Spring Home Organization Tips
posted
March 6, 2020
in
Home & Mortgage
With spring (hopefully) right around the corner, we can’t wait for the days when windows can be wide open and let fresh air flow through every room in our homes. If you’re anything like us, you long for those days so you can break out the cleaning products you may have accidentally neglected all winter and make your home shine again!
For those ready to take the next step, we’re here for you. In an era where being neat and tidy has been taken to a whole new level with influences from television and Netflix shows such as Tidying Up with Marie Kondo and Master the Mess; home organization tools are everywhere we look. We want to pass along tips we’ve learned to give inspiration and help get you to a place where you want to post photos of your linen closet for all your friends to see!
Where to start.
Starting small is our number one tip. If you start by attempting to organize your entire master closet, the likelihood of you being overwhelmed and throwing in the towel early on is through the roof. Remember, small victories, are still victories! The experts suggest starting with an area you can tackle in a relatively short amount of time. This allows you to get your organizational system down pat before taking on the larger areas. For us, our personal favorite is the ever-messy junk drawer.
What to do first.
This is where you can either choose to embrace the challenge or take the easy way out. Some may just want to tidy up what’s in the space and call it good. However, this lets you hold onto things you may not need or may not even see that are taking up valuable real estate in your home. For those who are ready to dive in, remove everything from the space. Everything. Even if you know for a fact you want to keep it in the space, take it out. This allows you to see the space and envision how to put it back together with full freedom.
What to equip yourself with.
Here is a great all-encompassing list via Good Housekeeping to show various options of what’s out there. Most importantly, don’t feel pressured to spend an arm and a leg to have your space looking Instagram worthy. There are plenty of affordable options to consider at places you probably already shop. For us, we found it helpful to stock up on various sizes of tubs, baskets, and acrylic drawer organizer trays. This way, you are prepared for various spaces and can choose the vessel depending on how much product you have to place in it. There are also several products out there to help you utilize wasted space in your home and use it to its full potential.
Categorize your belongings.
This is where the less determined may shy away from continuing the project. You can do it! Now that everything is out of the space you’re organizing, you can more easily separate into categories. For example, if you’re working in a hall closet of sorts, you may separate items into categories such as: medical, beauty, soap, nail polish, hygiene, paper products, cleaning supplies, travel items, linens, etc. This allows you to truly see what you are working with and determine what storage solution will work for each category. While it may not make sense to put category items into a container if they’re just going to sit on a shelf, believe us when we say how much of an impact it makes! By doing this, you’re able to have a defined space to place each item. Forcing you to put items back where they belong and making it far easier to access items. Gone are the days of not knowing you already have four extra tubes of toothpaste in the house.
Labeling.
While not 100% necessary for all spaces, labeling your storage containers can provide a no excuse mentality to hold you and other family members accountable for staying organized long term. When labeling anything glass or acrylic, a paint pen is a great option for labeling without having to purchase any actual labels and you can erase the label with a little elbow grease, if necessary.
Bonus tips.
- Match up all kitchen Tupperware and storage containers with their lid. Have some stragglers? Donate, find an alternate use for them, toss or continue to use with reusable container lids.
- Use a high sided turntable/lazy susan for tall bottles items in your pantry like oils, syrups or vinegar or in your bathroom for hair products. Makes a high number of items easily accessible without taking up space.
- Store pantry/fridge items as stores do with oldest items in front of duplicate items to be sure to use in order of their expiration date.
- Save glass jars from pasta sauces or salsa to store nuts, grains and other kitchen staples.
- Consider adding pull out shelves to deep cabinets to make items more accessible.
If you’re looking to go even farther and make serious changes to your home, be sure to check out our current Home Equity Loan and Line of Credit offers at Greater Iowa Credit Union!
Greater Iowa Credit Union is in no way endorsing any products mentioned in this blog.