Now that the holidays are almost over, some of us are already dismantling our decorations. It feels kinda good to see the normal room reappear, but sad in a way because the decorations held the gray skies at bay for a few weeks.
If your New Year’s resolution seems to always involve being more organized but it never seems to happen, maybe these tips will encourage you in keeping that resolution this year!
So, it’s almost New Year’s and that means that it’s time to pack stuff away, but that’s a lot easier said than done, in most cases. On today’s market, there are so many totes, file cases, dish keepers and specially-designed wreath and ornament boxes that it shouldn’t be hard to put your hands on some, but, like everything else, they come with a price, and sometimes it’s not cheap.
Alternatives for stowing decorations and clutter include the old fashioned way, in shoe-boxes, crates, plastic garbage bags and Rubbermaid containers. But here are a few other options, some of which I’m sure you already have on hand.
Baskets, especially the stackable kind with lids, can work wonders for holding books and magazines, sewing notions, or unread mail. Just choose a pretty one, then sort through your books or magazines and add them per subject, the same as you would on a shelf.
Recipes can be easily accessed by placing tags or separators for each category, then filing them according to subject, like “cakes” with sub-categories like, “cheesecakes” or “pound cakes”. You can purchase accordion files for these, but stackable ones in totes made for files take up less space and can be tucked away in a closet when not in use.
Decorative boxes; these might have a holiday theme or they might just be the color of the contents – red or green for Christmas, white or pink for Easter, and red and blue for the 4th of July. One thing you want to be sure of is getting a clear tote, or one with a slight tint, so you can see through it.
Label, label, label anything and everything!
Labeling also helps the moving company to know just what room each box goes in. Even if you aren’t moving it helps to recognize a tote quickly.
Closets hold much more if things are organized and easy to access. Put only out of season or very rarely used items on the top shelf. Sort clothes into color categories, then rehang only the ones for the current season. Out-of-season clothes should be in drawers, closets in the guest room or foyer, or folded and stored in totes in the attic.
Dresser drawers can become more organized with the help of those little plastic grids that you can find in the storage sections of home improvement stores. These are much like the cardboard grids that come in ornament boxes. You can store neat rows of socks, underwear, panty hose, tights and leggings so that you can see each one at a glance and not have to go pawing through every single pair to find the ones you wanted at the very bottom.
If you have a formal dining room which is little to never used, take advantage of the space under the table. Use it for dish storage, knickknacks, boxed tablecloths, etc. Then cover the table with an heirloom cloth, and there you have a new storage place.
Pantry space is always at a premium. Use lots of Rubbermaid containers, chip clips and zip-lock bags to store partially used bags of chips, cookies or cereals. Make every inch of space count and help the family understand why they should wrap or bag treats after opening.
If you have a storage building you are way ahead of the game. Here again, labeling makes it so much easier when you start decorating next year!
When I store seasonal decorations in the attic I try to arrange them so that the totes holding what I’ll need next are in the forefront. This way I don’t have to move everything around to reach them. That might take a little more effort right now, but it’s very much worth it, say when Halloween rolls around. Hanging metal items (like signs or figures made of outdoor material) from the rafters directly over the totes holding other Halloween items gives me a clear indication of what’s in the totes below.
You can keep sheets and pillowcases together by storing the folded sheets and one pillowcase inside another. Tie the top with a cord and store in a linen closet. Experts recommend that textiles be stored in cotton rather than plastic.
Extra cleaning materials, spray bottles, individually wrapped rolls of paper towels, pet supplies and other commonly used cleaners can be stored in the garage on metal shelving with wheels. This frees up cabinet space for other things. Taking inventory before visiting the grocery store each week helps you keep from duplicating these products.
Look for other clutter-busting ideas in this column during the month of January.
Copyright 2016 Humble Roots, LLC. All Rights Reserved.
