MAKE YOUR DREAM HOME STORAGE ORGANIZED
The question we all get stuck with is where to even begin, when we want to get
our home organized. The two best times to jump in and and get started
organizing your home is at the new year, or in the spring before it gets too hot
when summer hits.
From a major deep cleaning, to simple things like decluttering your storage
closets or the garage, it doesn’t matter where you start as long as you just start.
You don’t want to plan to organize your full home at once, it’s best to start small
but continue working through so that you don’t get too overwhelmed with the big
task at hand. Break it down into steps, or rooms, so you don’t get frustrated and
burned out.
Walk Through Your Entire House
A good idea to begin is to grab a pen and paper, or your tablet or smartphone,
and start walking through your home taking notes. Take notes for each room,
starting from your front door all the way back through each room, and then the
garage. Take note of everything that you would like to get done in each room.
Try to write down three tasks that you would like to do in each room to get each
room organized and clutter free. Taking note of things that you would like to buy
or add like storage shelves, storage containers, and new furniture type purchases
that will have built in storage as well. Take note of anything that needs to be
purchased, or built, and any particular cleaning supplies and tasks that you want
to get done.
Clean and Declutter Your Storage Spaces
As you start looking into your storage areas, like closets, cabinets, and your
garage, you will be amazed at how much stuff you have acquired since your
moved in or since the last time you did this. The best place to start decluttering,
and getting rid of stuff you no longer need will be your storage spaces like your
pantry, your closets, cabinets, then later even your garage.
Organize Your Kitchen Pantry
To organize your pantry the best plan of attack here is to remove everything from
your pantry, wipe it all down and clean it nicely. Then take a look at everything
you have to put back in there, check for expiration dates, or items that have been
previously opened that could have become stale or could have little critters
enjoying themselves in the packages. Put things back in the order you want them,
so you will be organized and more prepared with your meal preparation. You will
be probabily be surprised to find some of the things you didn’t remember you
had in there. Throw out anything that you don’t want, or has expired or gone
stale.
Organize Your Bedroom Closets
To organize your bedroom closets, approach them one at a time. Take everything
out of the closet so you can go through each item, each piece of clothing, each
box, and get rid of things you no longer want or need. Lay it all out on the bed,
and then start making piles of what’s staying, what’s going to be donated, what
will be given to friends or family, and what will be thrown away.
Then sweep or wipe down the shelves, and vacuum the floor. Clean any light
fixtures, wipe down any dirt or other marks on any of the walls, doors, or shelves.
This would also be a great time to do some touch up painting with the clothes
being out of the way. If there is anything that you would like to change, or add
storage containers or hanging racks to save space, this would be the time to get
that added. Now that is is all cleaned up, you are ready for the fun part of putting
the things you are keeping back in the closet in a more organized way that you
like.
We all tend to hold onto clothing for way too long, so it’s important to look at
each piece and look for holes, stains, fading material, as well as to answer the
question as to whether you would actually ever wear it. If not, put it in one of
those other piles, and if you will then start loading the closet back up in a more
organized way that you like.
Deep Clean Your Home
No matter how often your clean your home, things do build up over time. A nice
deep clean is an important step to getting your home organized so you feel great
about your home when you walk through it. Especially since you are going
through all the work of decluttering and reorganizing your home. You don’t want
a messy home or a dirty home, to prevent yourself from feeling the happy
thoughts of a job well done, and the feeling of fully accomplishing the tasks you
set out to do.
Things to Deep Clean Throughout Your Home
•
Clean Your Windows
•
Steam clean your carpets
•
Clean baseboards, and crown moulding
•
Clean the tops of your hanging art and frames
•
Polish your hardwood floors
•
Clean your tile and the grout
•
Dust your shelves and other surfaces
•
Clean your window sills, window frames, and blinds
•
Clean your celinging fan blades and the fan body itself
•
Wash your curtains, window treatments, and any upholstery that is removable
•
Clean your mirrors in the bathroom, bedrooms, etc.
