January is a kick start to another year and after the busy holiday season it’s a great time to tackle those organizing projects that you have been putting off from 2015.
Here are ten easy tips for getting organized in 2016.
- Evaluate what you have. As you’re packing holiday gifts and decorations away it’s an ideal time to take an inventory of what to keep and what to donate to a charity. A good rule of thumb is when one new item comes into your home, then to donate or give an item away. By doing this you will have less of a chance for clutter.
- Identify the space you want to organize. Start with one room or one area of a room. Organizing too much at once may make you overwhelmed and want to give up. Start with small steps and tackle one space or room at a time.
- Measure the area you want to have items stored on shelves. Decide if you want free-standing shelving or wall-mounted shelving. How tall can you store in the space and what is the width and depth.
- Once you are decided on the size of the storage area decide on the type of shelving construction. Most popular materials are wire shelves, steel shelving, wood or plastic.
- Start at the bottom shelf and work your way to the top. Heavier items should be stored below and lighter, smaller items higher. The items you store and retrieve most often should be placed at a comfortable height for you which is typically between your knees and shoulders. We call this the “golden zone” or in baseball vernacular the “strike zone”.
- Add as many shelves as you can and compress the empty air space between shelves to maximize the total surface area of the shelf storage space.
- Compartmentalize items in bins (plastic bins, cardboard, cloth or wood) and label the contents in each bin for ease of identification of the contents.
- If your shelving is free standing add wheels to make it mobile and easy to move for cleaning underneath.
- Accessorize your shelving with hooks, liners, enclosures to make every inch of available space work harder for you.
- After your first project is completed, take a step back and enjoy the feeling of being a bit more organized and knowing that you have a home for everything and everything is in its place. With your new found confidence of conquering clutter you will now be ready to tackle another area of your home.