Common Items Anyone Can Use to Organize Household Goods

There should be many homes clean and organized given the sheer amount of time that has passed since the coronavirus policies went into effect, yet still one can’t find certain cleaning supplies in stores. In addition, consumers of big retail chains are given limited options when it comes to purchasing most sought-after household appliances.  However, there are those who still have no clue as to what to do when it comes to home cleaning and organizing specific items like shoes, cosmetics, apparel, small appliances, cords, tools, and dishware.

On this blog, you will find years of material related to organizing the smallest of things to the largest.  I personally started this blog when I found that I would be spending more time at home than outside of it due to parenting babies and small children.  Here’s some common items I have found most useful over the years.

1.      Under-the-bed storage bags and containers.  Out of view, so many small items were stored in those.  I had two dedicated to my shoes which I still use to date.  I didn’t forget about them being under the bed, because I stored what I knew I was going to use periodically in the bags and flat and rectangular shaped bins.

2.       Baby wipe containers.  I repurposed those to store everything from medicine tubes to sponges. I put those out of view in cabinets and the more decorated type were placed on shelving units.

3.       Twist ties.  Whether they were used for bread or garbage bags, they were often repurposed to seal or lock things up.  Some things the babies just didn’t need to get into.

4.       Plastic freezer bags.  These were repurposed and used to store a variety of things. From leftovers that could be frozen and reheated another time to Legos.  I liked that I could label and/or date them with a sharpie.

5.       Dryer sheets.  Every time I washed, these rarely got thrown away.  To date, I have a large fabric bag of them with holes that can be placed in a dryer all at once or used a few at a time for a variety of things such as: shoe fresheners, deter crawling insects and rodents, placed in a drawer for a fresh smell, or added to clothing stored in bins.

6.       Saving the original boxes that go to some potential collectible items.  Many children’s toys one day become valued treasures.  So, for years we have a large bin and bag dedicated to the most appealing toys.

7.       Plastic drawers for closets.  These have traveled with us from place-to-place.  We never found a living space that couldn’t fit these items.  They always end up in a closet creating additional storage space for our smaller items, linens, and other important things.

Whatever you buy, always ask yourself, “What else may I be able to use this item for?”  Take to the Internet and be inspired!

Nicholl McGuire is the blog owner and author of What Else Can I do on the Internet? and other useful books.

5 Worst Habits That Cause Messy Homes

50 Ideas to Organize Your Home

"Organize" is a familiar word heard on many of today's popular decorating shows. Every family has its struggles with some type of clutter whether it is stacks of papers or a cluttered and cramped bathroom. In fact, the National Association of Professional Organizers reports that 80% of what we keep we never use, we wear 20% of the clothes we own while the other 80% hangs there just in case, and 25% of adults say they pay bills late because they lost them.

If you have stacks of papers, frazzled mornings, or lost car keys, use the following ideas to help you organize your family and home.

Evenings/Mornings:

1. If you have rushed mornings, make lunches, set out clothes, and put everything you need for the next day in a designated area the night before. Have kids pack homework and books in their backpack so they will be ready for the next day.

2. Place your purse, briefcase and keys in a designated area every day so you always know where they are.

3. Decide the night before what is on the menu for breakfast the next morning. If the family is to have cereal, set out the cereal boxes, bowls, and spoons.

4. Make a "to do" list for the next day and organize it according to what task needs to be completed first.

5. Fill the gas tank the day before so you won't have to worry about getting gas if you are running late the next morning.

Bathrooms:

6. To organize countertop clutter, purchase a plastic tub with a handle on top. Place all of your accessories such as hair spray and lotion, in the tub and place under the counter. Take the tub out when you are ready to use it and then put it back under the counter when you are finished with it.

7. To organize your shower, buy shower caddies to place your soaps and shampoos in. There are numerous styles available in many discount and fine department stores.

8. To help keep your shower doors clean, buy a water squeegee (like you use on your windows) and place it in the shower. When you are done taking a shower just wipe down the doors with the squeegee and you'll have a clean and dry shower door. Many of the squeegees come with a whole in the handle, which is convenient for hanging it up in the shower with a suction cup.

9. Install a straight magnet in your medicine cabinet for tweezers, nail clippers, and scissors.

10. Store reading material in a decorative magazine rack. As you add new magazines, throw away the older ones to keep the magazine rack from overflowing.

11. Throw away items in your bathroom that are old or you don't use anymore, such as make-up, lotions, prescriptions, over-the-counter medications, old razors, sunscreen, and perfume.

12. If you are out of space in your bathroom cabinets for towels, roll them up and display them in a decorative basket next to the shower or bath tub.

