I am not a naturally organized person (talk about an understatement!!) and this has led to a great deal of chaos in our home. I am currently trying to purge, organize, and come up with an easy, practical approach to maintaining some semblance of order. I have read Living Organized by Sandra Felton (she also wrote The Messies Manual, which I read several years ago) and have just started Sidetracked Home Executives by Pam Young and Peggy Jones. The latter suggests a 3x5 card type system to help keep track of routine cleaning (which is definitely my biggest issue). Anyone have experience with this? What works for you?

I've got to get some of the books you list...

We both need a bigger house Our houses are so small that even when we accumelate a little, it looks like a lot.

I'm actually in the middle of an organization project right now, but it is a paperwork organization project.

However, one thing that I learned as a Manufacturing Engineer is to look at your work space and create a place for all the "tools" (everyday use stuff) you need and make it visual. If you don't have a need for something, get rid of it. "There's a place for everything and everything in its place" is a good motto and makes for good and easy clean-up. With smaller items, I like to group them and place like items in a nice storage container. If I don't want to organize the container, then I make sure the container has a cover to it and I just throw the stuff in the container. It's nice looking on the outside and it's a nice and easy clean-up. If you have different style storage containers and you want to keep them all in the same room, you can easily coordinate them by painting them all the same color. Lastly, try to use vertical space by using shelves, ladders, stacked boxes, etc... and use the walls with pretty hooks.

Oh, I just remembered...trunks or chests...They can double as a storage area and table. Cubby holes are nice too!!!

Hmmm...this actually makes me miss work

If I come up with any more ideas, I'll be back. Hope this is helpful

Here's an example of the color coordinating that I spoke of. I wanted to store my tape cassettes and they are all in different style containers, so I just painted them all the same color with spray paint. I also painted the lid to one of the containers. It was originally blue with a yellow handle. Now they all match

Notice, also the use of cubby's.



[Just testing the picture option also...And it works!!!]

This is what I did to wean out and become more organized; though I always find it takes extra effort to keep it they way I would like. Tackle one room at a time. Give each room the attention it needs from top to bottom. If you haven't used something in a year or two, chances are you don't really need it. Once you are completely finished with one room, then move on to the next. You may have to invest in different types of storage containers, filing drawers, etc.; to accomplish a more organized system. Plus, you have to be determined not to store unnecessary items.
Hope this helps:)

I know a pretty good website,

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that has some decluttering and organizing tips. If you become a member of their yahoogroup, they send you emails on how to keep up with house cleaning and other helpful info and testimonies. The only negative part is that you'll receive the same email reminders everyday and also other people's testimony. If you don't keep up with the emails it starts becoming clutter in you inbox. But, it is a pretty good website.

Thanks for the input! I'm still working on purging my crafting space - that is definitely the biggest challenge for me as I have sooooo many items with "potential." Have been selling some of it off on eBay, giving some away, and deciding what is worth saving. My goal is to have the space done by '07, which is a reasonable goal.

I've actually tried Flylady, but found that the huge email volume was rather irritating to me personally. I understand that most of her approach is based on Sidetracked Home Executives, which I think is going to be a good system for me. You set up a card file with daily - weekly - monthly chores. When you complete a task, you move it to the next appropriate day. Simple and direct. I'm sure I'll change it up a bit as I get further along, but it's definitely a step in the right direction.

I've been chugging away at my Home Organization Project. I started off working on a Paperwork Organization Project, but it has taken me some time to think about the next steps. Therefore, I took a little diversion from the Paperwork Organization Project and took the time to organize one of our junk drawers.

It is amazing how a little organizer can make such a BIG difference!!!

In addition, I finally parted with an old time friend, my calculator cover. This is the cover to my college calculator which I lost while doing grocery shopping. It was a special calculator because while my other engineering classmates had the power computer calculators I had this simple TI-35 solar powered calculator. It was with me when I passed the 8 hour long Fundamental of Engineering test and it was with me up to graduation. I had such a special bond to this calculator and I intended to use it the rest of my life. It truly was a heart wrencher when I lost it and I couldn't throw out the cover for keep's sake.

With the loss of our computer last week, I've been re-examining where my treasure is and realized that although I truly treasured that calculator, I don't need to hang on to the cover. I have no use for it and it's just creating clutter in my drawer. Therefore, I now have the story of this calculator stored in this DearForum as well as in my memory and I threw the cover in the trash.

Phase I or the "rough" sorting phase of my Paperwork Organization Project is completed. Phase I consisted of going through all unsorted paperwork and dividing them into different stacks. Each stack contained paperwork pertaining to similar subjects. The stacks were then put into gallon sized ziplock bags to keep them separated. Two containers were bought for this phase: the first is for the sorted stack and the second is for all paperwork that needs to be shredded. The piles on the countertop not in the bin is for sorting NOW.

Phase II or the "fine" sorting phase will be a detailed going over each sorted individual stack and finding a place for it (ie. trash or file).

