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What to Organize in Your Home & Office

What to Organize Checklist

By , About.com Guide

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Before you begin organizing, it's imperative to have a game plan for what exactly you're going to organize. To that end, I've create this checklist for every room in your home you should organize from Attics to Workspaces, and guides to how to organize, store, donate or recycle everything in your home and office.

Organize your Attic

Cabo Basket Rectangular by Design Ideas - LargePhoto / Design Ideas

An organized attic is a great asset because of the (sometimes huge) amount of storage space it offers. Make sure things are placed on sturdy shelving for easy access, and labelled for easy retrieval.

When to Organize: Organize this space twice a year. I like to tackle the attic when it's time to take down and then re-store holiday decorations. (See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.)

Attics 101 See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Basement

Schulte FreedomrailPhoto / Schulte

Much like an attic, an organized basement is a great asset because of the amounts of storage space it offers. Make sure things are accessible -- this is where your buckets and bins come into play -- and safe from water damage. I like to use this shelf-and-bin combo for storage:

  1. Heavy Duty shelving from Durashelf +
  2. Clear Stacking Bins +
  3. Brother Label Maker

These three products make it incredibly easy to store, and then easily retrieve out-of-season clothing, kitchen items, office supplies and more, while keeping them out of your main living area.

When to Organize: Organize this space twice a year. I like to tackle the basement seasonally, when it's time to take down and then re-store holiday decorations, clothing, or outdoor gear like patio furniture and beach supplies. (See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.)

Basements 101 See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Bathroom

Baskets in BathroomsPhoto / Pinterest

A clean, well-organized, and clutter-free bathroom can help you get a good start to the day, and is all-around healthier as you'll be purging the space of old medications regularly.

When to Organize: Declutter this space weekly. I like to tackle the bathroom on Sundays to start the week fresh. (See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.)

Bathrooms 101

See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Bedroom

Photo / Domino Magazine

Keep as little as possible in your bedroom*, making sure your clothes and shoes don't overwhelm the rest of the room. This is supposed to be a restful pace.

*The exception is if you live in a studio apartment, and then organize it into zones: sleeping, eating and cooking, entertaining/relaxing and your dressing area.

When to Organize: Declutter this space twice weekly, including a quick closet sweep, a good dusting, and decluttering for un-worn or dirty clothes that haven't made their way into the hamper yet. (See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.)

Bedrooms 101 See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Clothes & Closet

Elfa Large Shared ClosetPhoto / Container Store

An organized closet will make your bedroom more peaceful, and will help you maintain sanity on early mornings while trying to get yourself and your family out the door to work, school, and errand-running.

When to Organize: Declutter this space twice weekly, and do a major over-haul and re-organization twice a year. (See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.)

Closets 101 See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Clutter

Clipboards for CraftingPhoto / Heart Handmade

Banishing clutter for your home is process that requires daily upkeep. The resources below will take you step-by-step through your home with a plan to declutter a little bit at a time.

When to Organize: I recommend staying on top of clutter every single day, but following the Weekly Organizing Routine, or committing to declutter your home once a week. See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.

Clutter 101

See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Donations

Kellan Equipment Organizer from Pottery BarnPhoto / Pottery Barn

Knowing a good place to donate clothing and household items makes the decluttering and organizing process much easier. I donate all of my belongings to a charitable organization that picks them up at my doorstep (Its the Vietnam Veterans of America), which makes the process even easier for me, because all I have to do is clean and bag things, and then leave them on my front porch on the appointed date.

When to Organize: Take some time to research an organization whose mission you support, read their donation guidelines and then start donating on a regular basis, either monthly (for a large household) or seasonally.

Donating 101 See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Financial Documents

Bamboo desk set from Franklin Covey

Once you've organized your financial and important documents (think birth certificates, social security cards, credit card statements), you're going to feel very accomplished. This task is worth the time in peace of mind alone.

When to Organize: I like to go through these documents once a year, and then I incorporate decluttering these documents into my weekly routine while handling mail and paper. See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.

Finances & Financial Documents 101

See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Foyer & Entry Way

Big Mirror in FoyerPhoto / Greige Design

As the foyer is the entry way to your home, you want to keep this neat and tidy 24/7, which tends to be a challenge. I know I like to toss everything I’m carrying as soon as I walk in the door. Keeping this area organized means strategically using the space to catch and collect items. Think about incorporating a bench or hooks into the space for keys, bags, dry cleaning and shoes.

When to Organize: The foyer is a space you need to tackle either daily, or at least weekly. See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.

See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

Organize your Garage

Ulti Mate Garage Storage SystemPhoto / Ulti Mate

Not just for cars anymore, the garage, when organized into zones can be a place to work on home improvement projects and even used for entertaining in warmer climates.

When to Organize: This one depends on how you use your garage. If you're a "weekend warrior" doing a lot of home improvement projects that use your garage space, then you want to do a full re-org every season; those who simply use this space to store the car can get away with organizing it once or twice a year. See the daily, weekly and monthly organizing calendars for tips of when to organize everything.

Garages 101

See the index of all Home How To Guides A-Z

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