Organize + Energize: 4 Organizing Projects to Tackle This Spring
Kristin MacRae, GoLocalProv Organizing Expert
Organize + Energize: 4 Organizing Projects to Tackle This Spring
Spring is here and I’m giving you 4 more projects to tackle. You’ll be less overwhelmed if you break these projects into seasonal categories.
Schedule these projects on your calendar in April, May and June.
GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLASTKitchen. Don’t look at your kitchen as one whole project. If you do, you’ll get overwhelmed, stressed and you’ll shut down and nothing will get accomplished. Break this project down into a couple of days. Start with the food pantry and refrigerator, and then move onto the cupboards. How many coffee mugs do you really need? Aside from food and housewares, is your kitchen a chaotic and disorganized space for paper, random items and a drop stop for everything when you walk into your home? Evaluate how you are functioning in this space. Think about what needs to stay in the kitchen and what can live in other organized areas in the home?
Bathrooms. Do you want to find extra time in the morning? Take a look at the systems in your bathroom. How many items do you have to touch to find the item you need? Is your makeup scattered all over the counter and disorganized? Create working organized systems in the bathroom and you’ll shave time off your morning routine.
Linen closets. A linen closet can be home to a variety of mixed category items. That doesn’t mean it has to be disorganized. How many sets of sheets do you really need? Get rid of sheets that are ripped or have lost their elasticity. What other items are you storing in this closet? Are they contained or just thrown all over this space? Categorize, itemize and store like items together contained in bins.
Garage. Are you able to park your car in the garage? Is it difficult to locate something when you need it? Has your garage become a storage shed with random items that you no longer use? The garage doesn’t have to be a chaotic mess. Empty the entire contents of the garage. Categorize everything on the lawn and think about how you want to function going forward. You’ll be able to use the garage for what it was intended to be used for, to park your car.
I don’t think anybody wants to be stuck in the house organizing in the summer months. Now is the time to tackle these projects. Don’t wait until next January to tackle every room in your home. Once you have tackled these projects, you’ll never have to spend time organizing them again. You’ll create working organized systems that will be maintained throughout the year.
10 Minute Organizing Projects
Spices
As you take all of the spices out of the cabinet, check for expiration dates and smell for potency. Categorize and itemize your spices to how you utilize them. Contain them in a spice rack that fits the space where they are kept. Don’t purchase a spice rack until you are finished organizing. You want to measure the space and make sure the rack fits and holds all of your spices. There are a variety of spice racks out there. Choose the one that best suits what you need it to hold.
Makeup
How many items do you touch in the morning to find what you need? You want to be as efficient as possible in the morning and having your makeup organized will be a big time saver. Do you have difficulty deciding what to keep or toss? When is it time to throw away makeup? Aline Sarkis, a Providence, RI-based makeup artist, states lipstick can be used for 2 years or until it starts to smell like a crayon. Mascara is good for 2-3 months. Eye shadow is good for 2 years and foundation is good for 1-2 years. Aline also states that some makeup and skincare will be marked with an expiration date of 6-12 months. Begin counting once you start using the product
Women: Purse
Depending on the size of your purse, and what you keep in your purse, this may take you a little longer than 10 minutes. Empty the entire contents of the purse on a table. Declutter, categorize, and itemize the contents. Break this process down and take it one category at a time. Develop a system going forward so the inside of your purse doesn’t look like a cyclone hit it. Contain receipts, gift cards, money, and makeup.
Men: Wallet
It’s time to empty all of the receipts out of your wallet. Do you also store receipts and random items in your car? While you are tackling this project, head over to your vehicle and declutter the center console and glove compartment.
Underwear drawer
If you aren’t using drawer organizers, you should start now. They are very inexpensive and will maximize the space in the drawer. How many of you wear the same item over and over again? With drawer organizers in place, you will be able to see everything you own and can categorize and itemize. Nothing will ever get pushed to the bottom of the drawer again.
Under the bathroom sink
If you haven’t taken everything out of this area in awhile, you may find some scary items under the sink. Empty the contents, itemize, and categorize. Throw away anything that you can’t recognize. Contain items in containers that fit the space like a puzzle. Once again, utilizing containers will maximize the space and allow you to store more items. Develop a simple system where you can locate items and locate them quickly.
Pets
Ninety percent of my clients have a pet. It’s time to organize their belongings. Medicine, leashes, bandanas, clothes, dishes, food, etc. Take this time to also organize any paper work related to your pet. Set up a filing system for your pet. Keep their medical records, rabies and vaccination information categorized in these files.
Junk drawer
Nobody says you can’t have a junk drawer. Junk drawers can be organized. You just have to think about if you need everything in this drawer and if there is a better place to store the items. Remember, store like items together. If you have tools in the junk drawer, maybe you should keep them with the tools in the basement.
Office supply drawer
So many people have office supply drawers that are out of control. Money is wasted on purchasing duplicate office supplies. It’s very difficult to figure out what you need to purchase if items are scattered all over the office and are disorganized.
Top of your office desk
If you can’t see the top of your desk, take this time to focus on this area and categorize and itemize what is there. Do you have a working filing system in place? If so, once your desk is cleared, make a habit of filing once a day or a couple of times a week. If your system isn’t working for you, it may be time for you to re-evaluate your system and make it work for the way you function.
