Get organized!

This is a great time of year to get organized. It’s cold outside, so spending an afternoon sorting through stuff is not a huge sacrifice. Getting organized is not only going to help you feel better, it is going to help you keep to that budget (is that one of your New Year’s Resolutions?). You might even be able to generate a little extra cash to pay off those holiday bills by unloading some of the extra “stuff”. While it is creating havoc in your front hallway/closet/basement, these items could be of use for someone else!

 

Here are some tips for a couple of your high traffic areas.

The kitchen

It’s time to pitch the old glassware, broken utensils and small appliances that you don’t use (unless we are talking about a slow cooker or a rice cooker- which you need. You may just not know it yet).

Clean out the drawers (especially the junk drawers) and re-insert cutlery and drawer organizers from the dollar store. You don’t need to go all designer here. It’s about function and separation of tasks.

If you don’t already, have a whiteboard posted somewhere in your kitchen, so you can keep a running inventory, which is key to staying on your grocery budget. Waste not, want not!

Front hall

Most of us don’t have elegant entries to our homes, with curved staircases and butlers waiting. It’s more like a single file of people hopping over coats, shoes and snow pants.

Firstly, purge, purge, purge your coat closet. This time of year winter clothes are in huge need, do donate what you don’t need to families that do.

While you are at the dollar store, pick up some baskets. One for hats and mitts (in pairs!), one for scarves, etc., one for mail and keys and so on.

Family room

While you are on the declutter train, head into the family room. Get rid of piles of books and papers, to start. Does your family room double as a toy room? Invest in some containers (preferably with lids) where toys can be out of sight, out of mind.