 ASK
OUR EXPERTS...
My New Year’s resolution is to get organized, however I’m not sure
where to begin, what to do, or how to complete the job. Can you give me some
suggestions?
By Maggie Rogers of Amazing Spaces Professional Organizing Solutions
Organizing is a gradual process. If you try to de-clutter too many areas
at once, you may feel overwhelmed and give up. It’s important to finish one
organizing task before moving on to the next. To simplify your organizing
project, follow these steps --SORT, PURGE, CONTAIN and LABEL.
Why not start by organizing all your Christmas supplies before putting them
away? You can begin by SORTING the gift paper into categories, e.g., rolls,
sheets, bags and tissue paper; then move on to the ribbons, bows, tags and
other decorative materials. You can then divide them into sub-categories of
similar colour, size, texture or pattern. When this is done, PURGE each
group to eliminate any that are torn, worn or generally unusable.
You are now ready to find CONTAINERS for the various wrapping items. There
is a large selection of clear plastic bins and other storage units
available; some of these are designed specifically for wrapping materials.
After you pack a container, LABEL it and be as descriptive as possible
regarding the contents. This is a very important part of the organizing
process.
Next, tackle the Christmas-tree decorations, following the same process.
There are also specific containers designed to provide protection for
fragile ornaments and lights. As an alternative, you can wrap ornaments
individually in tissue paper and place them in bins according to their
location of use, colour, size, type or texture. When finished with the tree
ornaments, move on to your other Christmas items and repeat the process.
If possible, keep the area in your home used for storing Christmas
decorations dedicated to those items only. You can then easily locate
everything you need for next year’s stress-free decorating.
Ongoing maintenance is essential; therefore, I suggest purging the
decorations at the end of each holiday season and listing items to be
purchased or repaired. This ensures that your Christmas system remains
up-to-date.
When you’ve completed this project, you are ready to organize the other
areas of your home or office using the steps described above.
For more information regarding organizing challenges, contact Maggie
Rogers of Amazing Spaces Professional Organizing Solutions at 828.0400
reorganize@shaw.ca
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