Has clutter invaded your space? Do you wish you could organize your home to be more efficient? Organized by Sharon is here to help. The following facts and tips can help get you started:

Home Organizing Tips

The Children's Place

1. Have bins and boxes on lower shelves so that a child can put away the toys. Have the child label the bins and boxes.
2. Provide low hooks to hang up sweaters, pajamas, jackets, book bags, etc.
3. Take children with you when you go to donate unused items. This helps them learn to part with things.
4. Encourage your child/teenager to choose their outfits for the next day before they go to bed at night.

Make the Garage and Storage Work for You

1. Determine how you wish to use the space. Is it a workshop? Is it a storage center? Is it a sporting goods center? Is it both? Stick to the floor plan.
2. Get rid of things that don't work!
3. Sort, purge, and then decide the proper storage containers or fixtures for the treasures that you must keep. Clearly label both the tops and the sides of the containers.
4. Consider floor-to-ceiling possibilities for shelving, racks, stackable drawers, hooks, and pegboards.

Love Your Closets

1. Go through your closet today, and pull out everything you haven't worn in the last year. Clothes tend not to improve with age.
2. Decide what you want at your fingertips and what can be hidden away in containers under the bed, on top shelves, or in drawers.
3. The closet should be bright and inviting. You should be able to see what you have in your closet. Consider installing good lighting.
4. Hang like items together—group shirts together, pants together, dresses, etc.
   

Customize Your Kitchen

1. Things that work together should be stored together, such as baking pans, electrical appliances, plastic containers (with lids), pots and pans, and large platters and bowls.
2. Drawer dividers are a good way to keep utensils in order.
3. Rotate food staples out of your pantry. Create menus to use up dated canned goods.
4. Feel the flow of activity in your kitchen. Place glasses near the sink or the refrigerator. Put snacks in a convenient drawer or cupboard.

Office Organizing Tips

Manage Your Time

• Use a planner to track appointments and tasks. It can be a paper-based notebook, a computer software program, or an electronic handheld device.
• Create at least one hour of uninterrupted time per day to tackle projects and action items.
• Allocate twice as much time for a task as you think it will take. This accommodates for interruptions and stopping to get more information.
• Break large projects down into small, sequential steps. Schedule these steps into your day with your planner.

Tame Your Desk

• Keep only supplies you need on a daily basis on your desktop.
• Create a paper flow system for your incoming documents.
• Use your in box only for items that haven’t yet been reviewed.
• Avoid looking at documents and placing them back on the desk. Follow through with the decision you have made about the document.

Supercharge Your Communication

• Write an agenda before making a phone call so you don’t forget the important points.
• Keep a record or schedule follow-up calls of what you’ve delegated so it doesn’t fall through the cracks.
• Be clear about the response you need when sending messages to colleagues. They can then provide a full response, even if they don’t reach you directly.

Conquer Your Filing

• Create a filing system for your electronic documents that mirrors the one you have for paper. Sort, file, and purge electronic information regularly.
• Keep a file index (a master list of file names). Check the index before creating a new file to avoid making duplicates. Also use it when deciding where to put new documents.
• Refer to your company’s records retention plan for guidance on how long to keep documents.
• Keep the most recent papers in the front of the file. Whenever you open it, the current information will be on top.