There are 4,500 members of the National Association of Professional Organizers who typically work at an hourly rate helping clients reorder their lives. Lauriann Stepp is one of them, offering free consultations as well as a special three-hour session for $120. She offered these tips for decluttering your life.
-- Do you really need a bigger house? Moving into a larger home only gives you reason to collect more clutter. Save money by decluttering and redesigning your current home instead.
--Schedule regular paper purge parties. Tackle your mail and paper piles on a weekly basis into three simple categories: action, file or shred.
--Say "no" to shoe boxes. Simple shoe cubes from Target are more efficient and easily accessible than the old towering stacks of shoe boxes.
--Everything needs a designated home. Create a logical process flow and home for items based on your family's daily habits. For example, do you take your shoes off in the garage or in the bedroom? This determines where the shoe rack will live.
--Feng shui is a big part of getting organized. Removing negative energy (clutter) and creating the perfect balance of positive energy (organization) instantly changes the dynamics of your home and automatically reduces your stress levels.
--Think garage storage. Most garages are cluttered due to lack of wall shelving. Installed or free-standing units provide upward storage solutions that are preferable to tubs, boxes or loose items scattered on the garage floor.
--For old homes with tiny closets, you can instantly double the space by installing double shelves to hang clothes on high and low bars.
--Make space in your kitchen cabinets by purging odds and ends (cups, plates, Tupperware) that no longer have matching sets. Installing pull-out shelves also will prevent hidden, unused items from lurking in the back of the cabinets.
--Where to start? Tackle each room, one at a time, by sorting items into categories. Start a separate box for toys, clothes, paper or items that belong in other rooms. Then tackle each box, one at a time.