•
Clean behind and below your furniture
•
Disinfect all your door knobs, and cabinet
Deep Clean Your Bathrooms
Remove as many things from your bathrooms as you can, so that you can give
them a deep clean as well.
List of Bathroom Items to Clean
•
Clean Your Windows
•
Clean your blinds, window sills, and the window frames
•
Scrub the tile, the grout between the tiles, and your floors
•
Deep clean your toilets, tubs, showers, and sinks
•
Clean the door, the knobs, and the hardware
•
Wash the shower curtains, glass, mirrors, towel hooks, and bars
•
Wash your window treatments
•
Clean any central heating and cooling vents, and the exhaust fan vent
•
Clean the cabinets, and wash all the bathroom hardware
•
Wash any linens that you have out on the counter, or hanging
•
Clean the mirrors, light fixtures, and the inside of any cabinets or shelves
•
Wash any carpets or mats that you can wash
Now that you have it all clean, bring back everything that you washed and put
everything away nicely. Just like in the pantry, try to get rid of anything you will
never use, or that may be expired, or leaking if you won’t use it. Wash any items
as you are putting them away that need to be wiped down or cleaned. If you have
any storage containers or separators to be better organized in the bathroom this
would be a good time to put those in place and use them.
Deep Clean and Reorganize Your Kitchen
The kitchen is one of the most used room in the home with all the meal
preparation, and cooking that go into each day. No matter how much you clean
each day things do tend to pile up and there needs to be some time set aside
each year to do a full deep clean, and get everything organized. Take a section of
the kitchen at a time and empty every cabinet, shelve, and pull things away from
the counter top. Go through each item, clean any items that need to be cleaned,
and throw out anything you no longer need, want, or is expired and stale.
Things to Deep Clean In Your Kitchen
•
Clean your appliances inside and out
•
Clean the inside of the cabinets, and the shelving
•
Clean the hardware on any doors, drawers, and cabinets
•
Clean all of the light fixtures
•
Clean your windows, window sills, frames,
•
Clean your window blinds and window treatments
•
Wipe down your baseboards, and walls
•
If you have the paint, and the time, do some touch up painting
•
Clean all tile and grout, as well as the floors
•
Wash all the kitchen towels, curtains, carpets, and mats
•
Clean all the countertops
•
Clean out the refrigerator, and throw out any expired or foods you won’t eat
•
Wash and sanitize your trash can
•
Wash and sanitize your sink, dishwasher, and garbage disposal
•
Go through and clean out your junk drawer
Now you are ready to put things back away. This is a good time to add any
shelving, drawer dividers, maybe a bakers rack for storage, and containers to
organize your stuff. Organize your kitchen that makes meal prep much easier for
you.
Clean and Organize Your Small Spaces
Now is the time to clean the smaller spaces in your home like the laundry room,
your entryway, and your stairwells, and your hallways.
Your entryway is the place for first impressions when you have guests over, so it’s
an important area of your house to clean and declutter. This would be a good
time to switch out your indooor and outdoor mats, or clean them up if they can
be cleaned nicely. Adding a nice looking coat rack is nice for your guests, and
your family, to be able to take their coats off as they come into the warm house.
In the laundry room, give the floors a deep clean, clean out your dryer lint, wipe
down the washer and dryer, and wipe down the cabinets, walls, and doors. Clean
the floors, and if you have the time you may want to do a little touch up paint
here as well. If you have windows and window treatments, you should give these
a nice cleaning as well. Wipe down the baseboards, shelves, and your
countertops. Empty out the cabinets and clean anything that needs to be
cleaned, wipe down the cabinets on the inside, and as you put things away this
would be a good time to throw out or re-home anything that you don’t want to
put back into the cabinets or shelves.
These tips for deep cleaning will help get you started and once you have a fully
clean house, and an organized and decluttered house, your house will feel more
like a home again.
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