When it’s hot outside, head down to the basement and do some organizing. Clearing out a storage area can be a daunting task, but if you carve out time to focus on the space with some specific steps in mind, you can make a lot of progress in a little time. Here are some tips to get you going…
- Don’t look at the big picture. Start in one area and focus your organizing efforts on one item at a time. Looking around at all there is to do will only cause overwhelm.
- Eliminate unwanted items. Sort outgoing items into 3 categories: Trash, Donate and Sell. Use your smartphone to quickly snap photos and easily upload items you can sell onto eBayClassifieds.com.
- Get like items together. When you’re organizing, remember to find place for everything and get everything in its place. For example, keepsakes, gift wrapping, camping equipment, holiday items etc… It all needs a place to belong.
- Aim to contain. Determine what you are planning to keep and store, then purchase good sturdy containers to house those items. Find a good multi-purpose container that stacks well and holds plenty, shown are Sterilite 66qt Clearview Containers.
- Shelves create easy access. Containers are great, but if you stack them too high, it’s hard to access that bottom container. Consider putting shelves in your storage area. Place the containers on them, label and…you’re organized!
- Call for help. When you feel like it’s more than you want to take on, schedule an appointment with the professional organizers of Chaos To Order. We have great suggestions for creative use of space, what containers work best, and how long you should keep things. We are always happy to come and bring your chaos to order.
Spring is here and it’s time to let the sun shine in after a long winter. Open blinds, windows and doors to freshen up your home with spring air–it will energize you to start spring cleaning. Here are five quick tips to movtivate you:
- Clean one room at a time. Doing odds and ends in every room will leave you frustrated and feeling unaccomplished. Start in one room and finish it–even if you have the urge to move around.
- Clean out your refrigerator. Have a “Mustgo Night” where everything in the fridge must go. Wipe down the shelves, and don’t forget to vacuum the vents to keep your refrigerator running efficiently.
- Weed out your closets making decisions about each and every item. This should be done every spring and fall. Read more about our closet clean-out here.
- Lighten the load and divvy out chores to the entire family. Make the project fun by setting goals and giving rewards.
- Don’t bite off more than you can chew. When you’re motivated, don’t pull everything out of the closet or cabinets and then lose your steam. Instead, work one section or shelf at a time weeding out, containerizing, and wiping down.
Is your basement filled with clutter? Hot days are the perfect time to get down into your cool basement and organize. Don’t get overwhelmed by a basement filled with clutter, you’ve got to start somewhere. Make a plan: How much of grandmother’s furniture are you going to save? How long have you been saving all that stuff for the upcoming yard sale you’ve never had? Do you get lost in a sea of keepsakes and mementos? Remember, if you keep too much, you can’t find what’s truly important. Weed out, organize and contain items in your basement. Plastic bins with lids and labels are perfect for the stuff you want to keep, but wait–don’t go out and buy the bins first, you’ll end up with container clutter! Start by weeding out. Determine what you can toss, what you can donate or sell online. Have a plan in place, if not, you may get down into that basement and just push piles from one place to another. If you can’t seem to get thru it, remember to call the office at 847-825-8400, we are always here to help!
On Saturday we sprung the clocks forward in observance of Daylight Savings Time. My question to you this week is: What are you going to do with that extra hour? It’s going to be light later and the weather is going to be getting warmer (hopefully). It’s time to take the monkey off your back and dive into that organizing project you’ve been putting off all winter. Don’t be afraid to journey up into the attic or down to the basement, here’s a few tips to get you started:
- Make some concrete decisions before you begin the organizing project. What are your plans with Grandma’s old furniture? Maybe the time is right to get it out once and for all, it’s not doing much good cluttering up your basement. What other items are down there that you need to make some difficult decisions about?
- Block out the time. Set a timer and keep distractions to a minimum.
- Don’t look at the whole space, you will quickly get overwhelmed.
- Start in one corner. Look around the room for the place you’ve been avoiding, that’s the best place to start the project. Use the motivation you have to forge through the tough stuff.
- Schedule an appointment for a charitable donation pick up. Having a monthly scheduled pick up also works great. I keep a closet just for donations, when they come, we empty the closet out.
- If it’s a really big project, you may need to either get a dumpster or arrange for a pick up from a company like Got Junk.
- Get a box of Hefty Cinch Sak Bags (my favorite). Use the bags to divide up trash, items to donate, things that belong elsewhere.
- Remember, if you keep too much, you can’t find what is really important!
When it’s hot outside, head down to the basement and do some organizing. Clearing out a storage area can be a daunting task, but if you carve out time to focus on the space with some specific steps in mind, you can make a lot of progress in a little time. Here are some tips to get you going…
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