Rule Number Three.

I must once again put in a good word for the handy (and I might add CHEAP!) organizational supplies found at IKEA. They offer small storage solutions for laundry & cleaning, waste sorting, boxes & baskets, paper & media organizers, bins & bags, clothes & shoes organizers, hooks & hangers, kitchen organizers and (of course) bathroom accessories.

Now, you already know Rule Number One ('Everything Needs a Home') but what if  the 'home' you give something is a 'full-house'.

What if you have so many spices or so many pens/pencils or so many anything really that you can't easily access any of it? What if you're dutiful to return everything to its proper place but things still don't seem to be going your way organizationally?

That's where Rule Number Three comes in: Accessibility is the Key.

Many times, storage systems purchased at stores such as IKEA can offer the perfect solution. I hope my sister won't mind if I use her bathroom as the perfect example.

What you must know: my sister has four, count em', FOUR girls. And as many can relate, four girls all sharing one bathroom can equal disaster at times. Happily, my sister has it under control. She purchased three BYGEL rails for $1.99 a piece and six BYGEL containers for $.99 each. To add some variety, she also invested in two BYGEL wire baskets for $1.99 a piece.

The end product looks AMAZING.

Now, instead of piling things of top of each other and cramming hair products onto a shelf too deep to be humanly reached, everything is logically ordered for accessibility. Her girls love having their own space and the removable containers make finding the perfect hair accessory easy-peasy. She even added a fun plastic plant for a burst of color and freshness. (Excuse the poor photo quality.)



Other times, necessity is the mother of invention.

Take a look at the clever way in which she organized her daughter's flower hair clips. By tacking a fun, wide ribbon to the wall and clipping each barrette along its length, she not only created a beautiful wall decoration but an ingenious solution to the 'messy bin of hair things' that no one ever uses because it's so cluttered.

Learn to tell the difference between 'organization' and 'compilation'. Are you organizing logically to allow for easy accessibility? Or are you simply making cluttered piles?

Assess your surroundings and make them work for you.

Rule Number Two.

Here's the thing.
Organization doesn't have to be all time consuming.

If you were to spend 10 minutes a day deep cleaning a particular area of your home, there would be no need for major Spring cleanings or stressful Saturdays, elbow deep in sudsy water.

So here's the second important thing to remember: KISS.

Now... little do you know, this can be interpreted two ways.
#1 is pretty self explanatory. Feel free to participate in said activity as much as you want.
#2 is more specifically the issue at hand. Keep It Simple Stupid!

You don't need to be super-mom or anal-girl to keep things under control. Follow these few simple steps and you'll be fancy-free:

1) Constantly pick up after yourself.
Messes can't pile up if you take care of them right away. Just like when you were little and your mom said, "You have to put away the blocks before you can take out the Barbies." Now, this may seem a little juvenile but, if you need to limit yourself in this way, heck, it's a place to start.

2) Make sure your SCHED-ule will allow it.
Life is all about priorities. Decide today that you want to make your home a haven from a world of chaos and clutter. Though most people don't relish mopping the floor or scrubbing the toilet, it will not get done if you do not do it! Buckle down and get to work.

3) Organize yourselves.
I don't know how to state it more simply. Straighten out. Straighten up. I'm always willing to help.

4) Make home feel like 'you'.
This can be the most self-gratifying step of all. I am telling you to go out and find objects, colors, forms, etc. that scream 'you' then incorporate them into your space. You will feel ever so happy with the house you have now transformed into a home.

Moral:
Follow these simple steps on you'll be well on your way to becoming the organized goddess that you've always known you could be.

Rule Number One.

Everything has a home.
I repeat.
Everything MUST have a home.

Here's what I mean:
Just as you and I have homes that we return to each day, the objects we allow into our lives must also be given somewhere to 'live'.

I'll give you some quick examples:
A) Milk cartons go in the fridge.
B) Dirty clothes go in a hamper.
C) Garbage goes in the trash can.

See what I mean? Easy-peasy-lemon-squeezy.

Granted, just as humans move from time to time, objects may also find themselves re-located to a new home occasionally.

But by no means am I endorsing homeless, vagabond junk. Left strewn across every surface.

So here's what you need to do:
Go home, find items that are 'home'sick and then, well...

You know what to do.