Organizing Your Home

Household Hints from the 1960s

1. If a lamp cord is much too long, you can shorten it by wrapping it tightly around a broom handle and leaving it that way overnight. It will stay spiraled and short.

2. You save yourself a lot of trouble in washing windows if you use vertical strokes on the inside panes, and horizontal on the outside, or vice versa. That way you won't keep running in and out to get the places you missed.

3. A good spoonful of powdered or liquid detergent in the bath water prevents a ring from forming.

4. When you oil your sewing machine, remember to sew through a blotter several times before you sew through your material. The blotter will soak up the excess oil. (Wonder how many people know what a blotter is?)

5. When you have several sizes of beds in the house, it's wise to settle on one particular type of sheet for each; stripes for Junior, pastels for Sis, plain white for Ma and Pa. That way there is no mussing up the linen shelf to find the right one.

6. As nearly everyone knows, nail polish remover gets adhesive tape marks off with speed and ease.

7. Your bed linen smells good if you keep your supply of toilet soap stuck here and there in the linen closet. This has an additional advantage: you never seem to run out of soap, because another bar is always lurking somewhere if you hunt long enough.

8. If you are pounding a noisy typewriter when someone is trying to sleep in the next room, you'd better put a folded bath towel under it. It makes it quieter.

9. When you're starting to town and notice that your hem has come undone, you can fix it temporarily with cellophane tape. Easier than pins.

10. Put a strip of luminous paint around your flashlight handle, and you'll be able to see it easily in the dark - which is when you usually need it.

Source: From a book published by Fawcett Crest in 1960

By caseye from Plano, TX

Break Down Organizing Into Manageable Tasks

I started to gather my hair things and felt overwhelmed by all the categories. I had three sizes and types of bobby pins alone. Even that felt like too much. So I picked the medium brown ones, and literally went around the room and gathered each one I found until I had them all and put a rubber band around them and put them in a small box. Then I picked the second kind, searched them all out, rubberbanded them, and added them to the box.

I found I needed to break the categories down to one at a time, taking it through the gathering, securing, and placing, otherwise I felt overwhelmed. I had been postponing this day of reckoning for a long time. I let my feelings be my guide. If I didn't feel confused or overwhelmed, I continued. I went by size, category, attachment, conflict, etc. If I felt conflicted, I put it down and worked on something else or broke the task down to yet smaller tasks.

This room contained sewing things, a knitting machine, two spinning wheels, wool, yarn, dyes, a loom, clothing, books, and all the equipment which went with these hobbies. It took me two long, long days, probably 8-9 hours per day, plus a bit of a 3rd day to get things hung up, sorted and given a place, categorized, thrown away, and so on.

Afterward, I let things go for a while again until it got messy, perhaps to test myself. When it reached a degree of clutter I couldn't abide, not as bad as the first time, I did the same thing. I had to break it down, just as before, to get the job done with any degree of inner peace. But after that second round, organizing anything was never a problem again, and in fact, I do it to relax. I am more than happy to help clean up disorganization in my grandchildren's houses when they are at work, and very little dismays me. I have been lost, and found my own way out.

Chaos does not unnerve me anymore, as long as I can help do something about it. So I suggest being the feeling creatures we are, use your feelings as your guide and break it down until you feel all right, and clutter just magically disappears.

By pikka from Westminster, CO

Organizing System For Procrastinators

I have known many friends and family that have had problems with getting their home as nice as they wished. There was not a parent around to teach them, due to work or illness. The plan is to make a list of the kinds of areas in the home and the things the family needs and wants. I helped a new mom by visiting her 2 to 3 times a week. I taught her to organize using a basket, big garbage bags and sticky notes.

To collect and clear things, first take the garbage bag around and pick up garbage and waste. Some people throw away bottles and cartons but we are encouraged to recycle them. Do this collecting in every room. Next, the basket is for laundry to be collected and put in laundry area to do later. After that, take the basket again and this time collect toys to return them to the rooms so the children can put away their toys. Once the basket is empty again, it is time to collect the dishes. Most homes have cups and glasses all over the place so do not do the dishes until collecting is done.

The sticky pad is for reminders where some things go back to, mostly major items. Start with tools, games, cords, first aid, pet items. There are always things like this that get around and lost if there is not a dependable return place.

Now look around the home and see how much you have cleared away and how easy it is to clean now. You will be happy to see how 25 minutes can get most of your home clean. The organizing slowly improves with the spots named and the family can see how things are supposed to be. This is leading by example. There are many young people with a family that get feeling sad about the home and need some slow simple instuctions to reclaim the nice things and feelings about home life.

By Carolyn

Make A Spreadsheet To Organize Your Home

My husband and I use it for insurance papers, etc. Seems kind of simple, I realize, but you'd be surprised how many times this has come in SO HANDY!

By CandaceK from Scottsdale, AZ

Mother's Tips For Organizing

1. You can't really ever organize clutter. You can only get rid of it

2. Not enough closet space doesn't mean you have to move, only that you have too much stuff.

3. Just say no to shopping. Use what you have, save money for really important things.

4. Having all kinds of containers, liners, and gadgets is no substitute for living simply.

5. Your home deserves a peaceful landscape.

6. Go for quality: good tools, good food, a few well-made articles of clothing.

7. Ask for gifts that you can eat, drink, read, and put in the ground.

8. Don't waste your time making fussy arrangements of useless stuff. Do something worthwhile.

Print and Frame Regularly Used Schedules

Getting Organized for the New Year

• Use file boxes and/or file cabinet drawers for paperwork.

