Organize Like a Pro!
When Apartment Therapy sent us the 12 things that get in the way of an organized house, it struck a chord. From too many towels and plastic food storage containers to books and drinking glasses, we had to ‘fess up. And unless you’re a confirmed minimalist who purges weekly, you might be a little overstocked, too! The good news is, spring is the perfect time to clear out clutter. So, to inspire you (and ourselves) we collected a few quick tips from organizing pros.
Organize Your Kitchen
Home organizing guru Chip Cordelli says people tend to keep things with a “maybe” mindset. This applies to almost every room of your house, but in the kitchen, it can mean rarely-used heavy equipment that takes up much-needed space.
If you’re not using your bread maker, pasta machine or wok regularly, box them up for storage and make room for your blender and salad spinner – because summer’s comin’! And if you can handle a little pantry envy, take a look at these happy shelves from The Kitchn with a place for everything.
To die for.
Chip also recommends investing in organizers to segregate your utensil and junk drawers. Home Depot carries bamboo organizers for $17, and the Container Store has acrylic, mesh and interlocking plastic to configure any drawer in your house.
Here are 10 more tips for an orderly kitchen from HGTV, and two dozen off-beat but clever ways to organize from BuzzFeed with plenty of product links to make your life easier.
Organize Your Home Office
Adequate furniture that provides enough space for your equipment, reference materials and storage is key in a home office. Real Simple offers 21 tips for making your home office more efficient by creating a work center, a reference center and a supply center.
Shelves are invaluable, as are jars and cans to hold pens, pencils and scissors, plus organizers to corral pins, paperclips and extra staples. For more ideas, Pinterest has scores of photos and links for organized office space.
Organize Your Closet
Homedit, the interior design and architecture site, is ruthless in attacking an out-of-control closet. And for the purge process, Honey We’re Home has seven questions to ask yourself about garments and footwear when sifting into keep, toss or donate piles.
After you’ve sorted your stuff, get the keepers onto hangers — you know the skinny flocked kind that grip your clothes. A 50-pack is $22 on Amazon. And while you’re at it, get some hooks for purses, belts, ties and scarves.
Organize Your Jewelry
A pegboard can handle your jumbled jewelry, like this example-with-tutorial from The Inspired Hive. Or an easier and less expensive alternative from Good Housekeeping is colorful push pins for all your necklaces, bracelets and earrings.
Finally, check out 12 tips personal organizers would never tell you, but Reader’s Digest coughs up for free! And take one minute to scan the list of 116 things you should throw away NOW. Who isn’t holding onto some of these: DVDs you don’t watch, outdated hand-me-downs that don’t fit and promotional t-shirts you never wear? Guilty as charged!
Crystal Valley Collections
One more confession: the breath-taking homes in the master-planned community of Crystal Valley are style-forward and will fit you perfectly! Stop by the sales office of Richmond American Homes to explore the latest floor plans. With both ranch or two-story models, new homes in this Castle Rock community are priced from the $300s.
