Tips for Organizing on Your Own While Stuck at Home
This by far is a unique time in our world. Most of us are required to stay home; working from home, teaching our kids from home and learning a new way of life. For many, this means more time to focus on home projects that have long been left untouched. For some, these times also mean a hit to our finances. Life has turned into a delicate balancing act.
One project many people will focus on is clearing the clutter that is surrounding them in their home. With so much time now being spent among the clutter in your home, are you in need of some guidance on how to tackle it? How about some budget friendly tips for organizing your home? If I can’t come to you and help, the least I can do is give you some tips!
When taking on an organizing project yourself, consider the following:
Don’t start with something emotional or overly time consuming. This is a great way to make your home organizing journey come to a halt or take way longer than you want.
If you live with others, include them in the process. This may even be as simple as asking their opinion about what to do with certain things or their ideas on how a space might function better.
When clearing out a space, sort the items into a few general categories. Most commonly, I do keep, trash, recycle, donate and shred.
Remove any items not staying in the area. Take trash and recycling out (preferably outside to the curb!) and contain shred items to a box. Since donation centers are closed, set aside these items so they’re out of the way.
Once the area you’re organizing is cleared out, give it a good cleaning to get a fresh start
Categorize to the best of your ability the ‘keep’ pile. This will give you an idea of how much space you need for each type of item and also draws your attention to how many of a given item you may have.
If you’re organizing a closet, this may look like categories such as work clothes, church clothes, casual clothes, pajamas and sorting by season. If it’s a kitchen, you may want to categorize by function such as baking, mixing bowls, every dining times, appliance, etc.
Thoughtfully replace items. This means things such as placing items that are infrequently used it the back, or harder to reach places and putting things back in a way that can be easily kept up. You also want to store items of one category together in a space that they all fit.
Are you embarking on a paper organizing journey? Here are some tips for that too:
Try to gather all the papers you can that need to be organized to a clear area. Even if this means the floor, you’re going to need space to sort it all out
Get a trash can and a recycling can; you could even use an empty box for sorting. You may also want a letter opener if you have a lot of mail!
Sort the papers into categories, using the trash can and recycling can in the process. You may want to consider the following categories: trash, recycle, shred, file, requires attention.
Keep in mind guidelines for recycling in your county. In Frederick county, any paper can be recycled as long as it doesn’t have grease, food residue or wax coating on it. Even things such as glue, tape, staples and envelope windows are okay!
Know the limits of your shredder if you have one. Don’t burn it out by shredding too much paper at once or for too long. Be sure to also know how to open and empty it! (Keep in mind also that Frederick county doesn’t accept shredded paper in their recycling. Consider burning it or using it as small pet bedding!)
Create a shred pile that matches your comfort level. If you don’t feel comfortable recycling documents with your address, then don’t.
Store files for only a necessary amount of time. Don’t bog down your home with unnecessary files! View this document I’ve put together with guidelines on how long to keep certain types of documents.
Trying to organize on a budget? It may be easier than you think!
Always declutter before trying to determine what storage products you think you may need. Most people have enough storage buckets, totes, baskets, etc to keep their items, they just are usually not being use effectively.
Getting rid of items is a great way to save money. The less stuff you have, the less stuff you need to store or find a home for!
Reuse/re-imagine items in your home that can be used for storage. This could be as simple as a cardboard box for storing items in an attic, a spare tupperware container, a nice box from a product (like those sturdy iphone boxes) or some storage containers you purchased but aren’t actually using!
Places like the dollar store and Walmart have more affordable options for storage and will deliver to your home! You may also want to check some local selling apps to see what kinds of stuff your neighbors are getting rid of
I wish you all the luck on organizing your home! I hope you’re able to make some progress during this time of quarantine. If you have any questions or want additional advice; you can always feel free to reach out to me! I’m more than happy to help any way that I can.