• Make sure you have some kind of garbage and/or recycling bin in each room of your home.

• Use bookshelves for books you will read in the future and donate books that will just collect dust.

• I use bookshelves for DVDs, computer games, video games, and board games.

• I have a medium size basket under our coffee table that holds 3 projects, each neatly packaged into a gallon ziplock bag.

• On top of the coffee table is a small basket from the dollar store that holds remote controls and video game controllers. There is a box of kleenex, a candy dish, and some lotion. Otherwise it is clear.

• We have a living room chair with one of those side tables next to it that allows for magazines in the rack below it. I have a basket from the dollar store in the magazine rack and garbage goes straight into it instead of on the coffee table or elsewhere.

• I have a standing towel rack that came with our bathroom set and I use it in the living room for blanket throws.

• I use one of the bookshelves to store my laptop computer when I am not using it. There is an outlet nearby and it charges there.

• I turned our coat closet into a kitchen pantry, by asking my husband to make shelves inside it. I asked him to keep them spread far apart so I can put big bulky items from the warehouse store in it.

• If I am not going to use something, I throw it away or donate it. I don't let it sit and collect dust and get in my way. I control my home, not stuff!

• I use plastic shoe bins for my shoes and place them on the upper shelf in my closet. I use my closet by keeping my clothes hung up. I have a dresser and I use it by folding my clothes and putting them away.

• I use under the bed bins for misc. items that are used seasonally. I also use larger bins in our storage on our balcony.

• If I don't want to dust something, or if it is in the way, bothersome to me and my family, I get rid of it.

• I am sentimental and I keep things for that reason, but those things have a place on a shelf, in a cupboard or closet or bin.

• We have laundry hampers in both bedrooms and I do the laundry consistently and it is completed, not partially done. Clothes, towels etc. get folded or hung up and put away.

We have a 2 bedroom, 2 bath condo. There are 3 of us and we are not cramped or cluttered.

By Carly34 from Lynnwood, WA

Home Organizing Tips Inspired by Don Aslett

1. If it can be hung, hang it! Things like pictures. Even hair dryers can be hung in a neat caddy on the wall, if your are serious about the bathroom. I have stuck regular size Kleenex boxes to the walls or side of cabinets by pushing thumb tacks through the bottom of the box. I have done it. I don't like stuff on the toilet water tank. There is only a slight pin hole to repair. So much time is taken by having to move things to clean the surfaces underneath them.

2. If there are a lot of collectibles, put it all under glass. You won't have to dust as much if your collectibles are in proper shelf with doors that keep out the dust. I don't know of too many people who like dusting each and every item. I'd rather clean one pane of glass then having to hear someone bemoan that I broke one of his or her precious items.

3. If it has to be on the floor, make sure it reaches all the way to the floor. He is talking about furniture legs where you see underneath. Use dust ruffles. Fill underneath the bed so dust can't collect there.

4. Have a rinse bucket beside your cleaning bucket. When cleaning the floor, it will help keep the cleaning going, with less stops for changing water.

5. Let cleaning solutions have time to work before scrubbing the surface. Some solutions take at least a minute before they began breaking down grime. You will save on cleaning fluids, believe me.

6. Keep large objects flush with the wall or at least at a straight angle. They will be easier to clean around when vacuuming or sweeping. Most vacuum cleaners move only in straight paths. Not everyone has the money to afford a Dyson.

7. Putting artificial grass down on your sidewalk starting four feet from your entrance will knock off most of the dirt that gets in when even having guests that use the doormat. You can get it in different colors; there is no need for the bright green to clash with your terra cotta paver stones. I find that you don't have to salt your entrance way as much either.

8. Counter sink the edges of gardens and flower beds. That way the lawnmower has room to maneuver around the pretty lawn things.

9. My own rule is: Keep things in the same spot if you want others to help. They cannot get into the mood if the cleaning supplies move around. Cleaning is bad enough, let alone having to look for things to get the cleaning finished. That is one reason why my Dad won't help cook anymore, everything in the kitchen gets moved around.

   A couple of days before my parents went on an extended trip to Japan, my mother took extra time and moved the pots and pans from drawer under the stove to another set of drawers. It took me about 30 minutes to find things so I could just cook my supper. I almost quit to go out to eat.

But Don Aslett is not a neat freak, he just believes in avoiding having to do unnecessary movements when cleaning. After all, he was in the hotel cleaning business for a good part of his career. He believes in function as well as cleanliness.

By Tim from Science Hill, KY

Handle Mail Once

Personal letters should be the only thing on the counter as residents come home. Important personal correspondence can be shared daily. Less stress.

Source: The idea..not the exact words came from a de-cluttering article I read years ago.

By Lynn from Bridgeville, PA

Repurposing a Cabinet for Storage

By Pat from Phoenix, AZ

Thrifty Organizational Tips

• Empty big cereal boxes in the pantry to group similar things together.
• Organize shoes in shoe boxes.
• Put away extra clothes on cardboard boxes. These stack easily. They are FREE if you ask the secretary to save you some boxes, when they have paper for the printer.

By Vasu from Cleveland