Organizing 101

A friend of mine, who is also new to the blog world selling adorable custom tutu's, stopped by yesterday and mentioned she had referred someone to my blog for organizing tips. I was floored, except I haven't really posted any organizing tips yet hehe. I LOOOVE organizing, and over the years I think I've learned a few good things. It all began with my teeny tiny home, 966 square feet. I used to be so overwhelmed with everything in stacks and piles all over the place because nothing had a place. Cleaning was a real treat, it was mostly just moving piles and stacks from one place to another. Until one day I found the wonderful world of blogs, yay! I had no idea how much helpful organizing information was out there just waiting to be soaked into my scrambled brain and applied to my scrambled home!

The first and most important step to being organized is understanding what being organized really means. An organized home is a home where everything has a home and gets put back in that home when you're done using it. Most homes have so much stuff that there just isn't enough square footage to have a home for everything, that's where purging comes in. I know, it's hard to part with grandma's hand made quilt or Uncle Bob's favorite recliner that no one else wanted. It's hard decision making time. Stuff that serves no functional purpose is just that, stuff. Stuff clutters your home and clutters your mind. It makes you grumpy and your home impossible to clean and organize. So take a deep breath, remember how all this stuff is making your life harder and.... GET RID OF IT!

Once all of your stuff is gone and all that is left are the things that you need to make your home function, and a few things that just make you happy, it's on to the next step. Find a home for all those goodies! A home for something should make sense. Having your coffee filters in a hall closet doesn't make sense if you make coffee in the kitchen. If you drink coffee everyday, you want them not only in the kitchen, but within close reach of your coffee maker (preferably alongside the coffee hehe) Things like pens and scissors can have multiple homes because they are used in more than one place. I have a pen jar beside my computer and one by my paper controller file box (I tell you about later) in my kitchen. In each of those jars are also a pair of scissors along with by my sewing machine in my bedroom and in my silverware drawer for use in the kitchen.

While you're finding homes for everything, another thing to keep in mind is you can easily make storage where there was none before. Shelves, baskets, dollar store plastic shoe boxes, dollar store plastic baskets, cardboard boxes, tissue boxes, votive holders, and vases all make great storage and they look nice too! There are also an infinite number of DIY ideas for pretty much every storage problem imaginable! For instance, using toilet paper rolls to round up USB cables and game controller wires.Another thing to remember is that one thing can be used a million different ways. A shelf can be a shoe rack, an old votive holder can hold loose jewelry, a butter container can hold small art supplies. You can use them as is, or take time to make them pretty. . . Modge Podge and scrapbook paper can make a HUGE difference on so many different things! As I come across these projects on the web, or think of them I will share them with you! I hope this can be a place you can come to for inspiration and information to simplify your home!