We are still in the deep chill of winter. For those of us who miss the longer days of sunlight and warmer temperatures, this may be a good time for nesting and getting your home in order for the brighter days to come. I will share with you a couple of daily tips that can make a big difference.
- Every night before I go to bed, I empty out the garbage cans from the bathrooms into the main can in the kitchen. If the kitchen garbage can is getting full, I will take the bag downstairs to the garage so I don’t have to complete the task tomorrow. No matter how hectic my day is, I feel like I have control over a slice of my home by keeping the garbage cans empty. OK, call me crazy, but it works.
- Mail is sorted every day and the junk mail is shredded immediately. Now that I have turned this task over to my husband/organizing assistant/office manager, I am delighted to see the consistency with which he maintains this task, thus keeping our foyer clutter free of excess mail. At night when I return from work, I walk into a foyer with minimal papers and clutter. Our office is organized with folders for bills to be paid, pending and other assorted filing needs that suit our lifestyle. Every family needs to figure this out for themselves, a cookie-cutter solution may not work for you.
- I seldom go to bed with dirty dishes in the sink. I hate waking up the morning after entertaining in my home to find a kitchen filled with dirty dishes. I have a small kitchen with limited storage space. When it’s cluttered it feels claustrophobic. It’s easier to take the time before bedtime to clean up. The next morning we are not faced with a sink of dirty dishes.
- Figure out a laundry schedule that works for you and stick to it. If you find yourself making an extra stop at CVS to pick up a six-pack of tube socks on your way home from work because you have no clean socks, you may want to evaluate your laundry schedule. I don’t own a lot of clothes. I probably am one of the few women I know who has empty space in my closets. Having less clothing is liberating and easier to manage. I know what I have; therefore, I know when I need to wash them. I will never be “that woman” with a closet filled with clothes that are never worn, tags still hanging from them, in sizes that don’t fit. That does not mean that I don’t understand the angst that clients go through to pare down. Been there, done that and I did it with the help of a friend. And yes, there were tears shed.
- Those holiday cards that you still have on your desk or kitchen table? You know the ones—with the family pictures of your friends’ fabulous vacations (usually taken on a beach) and everyone is smiling? Time to toss them. Now! And while you are at it, it’s ok to toss the labels that you have been saving from all the charities that send you mail in December looking for a donation. Be honest with yourself, do you have enough address labels to take you into the next millennium? If yes, time to toss about 75 percent of those labels.
I welcome your feedback about what you do daily to keep your home organized. Call, text or e-mail; I would love to hear from you.
Happy Organizing!
By Eileen Bergman
Eileen Bergman is a professional organizer, a proud member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO) and the Institute for Challenging Disorganization (ICD). Eileen is listed in the resource directory for the Hoarding Disorder Resource and Training Group. Eileen may be reached at 973-303-3236 or [email protected].
