subject: Organizing Your House [print this page] You've tiptoed through houses littered with toys, putrid trash, decaying leaves, loose socks, week-old sandwiches, and worse. You've also probably visited houses where not even a crumb or speck of dust could be found. Why are some houses cluttered while others are spotless? The trick is really just down-to-earth hard work and organization.
If you find yourself constantly losing things or panicking when company is coming over, it might be time to organize your house. The first and most important step in getting organized is dejunking. It's painful, it's hard, but it's got to get done. Go through one room at a time and pull everything out of the shelves and dressers. Make three piles, one for keeping, one for throwing away, and one for giving away. If you are finished with a room and your keep pile is much larger than the other two piles, you're not doing a good job of dejunking. A cozy home is one in which everything is clean and simple, not distractingly crowded with clutter.
There are many things you can do with the stuff you've decided to give away. You can donate it to the Salvation Army, Goodwill, or other organizations to receive tax breaks. Or, if you really get enthusiastic about dejunking, you could have a garage sale and earn some extra cash. Whatever you decide to do with your junk, celebrate when you have officially gotten rid of it. Reward yourself. You deserve it.
The next thing you should do is find some organizational tools. Things like shelves, folders, and tubs can be used to store the stuff you decide to keep. Group your things into categories that will make finding easy to do. Open up the closet with the "do not open if you value your life" sign on it. After everything has toppled out, get to work. Use as many organizing tools as you need to get the job completed. When you're done with this stage, there should be no room, closet, or drawer, you are afraid of opening.
While you're organizing your house you should take a close look at your home security system. Is it time to pitch that and get a new one too, or is it working fine? If you don't have one at all, you might want to consider purchasing one. Now that your house is clean, you want it to stay that way.
