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What are the Best Tips for Organizing?

G. Wiesen
G. Wiesen

Whether inside or outside, at home or at work, many of the tips for organizing are often the same regardless of setting or application. The purpose of organizing is typically to make an area free of clutter and to make things easier to find. Some basic tips for organizing are to create storage opportunities whenever possible, reduce clutter by eliminating things he or she does not truly “need,” and make time each day or week specifically for dealing with clutter and organizing.

One of the best tips for organizing is to find or create storage opportunities whenever possible. This means using every last bit of available space that can be used to store things, and creating new storage methods when necessary. If someone is overwhelmed by loose papers, then it is probably time for him or her to invest in a filing cabinet or bin. Similarly, someone with endless rows of shoes running all along a room should consider closet shoe organizers that utilize space to store things as effectively as possible.

Woman standing behind a stack of books
Woman standing behind a stack of books

Many organizational experts also see storage as one of the key tips for organizing clutter. Most people who are having issues with organizing clutter will have more than one of the things they are trying to organize. People should put like items together and find a way to store them all in a single organizational space. Closets that are high or deep should be organized so those items not needed very often, such as holiday decorations or seasonal clothing, should be stored toward the back or top and more commonly used items allowed to stay accessible.

Of course, these tips for organizing are less useful for someone who has become utterly overwhelmed by clutter. This means that reducing clutter is often the first step a person should take while organizing. One good tip for organizing and reducing clutter is for a person to consider each item and think about the last time he or she actually used it. If it has been more than one or two years, it is probably no longer very important to the person, unless it has specific sentimental value. Such clutter should be thrown away, donated, or sold depending on its usefulness, since another year or two is likely to pass without the person even thinking of the item.

Another good tip for organizing is for a person to make time each day, even if it is only ten minutes, to clean or organize something. This can be as simple as a person loading the dishwasher before going to bed, rather than leaving dishes for the morning, or spending an hour on the weekend sorting through a closet to be sure no old, unwanted clothes are hiding within. While many people will not hesitate to spend time each weekend cleaning their cars, they may be less inclined to clean out the garage the car is often parked within. Someone making time to actually implement these tips for organizing is just as important as the actual tips themselves.

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    • Woman standing behind a stack of books
      Woman standing behind a stack of books