It’s hard to get motivated to organize your entire house because the expanse of it seems insurmountable! But maybe starting off with a few quick projects will help to get you motivated and more confident in your abilities!
1. Test out all of your pens and markers to see which ones are dried out! Most people have a huge selection of pens and markers (more than would ever be necessary), but often I find huge amounts that don’t work anyway! Testing out all of your pens, markers, highlighters and other writing utensils is a quick job, and one that can be done while watching TV, but is so helpful! Your pen cup that is overflowing will be less packed afterwards, and you won’t be holding onto stuff that is not useful. Remember to save up your dried up writing utensils and bring them to your local Staples® location to be deposited in their Terracycle bin for recycling!
2. Do a quick audit of your fridge and see what unidentifiable items are lurking at the back! Your most commonly used and most delicious foods will most likely be at the front for easy access, and often what happens is leftovers, sauces, and other remnants from past dinners fall to the back of the fridge, never to be seen again (or at least not for a while)! Do yourself a favour and figure out what that funky smell is. Pull out your items, one shelf at a time and see if there is anything that can be tossed in the green bin or used up in your next dish! Remember that “best before” dates are only there to let us know when a product has changed texture, taste or nutritional value, and doesn’t meant that it is poisonous after that date! Use your best judgement, give it a smell and decide for yourself whether you will still eat it or not. Assign a section/shelf in your fridge for leftovers and items to eat up quickly, and keep it near the front of the fridge so it is a constant reminder to use them up!
3. Empty out your purse, wallet or backpack that you use daily to go out. Bags like these become a dumping ground for receipts, scraps of paper, food wrappers, freebies, and other random objects, so it’s good to check in on them every once in a while! Take out everything and sort between what is essential to go back into your bag/wallet, what is trash, and what needs to be relocated. For items going back in, assign them a “home” in a certain pocket or area of your bag so you always know where to find them – just be sure to put them back in that same spot! You will be amazed and how much lighter your bag will be once you get rid of unnecessary items! Your body will thank you.
4. Much like your purse/bag, your car can become a dumping ground for the odds and ends collected throughout the day! Take a few minutes to go around with a trash bag to get rid of food wrappers and receipts, and to bring the sweater and books left in there and relocate them back to their “homes” inside. Go through the console, side pockets, glove compartment and trunk to make sure you clear out all the areas. Make sure you have the things you need in there too, like a snow scraper and small shovel in the winter, and sun block and sunglasses in the summer. Your car should hold things that are useful for when you are driving, but shouldn’t hold other things for longer than necessary. Get in the habit of bringing stuff into the house after your car journey – make sure your arms are full before you start walking to your front door! This will help curb the clutter that accumulates throughout the week and keep your car more organized!
5. Go through your sock drawer and match loose socks! People swear to me all the time that their washing machine is eating up all their socks, so it might be a good idea to match them all up and keep an eye on them! Start by taking all your socks out of the drawer. You may have a huge pile and have no idea where to start. I find it’s easiest to spot the most unique ones first. Put all of your black socks in one pile, your whites in another, your colourful ones in a third. If you have a LOT of a certain colour, start sorting within that pile by shape or length, until you’ve found all of the mates. You may be left with a large pile of single socks at the end, but don’t toss them yet! Wait until your next laundry day to see if any of them ended up in the basket without their match. Wear your socks mismatched if that’s your style! Or, find other uses for loose socks like using them as dusting rags or wrapping them around jars so they don’t clang together when transporting them to your bulk food store (check out this blog from Reader’s Digest for more ideas). Enjoy that blissful feeling when your sock drawer finally closes properly because it isn’t packed to the top.
Are you feeling motivated yet?! If not, that’s ok! It’s hard to get motivated to do things that you don’t enjoy. That’s where I come in. Get in touch with me if you are looking for motivation and direction so you can accomplish your organizing needs! I would love to help :)
