Aug 03

Garage Organizing Simple Tips and Tricks

By Sherry Borsheim Home Organizing, Uncategorized No Comments

Don’t let your garage be your secret place to hoard clutter. Let it be your organizing oasis instead!

organizing a garage Garage organization presents a number of very unique challenges. This is because these spaces often become the designated dumping grounds for a variety of miscellaneous items. However, it is possible to turn a garage that resembles a disaster zone into a clean multifunctional space that even has room for the primary item that it was designed to store. The car.

Get Rid of the Junk

Because garages tend to be the places where unused items get placed, these spaces are particularly prone to clutter. Therefore, removing this clutter can be a huge undertaking in itself. If you have a number of unused items that are still of value it may be useful to have a garage sale. However, if there are few unused items of value a visit to the Salvation Army may be more appropriate.

Categorization before Organization

Once you have removed all of the clutter from the garage, it is a good idea to categorize all of your remaining items. Some examples of categories that these items may be separated into could include automotive, tools, sports equipment and cleaning supplies. By storing similar items together it makes it much easier to locate them when they are needed later on.

Easy to See Items are Easy to Find

When developing organizational systems for a garage, keeping the most important items out in the open makes them easy to find. In addition to this, it is also easier to put these items away in the correct spot when finished with them. By using hanging hooks for tools, shelves for larger items and see through containers for screws and nails you will be able to locate items much easier when they are needed.

Keep the Floor Clear

Elevating everything makes cleaning the garage floor much easier. This also helps to reduce hiding spots where small items can become lost or insects can hide and build nests. Even large tool chests can be placed on wheeled carts. This allows them to be cleaned underneath and moved around easily when needed.

Maintain Organization

Organizing a messy garage can be an intimidating task, which often gets put off for long periods of time. However, maintaining organization is much more manageable and takes almost no time at all. Once you have finished using an item in your garage, make sure that it gets returned to its rightful spot. Those who make a habit of putting things back where they belong tend to spend much less time looking for these same items later on.

Jul 30

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Efficient Storage For Organizing a Small Apartment

By Sherry Borsheim Home Office Organization, Home Organizing, Quick Organizing Tips No Comments

organizing a small apartment

Getting more out of your small space = more out of life!

While there are numerous advantages to living within a city centre, many apartment and condo dwellers are forced to compromise square footage for a convenient location. This makes efficient organization especially important, as small spaces that become cluttered can suddenly seem even smaller. Organizing a small apartment can be particularly challenging as they tend to lack the traditional storage areas that are found in most homes (e.g. attics, basements, etc.). However, good organization can be achieved in small living spaces by following some basic principles.

Organizing a Small Apartment

Wall Shelves

One of the best ways to increase storage in apartments with small floor plans is install lots of wall shelving. Shelves allow you to make use of empty wall space for storing things like books, pictures, ornaments and other items.

Furniture with Storage

Organizing a small apartment with furniture that contains extra storage is great way to go. Common storage units may come in the form of a trunk or a chest that can also function as a small table. In addition to this, many sofa beds contain storage spaces where items like extra blankets and pillows can be kept.

Under the Bed

Another good place to keep certain items is underneath the bed. Things that are kept here remain out of the way, yet can still easily be accessed when needed. However, it is important to make sure that these items remain protected or they could become dusty, or even damaged when stored over long periods of time.

Hanging Hooks

An efficient way to cut down on clutter is by adding hooks to the walls of each room. Hooks near the entrance can store coats and keys. Hooks in the bathroom can store towels and robes, while hooks in the kitchen can store dishcloths and certain utensils. By having hooks available you will be more likely to put items back where they belong once you have finished with them.

Drawers

An easy way to store a large amount of items is to have a lot of drawers at your disposal. Large television stands are a good choice because they are generally designed with extra spaces for items like electronics, games, remotes and DVD’s. Plastic drawers on closet floors are another good way to add extra storage space when organizing a small apartment or condo. Finish up organizing a small apartment by cleaning up your closets.

Ready to start organizing a small apartment?

By following the above steps you are likely to find that turning a small condo into a living area that seems quite large is actually not that difficult. With a little bit of time, foresight and creativity you will find that your small city apartment can quickly become a space that feels a lot larger than it actually is.

What is your best tip for organizing a small apartment? Share it in the comments below?

Jul 26

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How To Flatten A Mountain Of Paperwork

By Sherry Borsheim Business Organizing, Home Office Organization, Organizing Paper Files, Quick Organizing Tips No Comments

Are you living your own personal nightmare buried under mounds and mounds of unfiled paperwork?

You don’t have to work in an office to feel like you are drowning in paperwork. A typical household must keep track of bills, receipts, memos, forms and records. This can become overwhelming for anybody. However, this nightmare can be overcome by following a few simple steps. By learning the proper strategies even the most unorganized person can bring order to their paperwork pileups.

paperwork

THROW IT OUT

Often times a large percentage of household paperwork is no longer useful. By eliminating unnecessary documents, the mountain suddenly becomes much smaller and more manageable. For the most part, any documents that have not been looked at for years can probably be thrown out.

FILE IT

Once you have gotten rid of all the unnecessary documents it is time to organize your paperwork. For this step it is vital to have a filing drawer or cabinet. In your filing drawer you need to develop a categorization system (e.g. tax documents, mortgage documents, monthly bills, etc.). Once this system has been developed, go through all of your paperwork and insert each document into the file based on the category that it belongs to.

OPEN MAIL NEAR YOUR RECYCLING BIN

Every day when opening the mail, make a point of doing it near your recycling bin. Anything that is not necessary should immediately get thrown out. This may include, but is not limited to, flyers, catalogs and unnecessary inserts that often come with bills. Once you have done this, immediately sort your mail.

FILE EVERY DAY

Many people hate filing. However, dislike for this task can be partly overcome with an efficiently organized file system. Once paperwork has been organized the task will become much easier. By filing documents that come in every day it becomes a small task that does not seem so daunting.

USE ELECTRONIC DOCUMENTS

Rather than having bills sent by mail each month, set up e-billing accounts with the companies that you regularly make payments to. This may include your phone, tv, insurance or credit card bills. By eliminating bills that physically arrive in the mail, we automatically have less paperwork deal with. Important documents that come electronically can be stored on a computer hard drive.

REGULAR MAINTENANCE

Make a point of going through your filing system every few months to discard any documents that are no longer needed. Doing this will help to ensure that the filing system does not become overloaded with unnecessary documents.

The reason that we hang on to most documents is because we consider them to have some sort of importance. Therefore, it is essential that we are able to find them easily when needed. By keeping an efficient filing system the likelihood of loosing important documents decreases significantly. This will ultimately reduce the headaches that are commonly associated with unorganized household paperwork.

Sherry Borsheim