It's Fall and the perfect time to get your home organized. With the carefree craziness of summer now behind us, fall always feels like the season to get organized. It’s cool enough to go in the attic and get it into some kind of order before winter hits. Plus to get rid of stuff no longer needed or will use. The garage and/or shed are probably in some kind of disarray after months of gardening and lawn care. It's time to clean the tools before the cold hits. By the end of November, the leaves will all be down and after that final fall clean-up, gardening tools can be put to rest.
October just screams to me… IT’S TIME TO ORGANIZE!!!! (plus get some decluttering done)
Sometimes it’s easy to get started and other times my head just spins not knowing where to begin. But there’s nothing better than a home that is easy to navigate with belongings that are even easier to find. Don’t forget about your office, too. There are plenty of ways to keep your space neat for your most productive workdays. Below are some of my personal tips for getting organized.
So let's’ get started with these seven easy tips!
1. Throw away things you don’t need or use.
This is the perfect time to clear out and donate the summer clothing and shoes you didn’t wear and most likely never will. I also do a quick check of my fall/winter clothing to see if there’s anything I really don’t want anymore. If you’ve got extras of anything else, clear them out too.
2. Organize your closet.
Now that you’ve removed the clothing, it only takes a few simple steps to get the rest of your closet in tip-top shape. I go by the type of garment and group them together. But
whatever works for you is perfect.
3. Specify a daily junk basket.
Putting a basket in your home where you can throw items that you would otherwise scatter all over the house is a great way to keep your home or office feeling clutter free. At the end of the day, (or in a few days or end of the week) go through it and put everything in it’s rightful place.
4. Install hooks or large nails in the garage/shed.
After the garden tools are cleaned, hang them instead of leaning them against a wall. Hanging them up will keep them better organized and in good working order. Get a few easy to install hooks or large nails and place them in an area where the tools can freely hang off the floor. It’s also a good time to clean out the garage of the stuff you don’t use, if you’re up for the task. I love doing this on a cool, crisp fall weekend afternoon.
5. Print out a calendar.
One of the most obvious tasks that people often forget is to get a calendar for the New Year. What I do instead is print out my monthly calendar from my computer and with clip-magnets, put it on the refrigerator. This way I have appointments, birthdays, etc. already on the calendar and it’s easy to add to it throughout the month.
6. Make daily and monthly goals.
This can be easily done with a calendar. Write in a daily and/or weekly goal you want to accomplish on your printed out calendar that’s on your refrigerator. If you have a home office use a designated calendar there for your goal setting. I jot down right on the calendar important tasks that are on a timeline to keep me up to date. Then there’s my notebook for my long range things-to-do lists, brainstorming ideas, ideas I find from others, books I want to read, etc. etc. This way everything is in one of two places, the calendar or the notebook.
7. Use mason jars to organize your kitchen pantry.
I love using mason jars in my kitchen to keep my pantry in order. It’s another way to
avoid plastic, they are uniform so they look neat, you can clearly see what’s in the jar and how much, they come in different sizes and they can go in the dishwasher. This is a great time of year to pick up a case or two since hardware stores and big box stores have them in good supply being that it’s canning season. You might even find them in a few colors that will work in your kitchen. Tip: be sure to get wide mouth jars, they’re easier to fill.
I hope these organizing ideas I use in my home are helpful in yours. Please feel free to share any of yours you think others might find useful.
Namaste’
Stephanie