Orlando Real Estate

Getting your home organized is a common New Year’s resolution, but it can also be a daunting task. Thankfully, there are many ways to make this goal more achievable, and one of the best ways is by approaching it on a room-by-room basis rather than as a single, giant task.

Before you begin, define and write down all the areas of your home that you want to get organized. Then, prioritize them and give yourself target dates for getting it done. If you find that you are missing the dates, don’t throw them out the window; reconsider the time it will take you, how busy your schedule is likely to be, and create new ones based on your experience.

Everyone has different goals for the rooms in their home, but here are some general tips for getting your home organized:

· Kitchen – Everyone knows that counter space is a premium, so before you begin, look at what’s on it. Do you throw your mail on the kitchen table as you come in the door? Do you have appliances out that you rarely use? Identify what’s causing a clutter problem, and address each individually. For example, if your mail piles up on your kitchen counter, consider putting a basket somewhere in the house that is dedicated just to holding mail so you have somewhere specific to put it rather than just saying “I won’t put my mail on the counter anymore.” Countertops aren’t the only place to consider, though. Cleaning out your cabinets, or even just organizing what’s in there, can be a breath of fresh air and give you the space you need to make preparing meals relaxing rather than a chore.

· Bathrooms – Again, before you start cleaning, find the trouble spots both visible and within storage. Are your toothbrushes always lying on the counter? Get a holder for them that matches your décor, or find a place for them in a medicine cabinet. Lots of bottles cluttering up your closet? Go through them and get rid of anything you don’t use. You may be able to open up a lot of space just by clearing out old, expired products.

· Bedrooms – The most common culprits for bedrooms are dirty clothes and toys. Give yourself and your family designated spots to put each of these. Laundry hampers come in all shapes and sizes, and you can even get ones that match the décor of a room to provide a subtle yet functional way to collect clothes. Toy boxes too can be added, as well as shelves to display their favorite toys and books and keep them in easy reach.

· Closets – The catch-all of home organization, closets often become a landfill of old jackets, outdated home décor, and anything else that just doesn’t have a place to go. Spend a day going through everything in your closets, and get rid of things you haven’t used in a year or more. If you have important items that take up space but aren’t used frequently, like family heirlooms or boxes of seasonal clothes, consider putting them in storage.

· Office – Reams of paper and stacks of letters can quickly overwhelm your office and make it hard to get actual work done. Sort through the papers and create “to do” and “completed” piles. File cabinets, even small ones, provide an invaluable infrastructure for organizing papers. Create files for bills, personal documents, automobile expenses, home expenses, and more, and sort things as they come in. Once a year, go through and get rid of anything that is no longer needed. Investing in inexpensive office supplies like folders, paper clips, and drawer organizers can also go a long way.

For any other rooms, just follow one simple rule: everything in its place. Everything in a room should have a designated spot so you know exactly where to put it and don’t end up just leaving it out. By creating a system and staying diligent with your new habits, you can make 2012 your most organized year yet.

Josh Scheid represents Zippy Shell of Central Florida, a reliable and affordable provider of solutions for portable storage in Orlando.