13. Install hooks on the back of your bathroom door or wall space for towels and robes.

14. Use drawer organizers for makeup, jewelry, ponytail holders, and other loose items.

15. Place a shelving unit above the toilet for storing extra towels, washcloths, and other accessories.

16. Put a clock in each bathroom so everyone can be on time.

Closet:

17. Place baskets in your closet for laundry and dry cleaning.

18. Sort through your clothes and anything you don't wear anymore, bag and donate to a local charity. This includes clothes that are no longer in fashion, no longer fit, or clothes you haven't worn in a year. Also, get rid of those worn out and/or uncomfortable shoes you no longer wear.

19. Separate your clothes by season. If you have a tall closet with several rows of rods, place current seasons clothes on the lowest level and move out of season clothes on the tallest rods.

20. Categorize your clothes by purpose, such as work, casual, and formal.

21. Gather all unused wire hangers and take them to the dry cleaners to recycle.

22. Hang scarves on a hanger or scarf rack. Also, hang belts and ties on hangers or racks.

23. Use a shoe rack to keep shoes organized and throw out shoe boxes that clutter the floor.

24. Install hooks on the closet wall to hang up hats and purses.

25. Store clothes that you want to save in a vacuum sealed plastic bag. These bags pack down for storing under the bed or in a closet. Remember to save only the clothes that you think will be worn!

Kitchen:

26. Organize your cabinets into several categories such as plates, glasses, Tupperware, kid's plates and sippy cups. Place the plates on one shelf, the glasses on another shelf, and so on. This way when you empty the dishwasher, you or other family members will always know where everything goes.

27. Group your foods together in the pantry for easy access and to help you identify when inventory is getting low. For example, group together your canned goods, cereals, pasta, etc.

28. Place all packets (gravy, Jell-O, sauces) in a basket and place on shelf.

29. Purchase a spice rack that works best for your cabinet. Alphabetize your spices and place frequently used spices on the front of the rack and all others towards the back of the rack.

30. For all of those plastic containers and Tupperware items, dedicate one cabinet or drawer for those items and try to purchase stackable containers to maximize your space.

31. Save your countertop space for items you use daily. Only display cookbooks that you really use and if possible store your canister set in your pantry instead of on the counter.

32. If you have a collection of clipped recipes that are filling drawers and countertop space, purchase a three-ring binder in a color that matches your decor, a box of plastic sheet protectors (to protect your recipes), paper, and a set of dividers with tabs. Glue each recipe onto a piece of paper (use front and back of each piece of paper) and then place into a sheet protector. Categorize recipes (breakfast, desert, etc.), label the tabs, and place recipes in binder. Additional tip, if you purchase a binder that has pockets, store clipped recipes that you want to try in the pockets before adding them to your collection.

33. Do you have mounds of plastic bags from the grocery store? Place about 10 bags inside of 1 bag and throw the rest away. You can always get more the next time you go to the grocery store.

34. Get in a habit of cleaning out your refrigerator every time you bring home groceries. Dispose of any food that is no longer edible or your family is not going to eat.

Kid's Room:

35. In a boy's room, put a basketball hoop over a laundry basket for slam-dunking dirty clothes.

36. Place a two-compartment hamper in your kid's room so he or she can sort light clothes from dark clothes as they undress.

37. String a clothesline in your child's room and have your child clothespin his or her favorite artwork.

38. Hang a fish net from the ceiling to store stuffed animals, dolls, or action figures.

39. Add a bookshelf and help your child organize their books.

40. Buy the kids their own alarm clocks and teach them how to get up on time.

Misc.

41. Make sure everything in your house has a home. Teach all family members to mind their own messes. For example, if you take it out, put it back; if you open it, close it; if you throw it down, pick it up; if you make a mess, clean it up; and so on.

42. Put wastebaskets in every room and place several unused trash bags in the bottom of each one. This will eliminate countless trips to retrieve new trash bags and give all family members a place to throw away their trash.

43. Place a decorative basket on the coffee table to keep remote controls in.

44. Use a plastic caddy (instead of shelf space) to store cleaning supplies in and tote it from room to room.

45. Keep baskets or tubs for toys in every room for fast pickup and play time.

46. For kids' outdoor toys, purchase a weatherproof, bench-style storage box and store toys inside. Also, gather all outdoor balls and place into a large, mesh drawstring bag and store in garage.

47. Each night before bedtime, have all family members pick up clutter for 15 minutes. Make a game out of it and see who can pick up the most things in the shortest amount of time.

48. Create a family message center on the refrigerator or other prominent place and use it for shopping lists, reminders, calendars, and phone messages.

