The Five Rules for Home Organization

Having trouble getting organized?  Make sure you are following About.com's Five Rules of Storage.

The "One In, One Out" rule is key to keeping your house from becoming cluttered.  In other words, when you buy a new t-shirt, give away an old one.  Obviously there are exceptions and there are things you want more than one of, in which case that thing is part of a collection and you need to store it properly.  However, pay close attention to what you are no longer using and find a new home for it when it's no longer needed.

When cleaning and organizing your home, begin with storage areas like the attic, closets, and garage.  That way you can start by getting rid of the stuff that you stored earlier and no longer need, which provides space to store more.  If you are living in a small #apartment with no storage spaces, begin with the places that have the most stuff like closets, drawers, cabinets, etc.

By simply buying boxes, bins, and storage units, you won't magically be organized.  Consider carefully whether you need additional storage options, whether it fits what you have, and then use it religiously or else it's just a waste of money.

Labeling boxes, especially the stuff that gets accessed less frequently, is key to saving yourself the time of having to go through a ton of boxes to find one thing.

Don't neglect the option of storing items digitally, whether it's on a hard drive or in the cloud.  Digital storage takes up no physical space and is a great way to store things that would go in a file cabinet, file boxes, or photo albums.

Ready to downsize to fit your newly organized lifestyle?  Give Apartment Experts South a call today at 512-416-8100!