Home Organizing Tips & Gizmos

Staying organized can be a constant battle. The following organizing tips should help you in various areas of your home, even if you are "organizationally challenged":

? Entryway: To avoid chaos whenever you have to leave the house in a hurry, designate a "place" in the entryway for essentials to be stored (keys, purses, wallets, etc.). This area can be a hanging unit or a hall table?.. the trick is to consistently put things in the same place to avoid last minute search missions.

? Bathroom: Use an over the door hook rack in the bathroom to hang robes, towels, shower caps & blow dryers. Make sure that the over-the-door hanger mechanism is flat, so that the door closes fully.

? Bedroom: In dresser drawers, use dividers or small boxes to contain sock pairs by color. This makes it so much easier to find the socks you need, so you don't get to work and notice you are wearing mismatched socks. This will become even more important in the upcoming fall/winter season as the distinction between blue and black becomes more subtle, as we dress in darkness!

? Kitchen: Store your extra garbage bags at the bottom of the garbage pail, where you'll need them! If you use the plastic bags from the store, get a wall mounted dispenser to house them (conserves space & makes it easy to pull just one out!)

? Jewelry: Always looking for a way to hang necklaces to avoid tangles and to see which ones you have? Try mounting a horizontal pole (with the wall attachment in the middle), so that necklaces can be hung. The pole can be placed inside a closet or wherever is appropriate!

? Shelves: Stop the cascade of tumbling sweater hills. Buy shelf dividers to keep your stacked linens, sweater & t-shirt piles upright. They are inexpensive & and no tools are required!

? Shoes: Tired of opening multiple shoe boxes to find the pair you want! Store your shoes in clear shoe drawers which provide easy visibility of color/style. They are also stackable & provide dust protection.

? Closets: To make room for your Fall/Winter season clothing, use under-bed storage plastic containers which can house your summer wardrobe until next year. This also works well if you feel you simply must hang on to smaller sized clothes that you no longer wear, just in case you lose the weight.

Happy Organizing!

Copyright 2004-All rights reserved

As The Organizing Wiz, Ilene Drexler works with clients in New York who want to get organized in their home or offices. She has earned a certificate in Chronic Disorganization from the National Study Group on Chronic Disorganization, and is a member of the National Association of Professional Organizers. For more information, you may contact her at 917-301-1981 or http://www.organizingwiz.com.

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