Top Tips: Orderly House, Organized Mind

Sept 1, 2010

The benefits of organization are many, including peace of mind, neatness, and even making your space appear larger. The number-one rule of organizing is "a place for everything and everything in its place." Here's how to find a place (or create one) in every room of the house.

1. Kitchen
Start with the kitchen sink. To keep it uncluttered, corral your dishwashing soap and hand soap, brushes, and sponges in an attractive tray. Don't have a tray? Simply store your sink accessories neatly under the sink. You can get them out when you need them, and enjoy a clutter-free sink for the rest of the time. Are your pots and pans creating chaos? Turn unused wall space into stylish storage with a simple rod and S-hooks. Then hang pans and large cooking utensils on the rod.

2. Bathroom
To minimize chaos, place small objects in containers. Then consolidate the containers into boxes or trays. For example, line a long mirrored tray or wicker basket with the containers and place it on the back of the toilet. Consolidate larger items in a simple plastic container under the sink.

3. Bedroom
Organizing the bedroom comes down to smart storage. For starters, use the space under your bed for drawers. Keep off-season clothing, extra bed linens, and blankets there. Have a jewelry drawer? To create an extra level of space, mount two café curtain rods inside the drawer and then top with a tray that can slide along the top of the rods. Voila—you've just doubled your storage capacity.

4. Shed or Broom Closet
You can bring order to your shed or broom closet with a few common (and inexpensive) items from the hardware store—spring clips and S-hooks. For easy access to garden tools, simply attach a rod to the wall and attach spring clips and S-hooks to hold your supplies. You can do the same for larger cleaning items such as a broom, mop, and dustpan.

5. Clothes Closet
When it comes to the closet, the key is to use every available inch of space, high and low. Add cubbies or low shelves on the bottom of the closet for shoes. Add a shelf up high for things you don't use every day. (Just make sure you can see them.)

Consider using containers for smaller items and then storing the containers on a shelf. You even can add a pegboard with hooks for scarves, belts, and other smaller items.

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