How To Get Organized

Are you shaking your head because there are magazines all over, the kitchen counters are so full you can’t use them, and the front hall is packed to the rafters with shoes, boots, coats, backpacks and lunch boxes? You have no clue what’s for dinner tonight, let alone what appointments are scheduled for this week.

Are you supposed to be picking up the kids at school or getting a pedicure? Don't know, can't remember? You need to get organized and you need to get organized fast.

Living in an organized home and living an organized life is so much more pleasant than tripping over a pair of sneakers every time you walk in the house or missing dentist appointments.

If the idea of getting organized sounds overwhelming, then start small.

Get A Planner/Calendar/Organizer:

There are many tools to organize your life on the internet. Most emails like Hotmail, Yahoo and Gmail have calendars, to-do lists, appointments and all sorts of ways to help you get organized. You can also purchase organizational applications for your phone and computer.

There are many, many free online calendars and planners. Look at zohoplanner.com, keepandshare.com, cozi.com, and dayviewer.com. Many can be synced with your phone.

Home Organization Ideas:

There are many areas in the home that need organizing and here are just a few.

Magazine Storage:

If you have magazines cluttering up space get a decorative basket or magazine rack to keep them in, but only keep the newest ones. Don't hang on to old magazines you've finished, this will only cause the clutter to grow and make organization harder to achieve. If you find a recipe or home decorating idea you want to keep, tear them out and put them in a file then recycle the rest.

Organize the Kitchen Counters:

Kitchen counters are a landing place for a lot of stuff. Not only kitchen stuff but stuff that belongs in other rooms. Here are some solutions you can try for getting those counters organized.

• First - clear the counters off and clean them - Aah, doesn't that feel better.
• Now take all like items and put them together.
• If there is anything that belongs in another room - put those in a separate pile and put them back in their proper places later.

Now it's time to put things back. Not everything has to return to the counter, if you don't use an item much store it in the cupboard or cabinet where you keep other like items. If you have multiple items of the same thing only in a different theme; choose the theme you want and go with it. Give the rest away. Here are a few more ideas to do.

• If the kitchen counter is the logical place for mail - get a basket or type of bill organizer that will fit nicely on the counter.
• If you have appliances that get used everyday keep them out but arrange them nicely in a convenient spot close to where they are needed.
• If your drawer space is limited, get a nice utensil holder.
• If the kids do homework at the kitchen counter, have them put books back in their schoolbag or where ever they belong.
• If you have little pieces of papers laying around the counters with emergency phone numbers on them, get a book and neatly write everything down.
• Cereal boxes go in the cupboard and dirty dishes go in the dishwasher.

Do You Need Additional Help?

There's a great organizing book that is worth its weight in DayTimers and PalmPilots. It helps you figure out an organizing system that will really work for you, not a system based on cookie-cutter filing concepts or special storage units.

The book goes over figuring out your goals and determining what obstacles are holding you back, divides the space into "zones" of activity (a kitchen contains a cooking zone, a dish-washing zone, etc.); and organize the space so that all the supplies for each activity are stored in the appropriate zone.

Whatever your organizing issues are, you're not a hopeless case, and you don't need special equipment--just a little understanding of the problem and a willingness to plan before diving in.

Anyway.. I recommend it. It's a good book!