Daily Clutter » closets

Clearing up Children’s Closets

De-Clutter-Queen — Fri, 27 Feb 2009 06:22:14 +0000

One of the most common portrayals of children in movies today is that they are afraid of having monsters in their closets. When you take a look at the closet of a typical child, you will understand why: the closets are often disorganized and crammed full of scattered clothes and toys. In order to prevent this, you need to get to the root of the problem.

There are actually two main reasons why children are unable to properly put away their belongings: their physical limitations and the fact that they do not really know how to do so. In order to maintain order in your child’s closet, you should first make sure that your child can actually put the things away. A great idea is to add a clothing rod that is a bit lower, or place a stool or chair inside the closet, so that you child will learn how to put away clothes. This will also train your child to do things on his or her own.

Another thing you should do is to actually show the child how things need to be put into order. Many parents clean up the closet without actually showing the child how it is done, and then ask the child to keep the closet from becoming messed up. The problem with this is that you cannot expect children not to touch their closets. Sooner or later, items must be taken out and then put back. Without properly showing them how to clear up the closet, you are just perpetuating the inevitable mess.

What you need to do is sit down with them and show them that a closet does not magically organize itself. Have them help put their things away properly. You should also show them that while they may need to take things out, they should put the same things back and keep the closet organized. After a while, organizing the closet will not be a task, but a habit. This will ensure that your children’s closet will always require only minimal cleaning.

When you teach kids how to do things on their own and instill in them habits that will stick with them throughout life, you will be preparing them for when they grow older, as well as teaching them responsibility.

Get the Weeds Out!

De-Clutter-Queen — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 15:52:09 +0000

Like any fine garden, your home requires continual weeding and maintenance in order to stay clean, tidy, and organized. Weeding out unnecessary clutter will help you to minimize the amount of accumulated junk which plagues your lovely abode.

An organized home is one that maintains a clutter-free environment. The first step to controlling the clutter in your home is to take a good look at everything in your home, and take note of what is trash and unnecessary. Doing so will allow you to throw away things you don’t use and don’t need, clearing plenty of space to keep the things you want in your home.

A common mistake people make when trying to remove clutter from their homes is forgetting about hidden areas. Open up your closets, remove everything in them, and sort through the miscellaneous piles of junk you have accumulated over the years. Have a trash can ready, and toss anything you haven’t used in a while. A general rule: if you don’t need it, don’t keep it.

Often times people decide to keep things they don’t need because they still believe that the items work or have some kind of value. If you have a lot of such items, consider having a yard sale to get the remaining value from these belongings. After the sale, throw the remaining items away. If no one wants to buy them, they aren’t really worth anything!

For bigger items that won’t fit in your ordinary trash, you might have a bit more difficulty. Most towns and cities offer free trash pickup for big items, usually in the spring. Take advantage of this free service and prepare for it in advance. Get your big items ready and pile them in the garage until the pickup begins. That way, you can ensure you will have ample time to get the things out of your house that you don’t want and are just taking up empty space.

Keeping useless items out of your house is a habit that you have to get yourself into. Don’t keep things that you don’t need, just because you think they hold some sort of value. The shoes that haven’t fit for 10 years might still look like they’ve never been worn, but they won’t do you any good taking up your closet space!

The Mess Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

De-Clutter-Queen — Thu, 29 Jan 2009 21:36:02 +0000

The best place to start organizing is the cupboards or closets that have not been gone through in years. Most likely, that messy pantry closet is the heart of your clutter and once you straighten that mess, the rest will follow suit. And the first step, as scary as it sounds, is taking everything out of the closet and starting fresh with a clean, empty space.

As you are going through items that you have likely not paid any mind in years, you may decide that the item is not worth keeping. Be prepared with bags to hold anything that will make it’s way to the dumpster. As for the rest of the items that are in the closet, organize them in piles of like items. This is a great way to get the kids involved. You can create piles in other parts of the house, if certain items really don’t belong in a pantry closet but rather in another room, and your kids can help deliver the items to the various piles that they belong. Everything that is to go back in the closet should be piled in close vicinity so that when you are all done, you can take a visual inventory of what needs to go back in.

Never buy closet organizers blindly. How would you buy an organizer without a true grasp on what you are organizing? Once you have the closet emptied and the piles are all in front of you, now is time to sit down with pen and paper and make a plan for how all the items should go back in, and how they should be organized on the existing shelving that is in the closet, or possibly new units that you can procure.

Daily Clutter » closets

Clearing up Children’s Closets

Related:

Get the Weeds Out!

Related:

The Mess Gets Worse Before It Gets Better

Related: