Quick and Easy Order

Do you have rooms where the small items tend to get jumbled together, leaving you unable to find what you are looking for?  Here is a quick, easy solution that works for any space that has a door.  Shop for an over-door shoe organizer that suites the area you want to organize.  Most are made to hold 10 or 12 pairs of shoes, and come with clear pockets, as well as a variety of colors and patterns.  Hang one over the back of the door and fill with small items that get lost easily.  The clear ones work particularly well for things that are too little to be visible over the top of the pocket.  The organizing options are endless, but some suggestions are:

Mud room – for gloves, hats, goggles, sunglasses, dog leashes

Bathroom – for toiletries, hair brushes, hair clips, rolled hand towels

Kitchen pantry – for utensils, spices, seasoning packets, cookie cutters

Arts & Crafts Studio – for scissors, markers, scrapbook supplies, paints, brushes

Kids’ room – for Barbie dolls, action figures, small stuffed animals, games, toys

Laundry room – for cleaning supplies, hand tools, extension cords, flashlights

Bedroom – for scarves, belts, accessories, even shoes!

Obviously shoe organizers are not just for shoes anymore!

They can be found at Bed, Bath & Beyond, Home Goods, Target, Wal-Mart and many other stores that sell household products.

Below is a picture of one I use in my Simpler Life Solutions office:

And a link to a version with clear pockets from Bed, Bath & Beyond:

http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/product.asp?SKU=10207649

With a little imagination and a short amount of time, you can take a painless step toward being more organized!

Finding Inspiration

Perhaps your whole house looks like a hurricane blew through, leaving things displaced, disorganized, and disastrous.   You feel like you are constantly moving piles or searching through the rubble.  Or maybe what aggravates you is a specific area….your drawer of tangled jewelry, or the pantry where everything is shoved randomly on the shelves.  Whether the organizing project you face is small or all-encompassing, you could probably use a little inspiration to get you moving in the right direction. 

Take a look at this cool website where people pin pictures of their favorite things.  Try searching for ‘organized rooms’, ‘organizing products’, ‘organize jewelry’, or whatever keywords might best identify the project you want to tackle.  Pages will pop up filled with interesting, colorful and fun ideas on the subject.  You might find exactly the look, suggestion or product that you had in mind.  It’s a great way to see that there is light at the end of the tunnel, and to create a sense of excitement for getting started!

http://pinterest.com/

Have fun with it!

Taking the First Step

“Take the first step in faith. You don’t have to see the whole staircase, just take the first step.”
 - Martin Luther King, Jr.

The thought of getting started with a project or process is often more daunting than the work that lies ahead.  Most of us tend to magnify a task into something perceived as overwhelming or unattainable.  We get lost in our fears, in our lists, in the dread we feel, and we get paralyzed.  We lose sight of the fact that we can’t get anywhere if we don’t take the first step.  We forget how that initial movement becomes a catalyst for taking additional steps, and that the joy of getting started quickly becomes the motivation to carry us further toward our goal.

As I am writing this advice for you, in hopes of helping you begin the process of organizing your home or office, or of getting more control of your time, I realize it is exactly what has happened to me when facing the task of starting a blog!  So rather than getting mired in the thought and planning process, I am going to take that first step of faith and just get started.

Won’t you take that first step with me toward the goal of simplifying your life?  The journey will be more fun if we do it together!