Fall! There is something about Fall that makes me “feel” like cleaning out and re-organizing. Now, to get transparent, I do not NORMALLY get to “feeling” like cleaning or cleaning out the same level. I think my mom warped me as a child! ha! Every fall as far back as I remember, my mom threw open the windows around the house and began cleaning out the messies, reorganizing everything, and gearing up for the busyness of the holiday season. I have now been married for almost 23 years. I STILL find myself instinctively throwing open my windows and grabbing my Pine Sol and cleaning bucket!
Are things driving you crazy too? My house is in need of some attention. There are no desperate housewives around here, but there is a DESPERATE HOUSE! ha!
Are you ready to get things organized, but have no idea where to begin? Let’s do it together. Ready?
–> First things first. You may have heard that the best way to get organized is to start somewhere. Find the area in your home that bothers you the most. I usually sit in my family room or in my bedroom or in the bathroom and just LOOK. Usually there is a part of the room that just makes me grind my teeth. That is the one that I hit. It might be the baseboards in the bathroom. The counter in the kitchen. The piles in the bedroom. I sit and look. Then, I make a list of the things that bother me (I like checking off a list so I SEE what I have gotten done–otherwise, I feel like I lose time in the vacuum of time that disappears with a project.) Set aside a small amount of time each morning or afternoon to hit your list. All it takes is a 15 minute increment of time. It makes a huge difference in just a small amount of time.
–> Attack bit-by-bit! If the top of your desk is your biggest frustration, begin by taking one piece of paper off at a time and either read it, file it, or throw it away. Keep taking one sheet of paper off at a time and before you know it your desk will be clear! If there is an important deadline or date you need to remember, mark it down on your calendar now.
–> Clean deeper. After you’ve cleared off the visual mess. Begin deep cleaning. If it is your office, first clean the top of your desk, then start digging in the drawers. Go through each file folder and purge anything that is no longer needed. Stop and take a break after you finish going through one file folder. Don’t try to tackle the whole project at once or you may give up altogether.
–> Purge! When I think back, I really believe that the reason my mother’s house was so much cleaner than my house is because she regularly purged everything. She was not sentimental about all of the STUFF. Now, I am not quite ready for her level of purging, but this is the perfect time of the year to purge away the extras. Clothes! Clothes closets and drawers are a huge problem many homes have. Use the same process for purging. Create piles on the floor or across your bed. One to keep, one to give away, one to fix, and one to throw away. Go through each piece of clothing and put the clothes in one of the four piles. A good rule of thumb is that if you haven’t worn something in six months, you probably won’t and can get rid of it. Same thing with togys. Children’s toys can also take over a house. Have the children help you go through all of their toys. The ones they never play with, those they’ve outgrown, and anything broken can be gotten rid of. The rest that they love and they play with can be put in bins or otherwise stored in their bedroom.
Wouldn’t it be great to have your whole house organized once and for all? You can do it with just tiny bits of time and a little bit of elbow grease. Use this strategy for each area of your home that is cluttered and for each room of your house. Take advantage of this gorgeous time of year and let’s get organized!
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