Tag Archives: how to get organized

A Fresh Start on Organizing Your Home: The Kitchen

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One of the kitchens on display at the Fulton Design Center

One of the kitchens on display at the Fulton Design Center

At first glance, getting your kitchen organized may seem like a daunting task. Chances are that when you moved in your goal was simply to get unpacked and able to make meals. Even if you had some plan of organization at the time, actually using your kitchen can help you discover that some items need to be rearranged. You have at least two ways to tackle your kitchen. See which one appeals to you.

Complete do-over. This is a full-day project, preferably with at least one other person to help as well. To make this work, try the following steps:

  • Clear off counters, placing any decorative items in another room for the day.
  • Have a bag ready for garbage and a box for giveaways.
  • Empty every shelf onto the counters and dining table.
  • Dispose of anything you don’t want or use in either the discard bag or giveaway box.
  • Wipe down counters and add or change shelf paper if desired.
  • Place the “sure things,” those items you already have a good place for, in their cupboards.
  • Thinking of function and utility, rearrange the other cabinets & drawers.
  • Determine if you need baskets or other containers for some items, and measure the space to know the size. Make a list for an upcoming shopping trip.
  • Measure your drawers for appropriate drawer dividers – these help keep drawers in shape once organized.
  • Compare the space left to the items left. Can you make them work? If not, consider more discards.
  • Put your kitchen counter accessories back, or not. Analyze what you actually want back in your kitchen.
  • Celebrate by going out to eat – you don’t want to mess up your newly-organized kitchen right away!

In our next organizing blog, look for advice on the second suggested method of kitchen organization. It takes longer but is less overwhelming.

A Fresh Start on Organizing Your Home: Your Calendar

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22422960_SSo, as we move into 2014 and the holiday decorations are down, it’s time to dive into all those plans to organize your life. How about starting with your calendar?

With just a little effort up front, your calendar, whether tangible or online, can be the central planning tool for just you or for your entire family. Here’s how to start.

Select your calendar. If you choose a paper calendar, it should be one that breaks everything down at least by the week, so you have plenty of room for appointment locations and directions if needed. This is where an online calendar comes in handy. Many of them have plenty of space for whatever notes you need to make, as well as the option for reminder emails.

Fill in all family birthdays and special holidays such as anniversaries. Then run through and add all of the standard appointments such as kid sports practices or Monday morning meetings at the office. If there are a number of family members, you might want to assign each one a color so everyone can see their events at a glance.

Place a paper calendar in a good central location, possibly connecting it to a desk drawer with string so it can’t walk away. The kitchen is the best place because everyone walks through there at least once a day. If you keep your calendar on the computer, choose a program such as Google calendar that everyone can log into, so that access is easy.

Finally, make it clear that any appointments or events that are not on the calendar are not part of your responsibility. If a child needs a ride or a spouse wants you to attend a company party, there had better be a note about it on the calendar, after they’ve cleared your part of the task with you, of course. You can also set ground rules, such as that in case of conflicts; the first event posted on the calendar takes precedence, with exceptions to be negotiated individually.

While this is only the beginning of what you have to do to get organized, this small step is an important one in the right direction.

Organizing your New Home – Recruiting Others

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12057397_SYou may have included your family when visiting your Fulton Home during construction, and they may have helped pack and unpack their own rooms, but now that you’ve moved into your new home, how about recruiting them to help you organize it?

You know that they contribute to the disorganization, so your spouse and children can be a terrific resource when figuring out how to create organizational systems that will last.

Start with one space in your home, such as the front or garage entryway. Do these spaces end up as catchalls for shoes, books, purses, keys and other things? If you chose the Fulton Drop Center built-in for your home, bring your family together to assign spaces, drawers and shelves to some of this clutter. You may even want to label some of it.

Could a drawer be assigned to each child to hold homework as well as notes to or from the teacher, and your spouse’s car keys? Would a bench with slots for shoes under it in the hallway help?

The kitchen is another space that begs for group organization. Setting up a breakfast center with various cereals, an area for making lunches with bags and containers, and placing a selection of afternoon snacks in a specific spot might help contain potential messes. Add in a few rules such as everyone bringing their dishes to the sink, rinsing them off and putting them in the dishwasher and you are on your way to a kitchen that keeps itself under control with only minor reminders from you.

Once you move on to coordinating homework, laundry and any other regular organizational challenges, you’re on your way to a more organized home. One final suggestion: provide regular prizes or little treats as a reward for maintaining the organizational system – for you as well as your family.