Hosting a party but strapped for time to declutter and organize? Follow these organizational tips to make your home look impressive. From cleaning strategies to new shelving, you’ll be sending out invitations in no time.
1. Start With a ‘Declutter Day’
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You can’t clean and organize a home that’s packed to the gills. According to experts, the average American household has 300,000 items inside, from pens to furniture. You’ll need to start by decluttering.
Go through each room and separate items into three piles:
+ Keep: Stuff you can’t bear to part with, including your favorite cashmere sweater and grandmother’s diamond ring.
+Donate: Items you don’t need, but can bring others joy. Add jeans that don’t fit and books you’ve already read. Feel good by donating them.
+Trash: Things that are damaged. Toss in ripped clothing and that old broken toaster.
2. Learn to Store Items Properly
If you’re like most people, you have a room dedicated to overflow — boxes of seasonal clothing, essential paperwork, holiday decorations and much more. Instead of tossing everything inside and calling it a day, create an organization system that will save you time.
You don’t need to dig through boxes to find what you’re looking for. Instead, stow everything away in clear plastic bins, which make it easy to see what’s inside. Add labels to the tops with simple descriptors, like “Christmas tree decorations” or “taxes.”
And if you are running low on space, send away the possessions you love but don’t need right away into a storage facility. One such solution is MakeSpace–they come pick up, store and redeliver your stuff at an affordable price.
3. Choose a Cleaning Strategy
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You can choose from several strategies when it comes to cleaning and organizing your home. With zone cleaning, for example, you focus on a specific area each day. You might tackle all the tasks in the kitchen, such as dirty dishes and stained countertops.
Another strategy is task cleaning. Instead of focusing on one area, complete one task. Try dusting the whole house or vacuuming all the floors. You can also try the full hog strategy, where you clean the entire house in one day.
4. Break Out the Mason Jars
How many tiny objects are floating around your home? From pencils and paperclips to hairbrushes and scrunchies, there are too many to count. If you want to keep everything in one place, try an organization system with mason jars.
These containers make it easy to sort items and keep them in the right spot. Since they’re clear, you can see everything inside. Beyond the bathroom and home office, try jars in the kitchen, where you can organize measuring spoons and spatulas.
5. Install Plenty of Shelving
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One organization setback many people face is not enough space. Installing shelves can offer new places to display goods. You don’t have to stick with books — line up photos, art and decor. You can also use shelves to store linens, dish ware, tools and more.
You can choose from several different shelving styles to fit your needs. A rotating option allows you to maximize space, operating similarly to a lazy susan. Adjustable shelves enable you to pull out components and customize heights. Other styles include fixed, corner and pull-out.
Say Hello to a Clean Home
Why live in a messy, unorganized home — when it could be bad for your overall health and interfere with daily life? Follow the tips above for a clean, organized home.
AUTHOR: KACEY BRADLEY
Kacey Bradley is the blogger behind The Drifter Collective, an eclectic lifestyle blog that expresses various forms of style through the influence of culture and the world around us. Along with writing for her blog, she has written for sites like U.S. News, SUCCESS, Guides for Brides, Hotel Online and more!
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