What are your best organization tips?

[Janiece Young]

It's spring here in Kansas City.  The combination of company coming at the end of the month and spring have sent me into a flurry of deep cleaning in my house.  The first room I tackled is my office.  I have been cleaning and organizing.  I would love to hear your best organization tips.  It doesn't have to be for the office.  

How about sharing how you organize your gear that you take to jobs?

I saw a tip on a TV show the other day by a professional organizer that I thought was great.  When you have deep closets or shelves, make a map (bird's eye view) of what you've got on the shelf on a Post-it note and put the Post-it on the inside of the door of the cabinet so that you know what is in the back of the closet.

I know that organizing saves time and money.  I can't believe how many ink pens I found while cleaning my office, lifetime supply, LOL!!!

Thanks,

Janiece

[Kelli Combs (admin)]

I don't have any tips and have clothes stuffed in drawers and everything's a mess.  I own a home that's over 100 years old.  In those days, they apparently didn't wear many clothes, so I have clothes stuffed on top of clothes and shoes thrown everywhere.  I hate opening up my closet.

I know you wanted tips, but I'm a bit disorganized.    Oh, yeah, my desk is a mess too.  Good thing is the housekeeper was here yesterday and the house looks amazing.  So nice to come home to a clean house after working all day.  :)

[RoseMary Davis]

I try to keep one room presentable. Close the doors on the rest! Maybe that comes from raising two boys and giving up the "clean your room" fight!! I do use the following guideline on thinning out my clothes: has to fit, has to make me look good, and I have to get at least the occasional compliment when wearing it, otherwise, out it goes! Good luck on organizing!

[Martha R]

I am not that organized but I am in favor of throwing stuff away that I don't use or clothes I don't wear.  I don't like clutter, and I have a small house.  I don't believe in having a lot of "stuff."   I try to pay all my bills online so I don't deal with a lot of mail.  Other than that, I am not that much help for organization

My 20 year old lives at home while she is in college, and she is a total pig.  So right now the two rooms she uses, her bedroom and a small den, look like crap.   And she is an artist and always working on projects and has pieces of this and pieces of that.  I have made quite a few trips to Ikea, buying the cute little boxes to put her stuff in.   I need more boxes still!    I even put together a cabinet from Ikea and hung it on the wall, to make more floor space.  I have several cabinets in the garage for storing stuff that *won't fit in the house*.   It is a constant battle.  No basements in California, nor attics (at least in my house)

[Janiece Young]

My sister hired a professional organizer.  The organizer had all kinds of tips.  One of the tips I liked was shelfgenie.  You can use this to make your existing cabinets more efficient.  It is not cheap, but it's probably cheaper than new cabinets.  You can even hire them to install them if your husband is not handy.

Here is the link to their website.

http://www.shelfgenie.com/

[Martha R]

Yes, I have seen those.   I always wonder if they are actually saving that much space.  Certainly they make items easier to get to.

[Janiece Young]

Martha, my sister had them installed.  They are wonderful. It makes it so you can access everything.