I cleared out our kitchen counter yesterday. The blue canisters were all filled with flour. The flour was in there for years because I forgot about it. I finally cleaned out the canisters and anything that was in the fruit holder went into the canisters. DearHusband said that now we'll forget about all the other stuff and never use them. If that happens then we never needed those things anyway. Hmmm what a great idea to get rid of stuff! Put them away and if it's never used then you know you don't need them

Anyway, I started writing up a recipe book for DearDaughter, which I also use myself. It was stored high up in the pantry shelf and so I placed it in the fruit holder where it's convenient to get to. The counter is now "practical" and ,to me, now pleasing to the eye...

As a side note...The beautiful teacups on the canisters were given to me for a birthday gift. I like how the pink on the roses just add a little "flavor" amidst all the blue.

Some more info:

Great ideas on organizing a laundry space:

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Good general info, from a professional organizer who is also a scrapper (so there are some fun, cute ideas here!)

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Those were great links for organizational ideas!

The one drawback I am finding to organizing the home though is the cost of storage containers. Any ingenious ideas to cut cost on home organization?

Well, here is the latest on my home project. I moved my latest organization project into my bedroom (my paperwork organization project is at a stand still for the time being). I was beginning to feel claustrophobic by the disorganized look of our bedroom. Since my house is in constant renovation mode, I have never took the time to really "pretty up" any of the unrenovated areas, including our bedroom. Well, it has been 6 years since we moved into this house and our bedroom has felt more like a guest room than a place for DearHusband and I to rest and relax. There is a hole on the floor, about 2'x2' in diameter, in the closet. Therefore, we have no closet space in the bedroom and our clothes have always just been placed anywhere there is space in the room. We normally save and use our Home Improvement money for our big renovations, but I finally took the time and money this week to purchase some storage bins, storage baskets, and a new shoe rack to organize our clothes corner. I am happy with the results, but unhappy with the amount that I spent, about $100 total.

Anyway, here are some before and after pics...

I replaced the white "tower" like shoe rack with a much shorter, more compact, revolving shoe rack:


I painted the cardboard drawer white and purchased plastic storage bags with zippers for items in the cardboard box to store under the bed:


I purchased plastic hooks to hang clothes on and tapped in a few rows of nails to hang our baseball caps:


Lastly, I purchased storage baskets to contain our clothes and a 3 color laundry hamper:


This is not my dream bedroom, but for now, I worked with what I had, and made the best of it until we can truly afford its renovation and though much difference can't be seen in the before and after pics, the reorganization has already made much difference in clothes storage and every day maintenance.

Yes, those items add up quickly, don't they?!? A few ideas:

Let your friends know if you are looking for furniture and organizational items. Perhaps one of them has just rearranged and has an extra dresser! It might not be what you would have chosen, but nearly anything can be salvaged with a coat of white paint

Freecycle is another fabulous resource. Watch the posting, and don't be afraid to post for "Wanted" items, either. I know many people use the plastic tubs when they move, so perhaps someone no longer needs them.

Don't be afraid to use what you have. For instance, what did you do with that big shoe rack? Is it big enough to hold shoe boxes? That could be a really great place to hold toys as your daughter grows. In college, many of my clothes were stored in plain old cardboard boxes. I covered them in contact paper first, though, to strengthen them and make them look a bit nicer. They aren't the most durable things, but it's amazing how long they can last with a bit of care. And how about picking up some plastic milk crate type storage when they're on sale for around $5. They can be stacked with the openings facing out, and that's how I store my sweaters.

Another thought, although it's not necessarily about organizing and more about the "feeling" of a room... I know that it will be awhile before you guys are ready to tackle your own room. But how about playing around a bit in the meantime? Our Home Depot has "oops" paint for $3/gallon, when someone has purchased a particular color and then changed their mind. Perhaps you could find a nice pale blue, and do some doodley sorts of swirls or something on the walls? I know it would take a bit of time, but it might be a nice change. Just something to consider in your spare time

Great ideas!!!

I like the milk crate idea!!! Perhaps some Freecyclers have them! $5 adds up too and we're out of Home Improvement $ for the month! Though not pictured in my last post, all the storage containers I purchased were under $5 each. The most expensive storage item was the baskets, pictured in my last post, which was $4.99.

Anyway, I'm going to have to think about the walls of our room. I've gone back and forth about painting it. If anything, if I were to add paint to the walls, I'd probably just do a solid color. Since our room is still unrenovated, it too has become a catch-all room. Sometimes I just feel so claustrophobic or closed in because of the clutter. This organizational project is to help bring order to the look of the room so that I don't feel so closed in. A nice solid color on the walls would just help the room look cleaner. However, I'm still hesitant about spending money and TIME on something I know we will be tearing down soon.

Thanks for the input!!! All GREAT ideas!!!

Laura, at

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is having a 30 Day Organizational Challenge.

Check out the rules and prizes to enter:

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Thanks for the link - I love the quote about no challenge, no change. I've been very discouraged in this area (and my hubby and I had a rather heated discussion about it last evening - it doesn't help that we're both very tired).

I'm going to think about the challenge - at least I have a few more hours to decide whether to officially participate.