Home Organization

A functional closet can make your life so much easier whether you are getting ready in the morning or getting ready for a big night on the town.

➢    Get rid of clothes you hate. Bless a charity with them. Even if that dreaded outfit is a gift from Aunt Matilda, get rid of it. Aunt Matilda will not check your closet for that outfit; and if she does, you have a bigger problem than disorganized closets.

➢    Get rid of clothes that don't fit. I know you intend to lose those last five pounds, but those too-small clothes are taking up the space that you need for clothes that fit you now. We're living in the now, not the future or the past.  Besides, don't you want to treat yourself to some contemporary new clothes when those five pounds are shed?

➢    Try on the rest of the clothes in front of a full-length mirror or - even better - with an honest friend who has impeccable taste. If it does not flatter you, bless another person with it. Awful outfits make you feel awful. You deserve to feel good.

➢  Store out-of-season items in an infrequently accessed closet. Use small blocks or balls of cedar to naturally deter bugs. I like the storage bags that allow the air to be removed with a vacuum hose. You can save a lot of room with those bags.

➢ Here's a really easy trick to give your closet instant neatness: put everything on the same type of hangers. Try the new slim hangers if your closet is very narrow.

➢ Group like items together. You can group all of your long-sleeved shirts together, all of your short-sleeved shirts together, all of skirts together, etc. You may want to consider grouping by function also: work clothes, casual clothes and dressy clothes.

➢  Hang an extra clothes bar from your existing clothes bar and you can increase your storage for short items such as skirts, pants, and shirts. Make sure that the extra clothes bar is shorter than the existing clothes bar so you still have room for long items such as coats and dresses.

➢ Use the shelf above the clothes bar to accommodate folded clothes. Consider grouping by category (sweater versus t-shirt) and color. Shelf dividers will keep the stacks neat.

Short on storage space? You can increase your storage and decrease the visual clutter with a few tricks of the trade.

➢    Adhere cork squares to the interior of the kitchen cabinet doors to transform them into handy bulletin boards. Although the posted information is readily available, it does not clutter the visual field when the doors are closed. You can even assign categories to each door’s bulletin board.

➢    Pot racks are an attractive way of storing your pots and pans without taking up cabinet space. Consider the traffic patterns when deciding which pot rack model is appropriate for your kitchen. Some pot racks hang from the ceiling, but the wall-hung models often work better in a galley-style kitchen.

➢    Utilize the underside of the kitchen cabinet. Wine goblets and coffee mugs can be stored by racks and hooks attached under the cabinet. Spice racks are now available that store flush against the bottom of the cabinet but can be pulled down for easy access to the spices.

➢    Store your supply of trash bags at the bottom of your trashcan. You will not have to hunt for a fresh bag after you take out the trash.

➢    Think vertically. Track shelving is inexpensive, attractive, and provides a lot of storage. Attach the shelves from floor to ceiling. Store infrequently used items up high – as long as they are not heavy. Heavy items should be stored low. Use a set of matching baskets to store small items.

➢    Store spare bedding in clear bags and place them under the bed. Try the special bags that use a vacuum to remove the air. You will be amazed with how much more you can store with these sturdy bags.  According to the principles of Feng Shui, any thing not related to sleep should be not be stored under the bed.

 


You can’t remember what your assignment is and when it’s due. Surprise! There's a test that you didn’t prepare for because you forgot all about it. You can't find your homework.
I believe most students want to succeed. But disorganization can squelch success.
Try following these organizing guidelines to improve academic success.

➢    Get a student planner. Forget the planners with the hourly increments. The student needs a planner that is divided by classes with sections that are large enough to record assignments in detail. Ideally get a planner with enough room to also record extra-curricular daily and weekend activities. This planner will be your best friend and as such, it will travel with you everywhere.
 
➢    Write it down, write it down, and if I haven’t made myself clear, write it down.
Write down your name and phone number in the front – just in case the planner is misplaced.
Write down all of your extra-curricular activities in your planner.
Write down important dates in your planner as well, like mom’s birthday.
Write down assignments as your teacher is explaining the details. More on this follows. Do not trust your mind to remember the assignment. Use your brainpower for learning – not for the mundane details.

➢    Get all the facts about an assignment and record them in your planner on the day you receive the assignment.
What exactly are you suppose to read?
What exactly are you suppose to write or do?
What exactly are you suppose to turn it?
When is the assignment due?

➢    Consider the entry “Study English” versus the entry “Read Early American Literature pp. 35 thru 42.  Memorize the 3 important features of literature from the Great Awakening. Be prepared to discuss them in class on Wed, 12/12.” The first entry provides very little information and direction on what to do. Your brain has to do a lot of work to decode “study,” consequentially nothing gets done or the wrong thing gets done.
In contrast, the second entry provides you with exact details of the assignment. When you know exactly what to do it’s easier to do it – even if literature from the Great Awakening is not your cup of tea.

➢    Long-term assignments require special planning skills.
    How much time is available between the due date and the date the assignment was received? The operative word is “available.” Days that are so full of extra-curricular activities that you barely have time to review your notes are not “available.” By the way, do you now see the merit in writing down all of your obligations? Try to finish the assignment a few days a head of schedule in case your plans go awry or you catch the flu.
    What are all the steps involved in completing the assignment? Just write the steps down as you think of them. Don’t put the steps in order until you are quite sure you have written them all down.  Here’s a fun idea: write down each step on its own sticky note, and then arrange the sticky notes in order.
Schedule each step in your planner.  By writing down what you need to do and when you need to do it you have conquered one of the trickiest aspect of completing your long-term assignment.
    Make a note to turn in the assignment on the due-date.
    Designate a special file folder or envelope to store your project’s work.  You won’t have to worry about what you did with your notes.

➢    It’s a good idea to designate homes for other types of school paper as well. When you have a home for everything not only do you eliminate clutter, you know exactly where something can be found. You need places
to store handouts from each class
to store homework that you need to do
to store homework that you need to turn in
to store class notes
to store graded work.

➢    As soon as you arrive home, review the planner for the evening’s assignments.  As you complete each assignment, check it off in the planner, and pack up the assignment for your backpack.

➢    At the end of the evening, check the next day’s schedule.  Pack your backpack with any extra books or equipment that will be needed the next day. Put the backpack by the door and you are ready for the next day.