Who said, Organization is the key to success? We can’t remember either, but he/she was right. If you want to make positive changes, why not start in your home? An organized and uncluttered home simply makes life less stressful, especially if your life is busy with kids. Here are some tips to get started:

Throw It Out

When in doubt, throw it out. Phase one of this operation consists of throwing out or donating to charity all your extra stuff. If you don’t use it or if it no longer serves any good purpose think gadgets you plan on using one day and outdated magazines you know you’re going to refer back to sometime just get rid of it.

Clean It Up

After you’ve gotten rid of what you don’t need, clean what you do. Give your home a thorough, deep cleaning, shampoo the carpets and consider a visit from a pest control company if things are pretty bad.

Now Find a Place for It

That cluster of remotes should have its own home; books and magazines belong on a shelf or bin. Make sure every room has a trash can. Once you’ve parted with the items you don’t need and cleaned, it’s time to tackle your organizing issues like a professional.

Bathrooms

Buy some stackable bins to organize things like brushes, hair clips and styling tools, and then make sure you use them no leaving these on the counter anymore. If everybody in the family uses different shower products, buy individual shower caddies and keep them under the sink, so that they’re only in the shower when in use. Throw out old make-up and lotions and buy a drawer organizer, and if your bathroom floor gets littered with wet towels and bathrobes, get a few over-the-back-of-the-door hooks.

Closets

These get out of hand fast, as it’s just so easy to throw the stuff you don’t know what to do with in there and then shut the door. That’s bad. Make sure everybody’s closet has a laundry basket for dirty clothes, get a shoe rack, install hooks and designate hanging spaces for scarves, ties, belts and handbags. Organize clothes by purpose, season or color, and if you haven’t worn something in more than a year, it’s time to donate it to Goodwill.

Bedrooms

For children’s rooms, hang extra shelves and get some under-the bed boxes to keep toys organized. If you don’t have one already, introduce the Make your bed every morning rule it’s amazing the difference a made bed can make (you have to follow this one, too).

Home Office

Create a filing system for that pile on your desk and store them in file cabinets. Purchase a paper shredder and get in the habit of shredding documents as you receive them, so they don’t have a chance to accumulate. RealSimple.com suggests creating an inbox for bills and other important documents that require prompt attention, and then going through it daily.

Kitchen

Organize utensils, plates, cups and pantry items. Place small, loose items like measuring spoons and small packets of things like yeast and Jell-O in small Tupperware containers and organize spices with a spice rack. Cut down on counter space by only placing items that you use regularly.

Anna Bernel
Anna and her mom have their own line of homemade purses that they sell at local craft shows. She loves writing feature articles for lifestyle blogs.