Seven Tips On How To Improve Your Way Of Life, Reduce Your Stress, Leave Clutter Behind You And Be Organized

 
Tips and Tricks

Ø  Break the room into smaller sections

Ø  Start with the smallest room first

Ø  Papers are the number one cause of stress in a cluttered home or office

         1.       Papers, Books and Documents

Create a filing system for your regular monthly bills for Expenses, Rent, Gas, Light, Credit Cards Your Important documents especially birth certificate, wills, insurance, social security cards, deeds, leases and financial documents should be kept in a safe deposit box.

If you have a job, create a file that your family can get to in an emergency, with job number, your supervisors name and number, work address and also an immediate family emergency contact. 

Books should be in a book shelf and by category if possible, and whatever books, are no longer of interest, be donated to your local public library or donated to the Salvation Army or they can be sold via the internet. 

For old documents you would like to keep, I suggest you create files for those documents and box them.  Invest in a shredder machine.

     2.      Clothing

                    Separate clothes in the following categories:  keep, donate (clothes tax deductable), 
                    dry clean, and laundry.

If you have clothes that you have not laundered in two years, the suggestion is to discard of them.

When you do your laundry, fold and put them away immediately, avoid resting them anywhere but where they belong.

If you do not have enough space to store your clothes, I recommend clear storage containers, or space bags; label all containers.  The same goes for shoes, and coats.

3.     Toys

If you have a lot of toys that your children have outgrown, please donate the toys to day care centers, churches, or children’s hospital units.

For storing children’s toys, I suggest buying toy bins, toy chest, and toy bags.  Store frequently used toys in toy bins/bags, so that they are readily accessible.  Large toys and those not frequently used can be stored in the toy chest. 

4.   Living Room Areas

Footwear, bikes, balls, boxed clothes, food, dishes, exercise equipment or toys do not belong in the living room.

Your living room should always be clear and presentable for friends and family visits.  The only items that should be in or displayed in your living room are your furnishings.

If you do not want your guest to walk into your house with their shoes on, then a box or basket of slippers or socks should be available at the door for your guest upon taking of their shoes.

Coats should be hung in the coat closet upon entering into the house.  Pocket- books and keys should be placed in a designated area.  These recommendations also apply to the dining room area.

To keep small items organized, I suggest wicker baskets.  For pictures, I suggest photo albums with refilable pages, or photo boxes.  For large quantities of pictures, I strongly suggest photo boxes.
                            

5.      Kitchen

Kitchen sinks should be clear of dirty dishes.  Food cabinets and pantries should not contain expired food items, the same goes for the refrigerator.

After all cooking and eating is done, dishes should be washed or placed in dishwasher; empty pots and store your leftovers in containers.

Clean the top of the stove, the microwave, toaster and their surrounding area after use.  The kitchen should be left clean, with all used items dried and put away in their designated locations. 

For products that are packaged in bags or paper such as flour, sugar, rice, beans, and pasta, air tight storage containers are best to keep them fresh and away from rodents.  

It’s also a good idea to invest in microwave safe covers, because they reduce splatter and make cleaning easier.

     6.     Bedroom

                    Bed should me made each day after rising in the morning. 

Clothes should be properly placed in closets along with dress shoes and sneakers.

Night stands should be clutter free.  They should only be dressed with a lamp, alarm clock, and one or two additional ornaments or picture frames.

Your dresser should not have everything you own on it – examples: receipts, credit cards, make up, money, keys, pencils, books, combs/brushes, bowling tickets, metro pass, and there should certainly not be any pictures stuck between the mirror and the frame.  Again, these items can be stored in small storage container and placed out of sight.

Some of the things that are acceptable to be placed on your dresser are: jewelry boxes, one or two picture frames, a vase with flowers and or a tray of candles.

7.     Bathroom

Cosmetics, medicine, toiletry, perfumes, colognes, magazines/news papers, books, hair products, cleaning products, clothes, bathrobes, and towels should NOT be left on the bathroom counter or floor.

Hang all towels and bathrobes on bathroom hooks after using, or place clothes in hamper if they are dirty. 

Use storage racks, bins and baskets to organize bathroom items.

All medicine should keep in the medicine cabinet.  If you do not have a medicine cabinet or prefer to keep your medicine in the kitchen, designate a specific area in a closed cabinet to store and keep medicine private.

Keep sink, toilet bowl and tub sanitized on a daily basis.

Your home is your sanctuary, where you retire at the end of a busy day to relax and unwind.  It should always be clutter free and worry free; A place of relaxation, peace and joy.