49. Make a master grocery list on your computer from a spreadsheet or Word document. Categorize the groceries into sections such as frozen, dairy, and so on. In each category, list the most frequent items that you buy. Organize the grocery list according to the way your favorite grocery store's isles are set up. Print copies and keep one copy handy for the current week. When you see you are low on a product or you're preparing your grocery list for the week, simply highlight whatever items you need. Keep the document current by adding new items and/or deleting items you no longer buy. Also, create a space on the document for Misc. items where your family members can write down what they need that is not on your list.

50. Create an in box on your desk for papers (bills, permission slips, etc.) that need your attention.

The goal of organizing isn't to make your home pristine but rather to make your life more calm and functional. Work with the above ideas and you will end up having less clutter, a simplified home, more quality time for yourself and your family, and improved productivity.

Lesley Dietschy is a freelance writer and the founder of http://www.HomeDecorExchange.com - The Home Decor Exchange is a valuable website full of information and resources about home and garden decorating.

In addition to editing the Home Decor Exchange website, Lesley is a crochet pattern designer and needle fiber artist. You can view her crochet patterns and needle fiber designs at: http://www.ErinOliviaDesigns.Etsy.com

6 Ideas For Organizing Your Home With Plastic Containers

Because you can find them in such a wide variety of shapes, sizes, styles, and colors, plastic containers are some of the most useful tools for organizing, storing, and displaying items.

The industry already knows how useful plastic containers are in businesses like retail stores, restaurants, and hotels; however, do homeowners know how useful plastic containers are in their own homes?

Maybe you need a way to organize your child's small toys, or you're looking for art supply containers for your craft room. If you're a homeowner - or even a renter - looking for ideas on how to better organize your home, check out the descriptions listed below for using plastic containers to organize six areas of your home.

1. Kitchen

Plastic containers are excellent organizational tools and display fixtures for kitchens.

Homeowners can use traditional round, square, or hexagon containers of various sizes to hold frequently used items like keys, address books, and matchbooks, as well as handgrip containers to store food items like flour, sugar, and seasonings. These containers are also great for holding those little extras like plastic utensils, packets of salt, pepper, sugar, and condiments, and even hand wipes we often end up with after a trip to or delivery from a restaurant.

2. Home Office

Whether you work at home or need a quiet place dedicated to managing your bills or doing homework, you definitely want your home office to be organized.

Consider using plastic containers to organize, store, and display various home office tools like writing utensils, markers, and highlighters; extra ink cartridges for your computer printer; staples, paperclips, and tacks; and small Post-It notepads.

3. Work Areas

Work areas vary from home to home. You might have a storage shed dedicated to completing your home repair tasks, or you might use your attic, basement, or garage. Wherever your home's work area is, it's important to keep it well organized.

Plastic containers are great tools for organizing and storing small work items like nuts, screws, bolts, and nails. You can even use them to organize rolls of measuring tape, electrical tape, and painter's tape.

4. Craft Areas

Like your home's work area, your home's craft area - whether it you have a special room set aside for crafts or you have dedicated a corner of your living room to your sewing machine - containers lots of small items in need of organizing.

You can use plastic containers to organize and display craft items like spools of thread, small balls of yarn, and sewing and knitting needles; small containers of glitter and sequins; buttons; appliqués; paint and paint brushes; and small bottles of glue and glue sticks for glue guns.

5. Children's Rooms

Children's rooms are havens for small toys like building blocks, rogue game pieces and puzzle pieces, and figurines. You can use plastic containers to help organize these items, making it easy for you and your child to find them and store them after playing.

6. Rec Rooms

Each homeowner uses his or her home's "rec" room for various purposes. This might be the room where your family spends time together, or it might be the room where you manage the bills. Because plastic containers work so well as organizational, storage, and display tools, they'll also work well to organize, store, and display any kind of small item you have in your rec room!


By Terry Keenan

Candy Concepts, Inc. specializes in providing businesses with everything from a wide variety of candy containers to the bulk candy and novelty items to fill them with! Learn more about the kinds of bulk plastic containers you can use for your merchandise displays when you visit Candy Concepts, Inc.'s sister website, All Candy Containers.com.

Tips To Organize Your Shed

To begin any task of organization there must be planning involved. It is better to be realistic in your plans of organizing your shed, than to defeat yourself by attempting more than you are able to finish within a certain amount of time. Be patient with yourself and take into account all the different issues that are cared for as you go about organizing your shed. Organizing your shed a step at a time helps you not to become discouraged.

