22 Mar Stress Free Living – Get Organized one week at a time.

Easier said than done right? Just start with one area of your home weekly to get it organized. Otherwise you will feel over whelmed trying to do your whole home at once. Do what ever it takes, honestly, once done it really does alleviate stress not all but some. Here are some low-cost organizing tips.

– Use old baby-food jars, jam jars… to hold spices. Baby jars, store them in a drawer upside down so this recycling trick looks sleek, not cheap. Larger jars of course in a cupboard.

– Store all your instruction manuals in one binder in the kitchen or pantry.

– Collect your takeout menus in a binder. Or stuff them into a Ziploc bag and stash ’em – where else? – in the fridge or cupboard.

– Keep a tray or basket on the kitchen counter where kids can drop off permission slips and adults can put mail requiring immediate action. A second tray can handle lower-priority paperwork.

– Don’t waste time constantly topping up cereal-sized food storage containers with dog or cat kibble. Use a metal trashcan to store one bag at a time in rodent-proof style.

– Use a recharging station to keep your cell phone,ipod and other portable device cords untangled and your gadgets fully charged.

– Can’t find fresh garlic or onions? Keep them in clean knee-high nylons. Hang in a cool, dry place.

– Post a sheet of paper on the fridge and note groceries and supplies needing replenishing. On grocery day, just grab the sheet and go.

– Reduce spoilage of fruits and veggies by “rotating” your crops. Put new ones underneath ones that were already in your crisper.

– Use small jam jars to hold cotton swabs, balls and other essentials inside your bathroom vanity drawers.

– Store kids’ bath toys in a fine-laundry bag. Hang from the faucet ’til fully drained.

– Use a shower organizer and just the basics: mild shampoo, conditioner and a body wash. Kids can keep their own caddies too instead of having your shower/bathtub lined up with a 101 bottles.

– Keep cleaning products in a caddy, too.

– Post a sheet of paper in the bathroom and note bathroom supplies that need replenishing. On grocery day, just grab the sheet and go.

– Assign teens and tweens their “own” towel sets by colour. Sorting laundry becomes super-easy and sharing-aversive kids are content.

– For the living room or family room, get an ottoman or bench with hidden storage under the seat.holds blankets, toys, movies…

– Large woven or wooden baskets stash clutter effectively, so stock up.

– Got kids? Get large tubs that can be used to deploy toys – and quickly move them out of living spaces when company’s coming.

– Don’t hold on to magazines. Just rip out any pages you want to keep for future reference, keep in a file folder, then recycle the rest.

– Toss dirty socks into mesh fine-laundry bags. Orphaned socks will be a thing of the past.Love this!

– Dollar store plastic caddies are perfect for grouping cleaning products upright in cabinets – no tipping!

– Recycle old plastic shopping bags. Store them in an empty Kleenex box until you need them.

– Store batteries in plastic berry baskets until you’re ready to drop them off at the recycling centre.

– Ditto for compact fluorescent bulbs and orchard fruit baskets.

– Install a closet organization system: it’ll pay itself off with time and aggravation saved!

– Keep sheet sets organized by folding and storing the fitted sheet, flat sheet and pillowcase inside the second pillowcase.

– Don’t limit closet storage to hangers. Hang hooks on the door for frequently used items.

– We all have these perhaps a few – tackle that kitchen junk drawer problem head on. Today. Purge, edit and keep things in place with a drawer organizer.

– Banish tiny piles of coins and start saving in style. Get a designer piggy bank and keep it by the entrance way, laundry or kitchen—wherever you’d like to dump your change. A friend of mine does this and in no time a trip or whatever has been saved. I am going to start today, myself.

– Get a heavy-duty paper shredder for peace of mind – and efficient shredding without risk of overheating. Place your shredder where you intercept daily mail. If that’s the kitchen, so be it.

– I hate this and it”s time for me to do it again. Plan a closet clean out once per season. Less mess makes staying organized a lot easier