end of year mementos have got to be dealt with before summer can really begin. Clear a space – maybe

I always start with a vision of the room. Since I married in November, this year there are two of us forming this vision. We want this room to have a soothing, calming, and supportive look. We want to feel relaxed and happy in this room. We like soft light yet still desire enough lighting for reading. We want our clothes that are stored in this zone to have designated places that make it easy to dress and do laundry and not clutter our sleeping area. We are going to make some

As you move your winter items, look carefully at each piece. Is it clean? Is it in good repair? Does it still fit? Do you feel good when you wear it? In fact, did you even wear it last season? If it is clean and in good repair but no longer fits or you no longer love it, donate it to a charity. If it is torn or stained, throw it away. If it needs a good cleaning or some repair and you still love it, take care of it now before you put it away for the season. Now, pull out your

Spring has finally arrived. Many people like to do spring cleaning at this time of year. I prefer to use my zone plan where I chose an area in my home and organize and clean deeply in just that area. This year I am in a new home and have chosen to work on my back entry hall and one storage wall in my laundry room as my April zone. My vision for the entry area is to create a space where incoming and outgoing items are held. Current outerwear is left here. Cloth grocery bags, w

It’s not unusual for me to go into homes and find a lot of clothes “clutter.” By this, I mean clothes that are in heaps on the floor, overflowing in laundry baskets, or stacked on any available surface in the bedroom or laundry. This is often not only clothes waiting to be washed but also clothes that have been washed. Let’s look first at the clean clothes clutter. Often the clean clothes are left in stacks because it is difficult to actually put the clothes away. The drawers

Now, when I am talking container, I am talking about anything that holds something. I open up the definition beyond tubs, bins, and baskets and include cabinets, drawers, closets, and bookcases. This past weekend, Rob and I sat down to organize our entertaining credenza. When we got married this fall, we both did a lot of purging. Still, when we looked into the area where we keep our CDs and DVDs it was easy to see there was still an overabundance. We reached an agreement tha

How do you handle this need for cards? Buy as you need them. This is a good system if you are short on storage space and are organized enough to get out there early enough to find the perfect card and mail it on time. Buy as you need them, but also have an eye out for that perfect card for someone special. Buy cards that appeal to you when you see them – you can never find the perfect one when you really want it. Buy when you see good ones. Really stock up when there are sale