Workstations, Charging Stations, and Other Home Hot Spots

The kitchen countertops and entryway areas of the home are a problem for a lot of people. This is especially true if you do not have a a good organization system in place. If you’re sacrificing counter space and entry areas to the clutter that seems to be out of control, read on.

To tackle these areas, you’ll need to go through your clutter and determine why it is there. Understanding why you don’t put things where they go is half the battle. Creating an area to catch the things that you toss down when you come in the house can be great if you make the area convenient and practical. Having a lot of drawers to shuffle around with when you’re on your way into or out of the house is a waste of time and you’ll end up going back to your old ways.

When you get the space cleared of unnecessary items, you can begin to come up with a plan for the things that you know you’re going to be tempted to toss on the kitchen counter or table in the living room. Have a place for ingoing and outgoing mail, keys, chargers, back packs, laptops, or whatever you need each day. Putting a shredder and/ or trash can in this area will help you to keep it clean.

The bedroom is another area of trouble for most people because it is a catch-all for everything in the house that doesn’t have a place. How many times have you had to quickly clean before company came over by hiding things in your bedroom? Did the things that normally clutter your home end up setting up a permanent residence in your bedroom? If this has happened to you, it’s time to take charge before the clutter monster grows any larger!

First, make room for your laundry, the number one enemy of the bedroom. Organize closets and dressers, making plenty of space for laundry coming into and out of the room. You can make a lot of extra space in your closet with slim, velvet clothes hangers that fit flat together. When there’s room for the things that go in your closet, you can clean what belongs in your room and see what you have left.

If there is still junk left in the room, then it needs to have a place. The places that you choose for this type of miscellaneous clutter should be easy to access and keep clutter out of sight.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for clothes hangers. Get all of the closet and clothes hanger accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.

Using Your Closet’s Hidden Space

A small closet can be a real problem if you don’t have a good arrangement. Most closets sport one long hanging bar and one long top shelf. To make matters worse, this bar is often positioned in the exact center of the closet, wasting the space in front of and behind the bar. You can rearrange the closet configuration to make it meet your needs. Stop wasting closet space and get yours organized today.

Start by evaluating your priorities when it comes to storing things. Do you really need every single thing in your closet? Not only can you most likely get rid of a lot of things, but half of the things in there probably could be stored somewhere else. Make rules and boundaries for your precious closet space so that you can make it more efficient and effective for what you really need it for.

Blankets, suitcases, pillows and other items can come out of the closet and be stored underneath beds. You can put them into large plastic containers that will protect them from dust, pests, and pets. Categorize your storage items as much as possible so that when new things show up in the bedroom, you’ll know where you should put it. This will help you keep your closet organized once it gets that way.

Now that you’ve narrowed down what you want to keep in your closet, organize it outside of the closet. Use the bed or the floor to stack up the things that you want to keep in the closet. Play around with configurations to see what you like. Do you think you could make more space if you hung all of the items that are the same length together? Hanging all of your pants together, or smaller shirts together often makes room for a second bar, drawers, or laundry basket underneath. Doing this can actually double your space.

If you install a second bar, consider moving the top bar up a little. There is usually a lot of unused space by the ceiling, so you may be able to move that shelf up higher, too. If you have longer dresses that need a high bar, install a smaller one on one side or the other of the closet so that they can hang down. You may also decide to push the bars back so that you reveal space at the front of the closet.

If you do have some room at the front, you can install shelving. Corner shelves, cubby shelves, or just book style shelving can give you tons of extra storage in a small space. Utilize boxes, bins, baskets and buckets for these little hidden spaces.

When you are done, update your clothes hangers. There are many options here. You may love the look of luxurious wood hangers. You may decide to go with hangers that save space. There are also specialty hangers, like belt hangers and tie hangers that can help you keep the closet organized.

About the Author: Charlie Hafter is on the staff of Closet Hanger Factory, a leading online resource for clothes hangers. Get all of the closet and clothes hanger accessories you could need at http://www.closethangerfactory.com, which is recognized worldwide for their excellent quality hangers.