Organize Your Life

PORTSMOUTH, Va. - FOX 43 is helping you organize your life. 

Amy Volk with Simplified Living is back with her tips to get the job done. 

General Organizing guidelines:

1. Begin by sorting. Group all like-minded items together (i.e. gather all utensils together, all spices/herbs together, all tools together, etc).
2. Do not begin to “organize” anything until the sorting process is complete. You will have many different piles or containers of items, but they will all be grouped together. Once this is done, the purging process begins.
3. Tackle one group at a time. Make decisions on each and every item in the group. One of three decisions must be made on each item: 1) Keep it 2) Donate it or 3) Sell it.
4. The criteria in which to make decisions on items should be made using the following questions:

• Do I love and need this item?
• Is it useful?
• Whatever I choose to keep I must manage (find a home for it, clean it, store it, and use it)

5. Set deadlines and time limits for yourself. Decide how much time you will spend each day on a group of items and the deadline in which you will finish the purging process. Write these deadlines down and keep them visible.
6. Once you have finished the purging process you will have a pile to donate and a pile to sell. Get rid of these items quickly so they do not make their way back into your space.
7. The final groups will be your “keep” piles and this is what you will organize.
8. At this point you can buy containers. DO NOT buy containers prior to this point.
9. Containers should be used that will make your items easily accessible, easily labeled, items should fit well into the container without being squeezed, and should easily fit into the space which it will live.
10. Begin “containerizing” your items as it makes sense to you. For instance, spices on turntables can be divided up into “cooking” and “baking” categories. Batteries should be grouped and containerized with batteries and this container should live in a utility space.
 

www.simplifiedliving.org