Organizing Ideas for Your Home

An organized home is a happy home, or so the saying goes. There is no denying that an organized home is easier to live in because possessions are neatly stored and clutter is minimal. Most people also find that organization and clutter control lead to an overall feeling of satisfaction.

Kitchen

Take inventory of your built-in storage in the kitchen. Empty the pantry, cupboards, drawers and shelves, and look at the items you have in your kitchen. Assess dry food storage in the pantry and purchase plastic containers for storing dry food items, if necessary. Place like items together: canned goods in one spot, spices in another, and so one with snack foods, cereal, condiments and basic recipe ingredients. Make a list of your food items as you place them in the pantry to create an inventory, and keep the inventory updated so that you know what you have in the pantry at a glance.

Next look at the items you store in cupboards, drawers and shelves. Assess each item for its worth and usefulness to you. Place tools and appliances you do not use often in a large bin and store these items elsewhere to free up storage space. Donate other items you know you will not use to charity. Go through your dishes and glassware, and discard any pieces with chips or cracks.

Place the items you are keeping in the kitchen back into the cupboards, drawers and shelves in a neat and orderly fashion. Strive to keep counters and tabletops free of clutter.

Bathroom

Take inventory in the bathroom as well. Empty all storage areas in the bathroom and assess the items. Discard toiletry items you are not using and don't like. Look through the medicine chest and throw away any items that are expired. Consider moving any medicinal items to another location that is not affected by the heat and humidity common in bathrooms. Place toothpaste, toothbrushes, deodorants, razors, beauty care products, shaving cream and other similar items in the medicine chest.

Assess the linens in the linen cupboard and donate any mismatched pieces. Also, consider donating extra linens you do not use regularly to free up storage space in the bathroom. Put sheets, blankets and towels back into the linen cupboard by rolling them up neatly and placing them on the shelves.

Keep pretty bath soaps, lotions, bath salts and body sprays in a basket on a shelf near the shower or tub.

Living Room

Assess the way you use your living room. If the living room is a media center, find a suitable storage solution for DVDs, CDs and the electronic equipment necessary for using these items. If you have an extensive book collection, sort through your books and organize them on shelves. If you have numerous games, consider some kind of chest or bench for holding game boxes out of sight. If you subscribe to numerous magazines and keep back issues of them, find a suitable way to store magazines on a bookshelf for easy access.

References

• Home Organizing Ideas