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5 Steps to Organizing Your Home’s Catch-All Areas

Written by Posted On Sunday, 23 June 2019 17:20
5 Steps to Organizing Your Home’s Catch-All Areas

No matter what size home you live in, you probably have space where you stash all the things you don't know what to do with. Just because you stash your clutter away doesn't mean it magically disappears. Out of sight is not always out of mind.

Not only has science proven there to be a strong link between clutter and depression, but clutter can also keep you from doing regular, necessary maintenance on your house, which will ultimately decrease its value.

Cleaning out your catch-all areas is not just good for your wallet, it’s good for your health.

Here are 5 steps to cleaning out your catch-all areas and keeping them clean for good.

Step One: Planning

Too often, people start cleaning out clutter only to discover they didn’t think of a better place for all their stuff. They generally just end up throwing most of it right back where it was in the first place.

The key to successful decluttering is to plan ahead, so here’s what to do first:

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  1. Make a visual inspection of the area you want to clean.
  2. Think of what you wish to achieve – do you want to organize it neatly, have more space, repurpose it, just remove everything?
  3. Based on what you want with this room, make a list of what you want to keep and what you can get rid of.
  4. Think about how you wish to store things you decide to keep. Do your research and invest in the right type of storage solution for the area and items that you will store. Buy storage items that you need: this can be under-bed storage bins, tubs or closet organizers. Build shelves in a garage, basement or attic.
  5. Plan what to do with items you want to get rid of. This can include planning a garage sale, organizing a pick up from a local charity or making arrangements in advance to donate them to another organization.

Step Two: Preparation

Decluttering often equals lots of cleaning, so make sure you have cleaning supplies within reach, and plenty of trash bags.

Prepare all the boxes, bags, containers, bins, hooks and labels. Pre-assemble any shelves you wish to install so they can be moved right in when the area is cleaned out.

Divide the room into several designated areas for various item categories: tools, small items, clothes, paperwork, bills, old tech, cables, toxic or dangerous items, etc. Label each area so you can sort them quickly later.

Also, set up a designated area to gather all the items you want to get rid of, but also make sure to categorize them.

Step Three: Sorting and Categorization

With proper preparation (and lots of labels), sorting and categorizing should be a breeze.

Put items into the designated areas you have prepared in the previous step and decide what will be put into the “Must Go” area. Decide which groups of items can go together, like clothes and shoes, cables and old tech, tools and pins, etc.

Whether you are moving things to a new location or you will be placing them back to the same area, you will want to ensure everything is neat, tidy and organized before you move them to their new designated storage area.

Step Four: Preparing Your New Space

Now that everything is labeled and stored, clean out the area completely. Give the whole place proper cleaning before you proceed.

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If you have planned to repurpose the area, make sure you have prepared everything you need to successfully renovate. If you must install new storage solutions such as shelves, hooks or closets, now is the time to do so.

After you have set up your new storage, you can bring back all the things you want to keep.

Since they are already stored and labeled, just put them into designated areas – clothes go to the closets, papers are already in a binder that you put onto shelves, and so on.

Step Five: Get Rid of Things You Don’t Need

Decide what you will do with things you don’t wish to keep.

There are several options available:

 

  • Repurpose
  • Recycle
  • Donate
  • Sell

To make sure they don’t end up cluttering your home again, it’s best to decide as soon as possible and drive them to a charity or organize a yard sale.

Additional Tips for the Most Common Catch All Areas:

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  • Garage: Make use of vertical space. You can hang bikes, canoes or other large objects from the ceiling or side walls. Pegboards and hooks also allow you to store smaller things on walls for easy access.

  • Attic or Loft Space: Most attics are either chock full of things or almost empty. Vertical storage is also key in the attic. You can hang several large items from rafters the same way you can in a garage. Shelving and bins are also great for attics.

  • Basement: A large custom wall unit in the basement can help organize a great number of items while still preserving the aesthetics of living space.

  • Spare Room: A custom closet storage system or wall unit can help you create more storage while still preserving living space.

  • Office: Telecommuters will appreciate a modular closet that can help you create storage space you so desperately need while looking great and providing quick access to things behind closed sections, like a printer, modem or sockets.

  • Bathroom: See through storage boxes that you can close tightly will keep things organized, as you can put them below the sink for easy access.

  • Kitchen: A great deal of storage space is wasted in and above kitchen cabinets. You can store pan lids and other implements on shelves mounted inside cabinet doors as well as under the sink. Special racks for spices and canned goods will not only increase your storage space but make items easier to find.

No matter what room of your house you need to organize, there is an almost unlimited number of organizing and storage solutions on the market today.

The most important tip: don’t rush things or try doing everything in one day.

Take your time and do it properly, even if it takes a weekend or two.

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Elena Tahora

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