First, you must decide how you will use your shed, what will go in it for storage and what will not. Designate a few boxes for collecting items that you no longer need or want. You should mark these boxes so that you do not get them confused. Anything that is still useful that you no longer want, just give to a friend, neighbor or charitable organization. All unwanted items or any item, which has reached an expiration date, is best disposed of properly. Once items have been determined as unwanted, they should be done away with either giving away or by proper disposal. Do not for any reason bring these items back into the shed that you are organizing, all items must leave the area as soon as possible so as not the chance of returning to a nicely organized shed. With all unnecessary items out of the way, you should have gained a bit of floor and shelf space.

With a few good tips, your shed will be an example of organization perfection before you know it.

1. Start on one side or in one area, taking all the time, you need to clear items out of the way and to place items where they belong. This is a de-cluttering stage.

2. There are many little trick and recyclable ways to use things that are helpful in organizing a shed, such as nailing an old leather belt along the edge of a shelf or the back of a door to hang hand tools on. You can also take small baby food jars and nail the lids to the bottom of a shelf and the store small item such as nails and screws in the jars and twist them in place for handy storage.

3. Hang a pegboard along one side of the shed to hand items such as hand tools, extension cords and paintbrushes or even mops, brooms and shovels. A cloth shoe rack hung over the inside of a shed door makes available pockets for storing many items.

4. Any oil spots or stains can be removed by pouring clean cat litter or white sand over the area to soak up extra fluids.

5. Old trunks, desks and dressers often find a new use as storage areas inside a shed. These are good for storing small tools or lawn and garden supplies.

6. You can always add a few more shelves or even a couple of rods and hooks or bins to increase the amount of space for organizing store areas.

7. Magnetic strips can be placed along any storage area that would hold any stray metal item.

8. Just, remember to take it a little at a time, and is you want and can get help, be sure to designate a few jobs for helpers while organizing your shed and keeping it looking in tiptop shape.


Hunter Pyle is a writer for Taylor Gifts squidoo.com/taylorgifts and Get Organized! shopgetorganized.com.

Organize Your Garage For More Space

With every home having a garage, there comes another problem. Organization is a complex duty, but offers the home buyer a nice organized garage. Organizing your garage for more space can be accomplished in many ways. The incorporation of different methods can increase the space that you have always wanted. No more will you have to trip over that bicycle in the garage. These methods are:

1. Cabinets- These are the most expensive way to organize your garage, but it is the most stylish. If you have a good deal of things, then cabinets are an option that is needed. The cabinets offer a great deal more space than your shelves or racks can offer. With cabinets, you are able to separate sections of your belongings.

2. Shelves- For those who have little things to store, shelves are an inexpensive way to store your precious items without the clutter look of bins. Shelves offer room for other things. Since they mount on the wall, shelves offer for more space for things under the shelves. Shelves can offer many options of storage and organizational abilities.

3. Racks- These freestanding shelves are made to organize as cabinets except without the doors. Racks offer for layers of options to place your items on and have the chance of holding a good deal of weight. Racks are built to last through many years and won't crumble under pressure.

Whatever the choice you make, organizing your garage for more space is a very important task. With the many things you buy to help keep up with people, and then later not like the item you bought, there is plenty of need for organizing. Remember to always remember that organizing your garage for more space is always an important task and you will be one of the many who have already organized and are enjoying their extra space. Happy organizing!

Dr. Barry Lycka is president of LesTout.com, the number one source of internet guidance.

How to Organize, Display & Treasure Your Kid's Art Work

Every mom shares the same dilemma. What to do with all the wonderful art your child creates! Without strategies for display, organizing and editing, these delightful treasures will just pile up and become a burden of clutter. Here's my top 10 neat ideas on how to keep their art from becoming clutter.

1. Set policies on how much you are going to keep. For example, you might decide you want to keep only the top 10 – 20 pieces per year.
2. Edit regularly. Keep only the very best or most meaningful. Each day or week, pick your favorite. At the end of the month, pick the best of the month. That's the one that gets put in a scrapbook or in a special memorabilia box. Involve your child in selecting his or her favorite. This helps your child learn that not everything is worth keeping, which is a very valuable organizing skill to learn early on.
3. Go digital! Take digital photos of art you really love and recycle the rest! This preserves the art much longer. Paper eventually fades and tatters.
Create an album or scrapbook for each school year and include photos of the best art along with other projects.
4. Label the work. Mark the back of artwork you decide to save with the child name, date and the reason you kept it.
5. Create a revolving gallery. Create a space on a wall or other area that becomes a revolving art gallery. Use magnetic boards, cork boards etc. Provide one spot for each child and hang their photo or a name marker above their spot. Each time to you change the art decide if the old piece is worth saving.
6. Repurpose and recycle. Find creative uses for art work you don’t want to keep.
7. Use it as:
Gift wrap
Inserts for greeting cards
Drawer/shelf liners
Decorate containers to use as organizers for arts & crafts supplies
Creative disposal placements for a meal. Or, if it’s really good, mount it to construction paper, laminate it, and use the art as place mats for a longer time.
8. Get funky with clipboards. As an inexpensive and fun alternative to frames, use colorful clipboards mounted on the wall to create an art gallery for your child’s room. Let them decide what they want to hang and when they want to change it. Clipboards allow them to easily change out art frequently.
9. Draw the line. Hang a clothesline across a wall in an area where you want to display art and hang it with clothespins. This makes it easy to change the art whenever you or your child wants to!
10. Make gifts. Create unique gifts for relatives with good pieces. You can make little books, puzzles, calendars, and more. Encourage your child to help think of ways to transform art into fun gifts.

