What do organized people do differently from the rest of us?

I’m not the world’s most organized person, but I have studied organized people. No, I’m not a stalker, but I’ve found myself adopting habits from people I’ve met along the way, who seem to make work seem effortless. Why reinvent the wheel, when someone else beat your to it?!

Here’s just a sampling of some of the habits of highly organized people I’ve discovered. These may seem simple, but some I have been more successful at emulating others–that first one is a doozy for me.

Habits of Highly Organized People

1. Get Started Early – While not all highly organized people are early risers, they all get started with their day right away. There is no wasting time checking the phone from bed. Get up and get ready for the day.
2. Make a List–and Stick to It – One of the most effective organizational habits is to make a list. I regularly make daily lists, weekly lists, and longer-term lists. It is important to write things down, so you can stay on top of it all, but also, crossing items off builds such a sense of accomplishment.
3. Set Priorities – By the same token, making lists help organized people set priorities. Setting and following through on priorities is key. It allows you to accomplish tasks in a streamlined and systematic way, which keeps you from wasting time by completing things out of order, or ahead of more crucial items.
4. Implement Routines – Highly organized people are creatures of habit. While you may want (and need) to retain some spontaneity in your day, it can be helpful to follow a basic routine. Checking email first thing in the morning and after lunch, catching up on phone calls in the late afternoon, etc.
5. Everything in Its Place – Clutter is kryptonite to organized people, and they learn to keep their physical and virtual spaces clutter-free. File papers and email away as soon as possible.
6. Necessary Tools Should Be Handy – It’s also crucial to keep everyday tools at hand, so time isn’t wasted hunting for things you need.
7. Practice Upkeep – Organized people maintain their stuff to avoid slowdowns, or worse, getting off task completely. Organized people are just as likely to get their cars tuned up regularly as they are to run regular malware and virus scanners on their computers.
8. Clean Up As You Go – Whether you are working on a graphic design job on your computer or making a meal in the kitchen, clean up as you go. It keeps your mind from getting distracted by unnecessary things and just makes everything more pleasant.
9. Get in the Zone – Highly organized people understand the need to compartmentalize. When you have set your priorities, get to work and get into the “zone”. You will be amazed how more you will be able to get accomplished.

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Maximize your space and declutter your home.

For those of us living not living in Martha Stewart or Bill Gates-sized mansions space is always issue, and maximizing that space is the key to declutter your home and to creating a more zen-like space.

Even though we all try to avoid conspicuous consumption and hoarding, the accumulation of stuff happens. Whether you live alone in an urban apartment or you live with your partner, 3 children, 2 dogs and a cat in suburban ranch house, there never seems to be enough space to keep everything organized, in its place and have a clutter-free home. Having enough space to keep organized is directly relative to the amount of stuff and people you are trying to cram into your home.

The bills are always spread out across the table, your child’s homework projects are on the coffee table and/or the laundry is piled high waiting to be put away. Life happens and when it does, it’s messy. But, you can get on on top and exert some control over your space and stuff. There are solutions to declutter your home, maximize your space and maximizing your life as well.

Declutter your home, get more organized and maximize your space with these 5 space-saving tips and project ideas.

1. Add a Murphy bed. To add more space to your bedroom, consider investing in a Murphy bed. Murphy beds can range from the very pricey to more affordable options like those offered by Lori Wall Beds.
2. Create a room divider to separate a room into functions. For example, add a bookcase divider to separate your living space from a much needed home office that can be tucked away behind that bookcase. Here are some room divider project ideas.
3. Maximize the space under the stairs. For two-story homes, the under stairs space is often underutilized or just a catch all for junk. Get inspired by these solutions to reclaim the space under your stairs.
4. Go vertical. If you are like most people, the floor space in your home is packed. That’s when you go vertical. Adding shelves, tall cabinets, stacking and hanging storage can all increase your storage space. In the kitchen, consider adding hanging pot storage to maximize your space.
5. Hide it. When all else fails, hide your stuff away with hidden storage in your furniture. Coffee tables, ottomans, beds and sofas all have the potential to be used as storage. Try making this under the bed storage platform to store out of season clothing and shoes.

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We’ve rounded up some of the most useful organization tips to make your junk useful again.

You’re feeling really proud of yourself: You’ve finally decluttered your home! You’re now sitting with a gigantic pile of rubble in front of you… and have no idea what to do with it. (Womp, womp.)

