Spring Into CleanOrganizing and spring cleaning go hand in hand, and while some may only tackle it once a year, Claire Kurtz gives us some great tips and ideas on how to make “spring cleaning” a continual and EASY process. Check out her latest addition below… Getting Started by Claire Kurtz When we first decide that it is time to get organized it can be hard to know where to begin! The whole process can be overwhelming even though it is exciting to know that we are taking charge of our space and clutter. One of the first tips I always share with clients is to break the process down into smaller pieces and analyze, analyze, analyze! Start by dedicating 30 minutes every day to the organizing process. That is enough time to accomplish something and you will still have time for your life! Choose a room to begin with and attack the different areas within the room systematically, little by little. For example, if you start with your kitchen, choose one cabinet or drawer to organize every day. You can even move from left to right through the room if you like. Work with the trash can next to you and have a bag ready for items that you no longer want that can be donated. The goal of decluttering to get organized is to end up with organized spaces that contain only the things that you like and use! Look at each item and ask yourself: Do I use this? Do I like this? If you don’t use it and/or you don’t like it, it is time to donate the item, give it to someone who can use it or throw it away. When I first organized my own home, I went through this process over and over again in each room, each closet and each drawer. More importantly, since my home has been organized for a long time, every few months I do a scan of each room, each closet and each drawer and ask myself the same questions. That way I can stay on top of the clutter-creep that happens to all of us! Maintaining an organized space is so much easier than constantly re-starting the organizing process from scratch. If you are donating items, schedule a time to run by the donation center to drop things off so that these items don’t hang around your home any longer than they have to. Once you have only the things that you use and like in your spaces, then you can start to see if you need organizing tools to hold things so that they are easy to find. Do you want a handbag organizer? Do you want a new magazine holder? Do you want an under sink organizer for your cleaning supplies? It is much easier to select what will work well for you when you know that your belongings are culled down and not overflowing! Stay posted for more insight and wisdom from Claire as she regularly appears as the Well-Organized Woman My Favorite Thing: As Earth Day approaches and we all try to make a conscious effort to take better care of Mother Earth, I am crafting plenty of scrupmtious meals with the Bamboo Salad Bowl from Lipper International. It looks great on my table and when the weather permits, it will be great for outside gatherings on the courtyard pation.
Happy Organizing! - Mrs. O Follow me on Twitter: http://twitter.com/mrsorganized
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