© 2006 Ariane Benefit, M.S.Ed., Organizing Coach, Personal Organizing Solutions All rights reserved.

How to Motivate Yourself to Organize

Organizing is probably not at the top of your list of fun things to do, is it? If your clutter is overwhelming, it's especially difficult to get started. Here are some easy tips to motivate yourself to organize.

1. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. said, "Take the first step in faith. You don't have to see the whole staircase, just just take the first step." You don't have to organize your whole house today. Just work on one small area-- a drawer or a cabinet.

2. Buy a good organizing book. Once you begin reading it, you'll feel compelled to start organizing.

3. Forget embarrassment. Invite an organized friend to help you. Hire a professional. It's easier to organize when you can talk through the clutter.

4. Set the mood. Put on some fun music. Open the windows. Choose a starting point and just do it.

5. "Nothing in the world can take the place of persistence," said Calvin Coolidge.

Keep trying. Do a little bit daily or weekly and you'll soon find that you are more organized than you ever thought possible! About the author: Free time management tips booklet, meal planner, and daily organizing checklist at http://www.ineedmoretime.com.

How To Organize Your Inbox

As we all know our inboxes have turned into modern day filing systems – and just like in the ‘old’ days they can get chaotic and out of hand in no time. Attempts are made to control the unruly inboxes, but for the most part messages are swept into folders that act as catch alls for everything (unorganized amalgamations of incoherent mess – thank goodness for advanced find!).

Think of the benefits an organized, logical filing system would mean for you: referencing to emails that you’ve received, find and view attachments again, decrease your scrolling time, and if you ever need someone to go in and look for something, you will be able to point them in the right folder, rather than having them rummage through all your emails.

Now that you’re eager to change your unorganized inboxes, here are some tips to help you on your way.

Inbox: Your Inbox should be just that – an inbox, not a permanent storage folder by any means. Even if you have a ‘misc’ file off of your inbox, keep your inbox clean and tidy. If you receive emails on a subject that you’re in process of dealing with and you’re not ready to move them into a more permanent folder, create a ‘2do’ folder off of your inbox, from there group messages into subfolders.

This is a great way to keep organized and an easy reference to see what you have to do.

How to use it: When you receive an email for an ongoing or upcoming task, create a folder in your ‘2do’ folder with a name related to that task or client. Move the email into that folder, create a reminder or appointment if necessary, and —voilà!— you now have an organized inbox. When you receive more emails related to this task they can now go straight into the subfolder that you created. Once you have completed this task you can easily move all the contents to a permanent folder of your designation. The key is to keep on top of it and once you’re done with a subfolder in your ‘2do’ folder list, delete or move it. Keeping the folders after a task is over will hinder your organization and add to your electronic clutter.

This method will allow you to have an easy visual reference for work that has to be done, and even if some tasks are ‘back-shelved’ for the moment, you can still see them and keep them fresh in your mind. Once you are able to concentrate on the emails that are just coming in, you will be able to focus more on your business and less on your clutter.

Subfolders: Don’t be afraid to use subfolders, even subfolders in subfolders. Putting items into logical groups is a key to keeping your files organized.

How to use: For example – You may have a number of clients and a couple of different companies that you do work for, and each client/company will have multiple tasks, projects, instructions, etc. Under your Inbox, create a file for each company, under the company create a folder for each client, and under each client create folders for the number of different tasks that you perform.

Having a place to put messages as they come in is a key to staying on top of your tasks and messages. Inboxes have a way of getting large and overwhelming very quickly, putting these steps in place will help to control the unsightly messes and as a bonus keep you organized in the process.

To view a diagram of this method visit www.officeassit.ca/articles_OfficeAssistants_inbox.htm. Christina, owner of Online Office Assistants, offers professional administrative solutions to businesses and individuals. You can visit her website at http://www.officeassist.ca for more info.

Organize Life-tools You Need To Organize Your Home And Your Life Now

Many people today suffer from a lack of organization, both in their home and overall life. The truth is, you could probably instantly skyrocket your productivity at least 100% (likely more) by simply organizing your belongings around your home and office. Here are some tools to help you when first embarking on your goal to organize your life.

First of all, one of the most important things you can do is identify somebody that you know and has their life in order, and glean information from them. There is nothing more powerful than to find somebody that lives an effective and organized life and find out from the master themselves.

Quite simply, there is a lot of garbage information being published about what it takes to achieve good organization today. Most of it comes from people who have no idea what it takes to accomplish maximum effectiveness in their homes and lives. Before listening to advice, pay attention to the source.

Make a plan. There is nothing that’s more powerful to achieving your goals than having a plan to start off. Many people set far too general goals when first embarking on any area of their life.

Examples of generalized goals could be, I want to get in shape, or I want to get organized. What does that mean?

In order for this plan to fly, you need to have clear, specific goals that are well-defined and written out. Very likely, you will find it most effective to set long and short term goals. For instance, your long term goal could be getting your home organized in a year’s time. Your short term goal could be getting one room in order within a month.

It’s amazing how many people embark on a mission to accomplish ‘a goal’ without really knowing what they are after. That’s akin to driving in your car without any idea of your final destination; it would be pointless.

After you have your goals in mind, write them down on paper and put that paper in a place you can view it often. Knowing a target in your head is not enough; it needs to be in a place where you can view it often and constantly motivate you to achieve your goals.

Finally, you need to determine why you want something. It’s not enough to simply want to get organized-you need to know why you have this desire.

For instance, you might want to achieve greater productivity at work, earn $25,000 more per year, have more free time to spend with your kids, etc. If you don’t know why you are after a goal, it won’t provide a very meaningful target.

While the above tips may seem simple, it’s amazing how many people set out to achieve a target without knowing what they want to accomplish. The simplest and yet most powerful forces to achieving your goals is knowing where you are going and why you are going in that direction. Follow these tips, and you will organize your life faster than you ever thought possible.

For more great organization tips, try visiting http://www.organizelifetips.com, a popular site that teaches closet organizing as well as home organization tips.

Basement Remodeling - Creating A Basement You'll Love

Most basements are dark, gloomy, and simply serve as a storage area for old toys, clothes, seasonal items, and anything else that is not used on a regular basis. Most of us rarely go down into the basement unless it is to unload more clutter that we don't want or need.

But, why not turn this gloomy storage room into something functional and useful? Remodeling your basement is a cost-effective way to significantly increase your home's living space. Suddenly you could have a nice, cozy guest room, a playroom for your children, a home office, a game room; the possibilities are endless!

Below are five simple steps to a brand new basement.

1. Repair any Basement Water Problems First

Even if your basement hardly ever has issues with flooding or dampness, it's best to take care of the problem completely before beginning any remodeling efforts.

Permanent solutions can take time to put into operation. A smart place to begin is to get in touch with a home inspector who specializes in waterproofing problems.

2. Decide What You Want to Use Your Basement For

This is where you can turn lemons into lemonade. Your Basement has poor lighting? Consider setting up a dark room or a home theater. Is your basement lonely and isolated? The isolation helps provide a nice sound cushion for noisy activities such as a teenager hangout, a game room, or a place for your kids to practice their musical instruments to their hearts content. Use your imagination and come up with something that will benefit your family’s lifestyle.

3. Consider Professional Advice with Your Basement Design

Even though your basement might not be much to look at now, you'll want to end up with quality living space when the project is finished. An interior designer or architect can help you get the most out of the space. A little forethought and careful planning now can help you design a space that is attractive, comfortable and practical.

4. Consider the Air Circulation

Something important to consider is the air circulation of your basement. When your home was originally built, chances are that there were very few if any registers or vents installed in the basement. When you remodel your basement, you need to think about the need for good air circulation, adding openings where necessary.

To be on the safe side, install a carbon monoxide detector in your basement so that you'll have an early warning of any problems with the venting of the furnace or any other major appliances.

5. Make the Most of Your Basement's Natural Light

Depending on what you are using your basement for, you may wish to add more natural lighting. This can be done by enlarging your basement’s windows. Another benefit of larger windows is that they provide additional escape routes in case of fire.
Some may be concerned that by having basement windows that is providing easier access into the home by thieves. One way to lessen that risk is to install glass bricks instead of conventional windows at any location that is high-risk.

Take full advantage of the effect of regular windows by mounting some windows in the interior walls between rooms that open pathways for natural light to reach interior rooms.

About the Author
Christine Griego is the owner of http://www.home-options.info, a website that provides home improvement information, tips, and ideas.

Self Persuasion Through Organization

If you're anything like me, you're a very busy person. Not only am I busy with regular things--teaching, family, health maintenance--I'm also in the midst of a moving, requiring an added list of what needs to be done. It's hard to believe how much has to be done in a day and because this is on my mind, I'm inspired to write more on the topic of organization as I believe it has helped keep me on even footing in a time of change.

I don't care much for chaos. If things need to get done but aren't getting done, it upsets me. I realize that with change there is often chaos, and so in an attempt to minimize that, I like to shape that chaos into something simple.

I'm sure you're busy as well. Maybe your tasks are high priority, requiring deadlines and follow ups that simply have to be met. Some of them are probably less important--getting the dry cleaning, getting a car wash, remembering Secretary's Day. One thing that I find invaluable in this high tech world is a pencil and paper and a very easy thing called a list. Yup. The ever faithful 'to do' list. I suppose it could be that I'm just very process oriented. I like a 1-2-3 way of doing things. As I've discussed before, the conscious mind can only hold seven plus or minus two pieces of information at any one time. When we transfer the information that we don't need immediately onto a piece of paper (or into our Blackberries, if you're so inclined), this frees up space to concentrate on the present.

I typed the words "to do list" into Google and was given a variety of resources for online listing. Remember when a pocket note book and pen were all we needed? I happen to prefer the old-fashioned handwritten list, but if you have a Blackberry, why not put it to use?

The site www.rememberthemilk.com seemed easy to use and had the added bonus of being completely free. This one works with the iPhone or online. Another free site is http://roughunderbelly.com. If you're someone who likes to be rewarded for doing your tasks, this is a nice one giving charts and graphs of how productive you are as you do what needs to be done.

I've also become reacquainted with a tool I used to use but which I lost track of. Ironically, it's a tool to keep you organized (helping you to remember) the things you need to do. It's called Thought Office and falls under the heading of brainstorming. It's a creative and organizational tool that I simply love and for which I have found various uses.

I believe that by clearing up internal clutter and organizing our thoughts and tasks, we have a firmer grasp of making the big steps, accomplishing big things.

So what does this all have to do with persuasion?

I've said this before and I'll say it again many times: Once we can persuade ourselves, whether it be something big like quitting smoking or losing weight, or something as small like dropping off that bag of clothes at Goodwill then we create an internal environment where we are saying what we do and doing what we say. In this, we are working with our other than conscious minds to achieve amazing results.

About the Author
Kenrick Cleveland teaches techniques to earn the business of affluent clients using persuasion. He runs public and private seminars and offers home study courses and coaching programs in persuasion techniques.

Bathroom Organization

If you're lucky enough to have a "guest bathroom", one that isn't used by the family and one where you can always keep clean hand towels hanging for the guests, good for you. For most of us however, we have one or two bathrooms, and they both get a lot of use from the family members on a daily basis. Let's see how you can organize your bathroom so that it's guest ready too.

The one thing that most of us have too much of is lots of bottles of "stuff" sitting around the sink and countertop. Go through these and discard what you don't use on a daily basis, and what only has a drip left in it. Go buy two decorative baskets and have a "his" and "hers". One for his stuff, and one for her stuff. You could keep your toothpaste, hairspray, brush and comb, moisturizer, etc., in a basket that can be simply picked up and moved when guests come, and then put back when you're ready to use them again.

If you like to have magazines in the bathroom don't let them just pile up in a corner next to the toilet, get a nice magazine rack for them.

Next take a look at the inside of the shower. How moldy is that curtain? They cost around $4.00 - buy a new one. Look at the bottles in the shower, they tend to get left in the shower even when they're almost empty. Throw them out and try to streamline the number of bottles in the shower. If you don't have built in shelves around your shower get an organizer that hangs over your showerhead, or one on an extension pole you can put in the corner of the shower.

A cheap way to make your bathroom like new is with accessories. Buy a nice shower curtain with a matching rug. You can also get matching towels. If you have limited towel space you can buy a towel rack that hangs on the wall, they come in many different designs. With a nice wall towel rack you can make a display of beautifully colored towels - that you can also use too! Purchase a set of matching bathroom accessories, soap dish, toothbrush holder, cup, liquid soap dispenser.

I think you're going to love your bathroom!