Luckily, there are plenty of ways to repurpose your clutter, and here are 6 organization tips to get you started:

1. Yard Sale
This is one of those classic organization tips that never goes out of style: Have a yard sale! Get the entire family in on the action, make a weekend of it and turn your junk into extra coin.

2. Sell Online
Websites like Craigslist, Kijiji and of course eBay are great places to sell your items online. Make sure to take clear photos of each item and write clear descriptions that include any wear and tear (it helps to take close-up shots of these flaws too).

If you’re like me and just want the clutter gone already, here’s one of my newly discovered organization tips: Ship everything to Amazon. They’ll store and ship all of your items as they sell on their website. Here’s a fantastic tutorial to get you started.

3. Give away
If you’re not a big fan of yard sales but don’t want to throw your items out either, post what you want to give away on Freecycle. People in your area will see your listing and you can coordinate a pick-up time that’s convenient for both of you. Easy breezy.

4. Donate
There are plenty of ways to donate your items to good causes. Here are just a few examples to get those gears turning:

• The Women’s Alliance helps provide disadvantaged women with the tools, education and support to become self-sufficient through employment. Through their local chapters, you can donate your old clothing and accessories to help women nail their interviews.
• Donate Games is dedicated to supporting children with rare diseases through repurposing video games and related devices.
• Sports Gift takes your old baseball mitts, bats, and other sports-related gear and donates them to needy children in the U.S. and abroad.

5. Give to Friends
Setup everything you don’t want in one room, and anytime you have friends, family or neighbors over, tell them to take a browse and see if there’s anything they’d like for themselves. If you’d like to get rid of your clutter as quickly as possible, turn it into a weekend clearance event.

6. Regift
How many of you are guilty for buying something and then never taking it out of the box? How many of you have pieces of clothing that still have tags attached? (Bashfully raises hand.) Let’s face it: If you were going to use/wear them, you would have by now. Think about the people in your life and designate each item as an upcoming Christmas or birthday gift.

When it comes to clutter, what organization tips do you live by?

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It’s easy. Learn how to de-clutter your home with these ingenious storage solutions and tips.

One thing I cannot tolerate in my home is clutter. My home can be spic and span clean, but if there are piles of clutter needing my attention, it drives me crazy. You know what I’m talking about–piles of magazines, new and old mail mixed together, that abandoned crafting project, recyclables, your children’s homework, etc.  I’d rather skip the house cleaning and attack those piles of clutter any day. Clutter keeps me from relaxing in my own home–and I know I’m not the only who feels this way. While I do have some friends who seem to not mind the everyday clutter, I think most of are bothered by clutter and want to eradicate if from the world.

I’ve found clutter’s kryptonite is to not let it develop in the first place. In my house, everything has a home–even if that home is the junk drawer. I try to deal with clutter as it happens, so I’m not left facing a bunch of stuff to clean up and put away before I can even start on cleaning the house.

Part of learning how to declutter as it happens is having storage solutions in place beforehand. When the mail comes in, it should have a home that’s not the kitchen counter. Planning ahead of time and having storage solutions in place can save you and your home from the dreaded clutter monster.

How to declutter:

1. Don’t forget about closet and cabinet doors. Installing hanging storage here, can double your storage space.

Image: jfiess

2. Pegboard can be your friend. While you might not want to hang peg board in your living room, pegboard isn’t just for the garage. Painted pegboard can be a lifesaver in the laundry room, craft room and office.

3. Think outside the box with your storage solutions, like this clever idea for storing spools of ribbon on a skirt hanger. Ingenius.

Image: ReillyButler

4. Large mason jars make great catchalls for those little items we all seem to collect–leftover buttons, old keys, stray matchbox cars and what have you. If you need to declutter quickly, just toss those stray little bits into a mason jar. Cleaning them out can be a rainy day project.

5. It’s a must that you have labeled storage by the door you use to come in and out of the house. Whether it’s a bookshelf with baskets or a table with bins, find a storage solution that works for you. This is where you will sort your mail and other items that need your attention when you are coming and going.

Image: supershoppertoo

6. You need copious amounts of baskets and boxes. I use these everywhere in my home. There’s a basket in every room to collect magazines. I also use stackable decorative boxes to store craft projects I am working on…that way there are hidden away, but I can also easily carry them around the house.

7. Have labeled storage for toys and games in your kids’ room and playroom. Wooden crates turned on their side and hung on the wall are a great solution. Label each with the child’s name or  the type of toy that is stored there. Use pictographs for young children.

Top image: Xoyos.com

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