Remember playing "Store" when you were a kid? The sorting process is similar to that childhood game. Pretend your home is a store - and group all of your things into the correct department. We call it 'grouping like items together'.

 

Experts say 80% of household overcrowding is due to disorganization and not lack of space (cabinets, closets, drawers, storage spaces). Grouping like items together solves many overcrowding issues. Grouping like items together is also a basic organizing principle and the starting point for most organizing projects.

If your home is really a jumbled mess, you can think of it as your "store" getting turned upside down and everything falling off the shelves. Once the store was turned right side up, you'd begin sorting out the stock by taking items by the cart full to the department it belongs in.
 
Take a good look at the items around you right now. If you were standing in one of the big box stores like Wal-Mart or Target, what department would you find them in?
 
As consumers, we have been influenced by retail marketing more than we are aware of. One of the reasons we like to shop is because the stores are organized. When organizing your home, you can use the same departments as these big department stores to organize your home. I refer to this concept as using Retail Organizational Principles™.
 
When sorting, use these departments as your guide when grouping like items together:
 

Grocery

Kitchenware

Clothing (includes shoes, hats, scarves, belts, purses, etc.) for each person

Office supplies/school supplies

Crafts

Electronics

Auto

Pet

Health & Beauty

Pharmacy

Tools

House parts

Linens

Decorative accessories

Gardening

Seasonal

Sports

Toys

Storage

Recycle

Home Organization

 
A word of caution:
 
Your home will look worse before it gets better! Don't be afraid! It's part of the process.
Once you start emptying out cabinets and drawers and other containers and start to sort into categories, you will be using all your flat surfaces. Trust me; it will all come together in the end.
 
Sorting and separating into categories is the most important part of the organizing process and is the key to success. Resist the temptation to take shortcuts or skip the junk drawer, you'll want to do it right the first time.
 
To prevent overwhelm when working by yourself, consider working in 3 - 4 hour blocks of time, and then take a break for a day or two.

 

You can do this! Good luck!

Dymo Labelmaker 

 

The task of just storing stuff away seems like an arduous process, what is the easiest way to do it?

 
A:

 

 "Just storing stuff away" is a recipe for "never being able to find it" again. Think of the items in your home in terms of things you'd buy at the store. Most of your things probably came from a store in the first place, except maybe for heirlooms, memorabilia, and papers. Imagine your store was turned upside down and everything fell off the shelves and then it was turned right side up. You'd start the organizing process by just getting the things back to the correct department. Then you'd put things on the shelf. The things you'd put on the shelf together are the same items that would be suitable to store together in a container. You could have a container full of art supplies, a container full of Play Doh and all the tools used to shape it, a container full of small cars and trucks, a container full of Xbox 360 paraphernalia, etc. Remember to label the containers. Labels speak for you when you're not there so label every container so others know what belongs where.

When you work with Southern Home Organizers you regain control of your belongings, your time, and your life!

 

Schedule your in-home organizing session by December 31, 2008 and receive one hour of free organizing with the purchase of a full-day 5 hour appoinment. That's six hours of hands-on organizing service to get you started for $300.

 

Plus you receive these fabulous bonuses: