Home Organizing & Cleaning Tips, Hints

Organizing doesn't come easy to a lot of people. You know what you wished it would be like, but it's hard to visulaize how to go about getting the job done. Plus, there is the time element that we all have a problem with (yes, even Professional Organizers run out of time).

First of all, let's put things into perspective;

1. Clutter is not dirt
2. Disorganization isn't dirt

Disorganized, according to the dictionary is: to destroy the organic structure or regular connected sytem; throw into confusion; to disarrange;.

Clutter, according to the dictionary is: a confused collection; disorder; to disarrange; to throw into disorder.

So what we are really saying is that we have a bunch of things that need to find a 'home' for them to be in.

Thats where ORGANIZING comes in: to give an organic structure; to become systematized and to put things in order.

First steps in conquering disorganization

• list your problem areas
• what would you like to do to fix it
• what are you 'going to' do to fix it
• how long is it going to take
• can you break it down into smaller projects
• when are you going to do it
• when are you going to start

See what you have accomplished!!!

• You made a list
• identified your problem area
• decided what you want to do about it
• decided when you want to do it
• set a time frame to do it in
• and set a goal to achieve it

Now go through every room in your home and make a list for each room. Start with the room that bothers you the most and end with the room that bothers you the least.

Don't forget to add the pantry, the garage, the basement and storage closets.

People say that their 'house is so cluttered' or that they 'have a lot of clutter laying around'....so what is Declutter?

As long as we are on the subject...What is clutter?

Now to a Mom with little kids:it would be toys all over the floor. To the Mom of a teenager: it would be books and shoes all over the room. To a wife: it would be the golf clubs in a corner, shoes all over the floor and the remote under the couch. But, in reality none of these things are truly clutter, they are things that aren't in a 'home'. In other words, they are not in the appropriate place that they should be.

However, CLUTTER is when there are just too many things lying all over the house, not only the shoes and golf clubs and toys, but, the newspapers, magazines, dirty glasses, dirty clothes.

These are things that should be dealt with because they are not ready to be put in their home. You wouldn't put a dirty glass back in the cupboard; or dirty clothes back in the closet or the dresser drawer...RIGHT?

So, What is Declutter?

It is cleaning up, getting rid of, and eliminating the things that you need to get ready (in one form or another) to be put into their proper home.

Bet you didn't know that you declutter something everyday of your life, did you?

In laymans terms this could be called the old fashioned term; cleaning!!

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