- Organize your home so it functions efficiently. Observe how people travel from one part of the house to another and place the furniture to keep the natural paths available. Plan to keep things where they tend to be used. Put hats and mittens in a basket on top of the coat closet near the front door, for example. If you have small children who play in the living room but sleep upstairs, buy some covered baskets or a nice cabinet that goes with the living room furniture to store toys. Then if unexpected company arrives, you can quickly pick up and hide toy clutter. If you study at the dining room table, use the same principle. Buy a container that matches the dining room and is large enough to hold your papers and desk tools so it is easy to put thisway when you are finished.
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Organizing the home means getting rid of anything you don't need. Otherwise clutter becomes intolerable, not to mention the expense of storing it. Make rules for what you keep. For example, if you use something regularly, keep it. If something has intrinsic value and you like it or if it is a family heirloom that you want to keep for the next generation, decide where to store it so it will be protected, either on display or out of the way.
If you never throw anything out because you might need it someday, invite a more ruthless friend to help you sort through what to keep and what to give away or sell. Once you know what you have to store, then you can plan how best to store it given your available space. Remember to store things so they are accessible. Store items you only use seasonally, like Christmas decorations, in a more remote place than the items you use more often. - Organizing your home serves the same purpose as organizing an office or an emergency room cubicle, but offices and emergency room cubicles don't prioritize aesthetics. They are organized for the most efficient function even if they do attempt to follow some design scheme. The home is different. At home, you do care about aesthetics. You want to create a restful, stress-free, beautiful environment. This means making the way you organize, display and store your possessions flow as a part of your interior design. You don't have to spend huge amounts of money to make this happen if you plan creatively. Acknowledge where you are likely to make clutter and decide how to deal with it practically through containers, shelving and cabinets. Keep things close to where they are used and don't hoard things you do not need.