About the Author
This article courtesy of http://www.vac-facts.com

7 Quick and Easy Garage Organization Tips

Need fast and simple solutions for your garage organization problems? Here are seven tips to help you get that garage in order and organized for good.

Hanging Racks

Getting racks that you can hang from the rafters of your garage works great for a variety of items. This garage organization solution works especially well for bikes. It keeps them from taking away valuable floor space while still keeping them easily accessible.

Hooks

Hooks are a great solution for many garage items. Long handled items that have a hole in the end work well to hang on hooks. If you use tarps or any sort of cover for your car or grill, hanging these things on hooks in the garage when they are not in use works very well.

Pegboards

This is one of the best garage organization tips that there is. Pegboards are the most flexible and inexpensive garage organization tools that there is. You can easily change how your garage is organized just by changing where you put your pegboard holders.

When you do get it organized exactly the way you want, take a picture of it and hang the picture up next to the holders. Do this for every section of the garage that has pegboard holders. It works best to do this for each section of the pegboard rather than taking a picture of the entire thing.

Shelves

The best way to use shelves in your garage is for storing containers and smaller items. Make sure that whatever shelving you install will be able to handle the weight load of what you are going to put on it.

Keep sharp and dangerous items off the floor

This is one of those garage organization tips that seems obvious but which is not always easy to follow. Making sure that things like rakes and hoes get put in their proper place is important for safety. When these items end up on the floor, you can have an unpleasant surprise if you are not watching where you are walking. Always put back items in their proper place that are potentially dangerous.

Secure hazardous items

This is another one of those garage organization tips that has to do with safety, always an important topic when you are dealing with garage storage. Anything that is toxic to humans or animals should be kept in a secure area that small children and pets cannot reach. Things like paint, weed killers, bug sprays and gas all belong in this category. If you have pets that go in the garage and they can climb, this means putting these items in high cabinets that you can close. If you have children, it is always a good idea to let them know at a young age what is and is not dangerous in the garage.

Wall Tool Holders

These work well for weed trimmers, shovels, rakes, garden equipment and brooms. Having a wall tool holder not only helps keep these items organized but it also means that they stay off the floor.

About the Author
Need more help getting that garage organized? Get more simple garage organization tips (including help so that you can finally actually park your car in the garage) at: http://www.yourhomeisorganized.com/GarageOrganization.htm

Tips For Closet Organization

Organization. That's the key to leading a leisurely life. If you have a place for everything and put everything in its place, then you won't have to waste time looking for such things as your car keys, matching shoes for your shirt or dress, or papers that you need for work. And if you don't have to waste time looking for misplaced items, then you won't have to deal with the feelings of frustration or aggravation that always result from such activity!

Today, it is possible to purchase all kinds of shelves, racks, drawers and cabinets for every room in your house. You could always cobble together something on your own, of course, but the quality and utility of it will probably be better from a store-bought item.

Do you have a laundry room, complete with washer and dryer? Is it arranged to your satisfaction? If not, here's a few items designed specially for the laundry room. It all depends on how much space you have, of course, but the right items can at least double your space.

Wire shelving is one way to add that space to your laundry room. If the walls are of tile or for some reason you don't want to attach the shelving to them, you can get shelving designed to fit over the top of your washer. You can also find folding tables, specially designed for the laundry, on which you can sort and fold your clothes, and then fold and put away until next time. A laundry sorter with divisions for colors, darks and whites is also helpful. And of course the laundry room is probably where you store your mops and other cleaning material. Get a wall organizer from you can suspend all these items, and it will improve the look of your laundry.

Once you've finished washing your clothes, it's time to put them away in the appropriate closet. Alas, there's no way yet to teleport the clothing directly, so you do have to make the time for that. If there's enough room in your laundry so that you can fold the clothing into appropriate piles, that makes things easier, of course.

How's your closet? Are your shoes jumbled on the floor in an unattractive mass, and more often than not buried underneath clothing or bags or other items? For the guys out there, are your silk ties and belts mashed together in a single drawer?

Many systems exist to help you take care of your shoe collection, no matter how extensive it may be, from over-the-wall hangers that fit on the back of your closet door, to tilted floor shelves. You can even get a rolling shoe rack that you can slide underneath your bed, which will leave your closet floor completely empty.

Tie and belt racks, designed specifically for the purpose, will ensure that these items stay where you put them, and will make it easier than ever for you to choose the appropriate one. There are swing-out racks so that the ties or belts will nestle against the wall or door, swing out to give you easy movement while you make your choice for the day, and then swing back to give you room once more to look at your shirts or dresses.

Some people don't like to lay their slacks out in drawers. For these people, they can suspend their slacks on hangers of course, in amongst the dresses or shirts, or you can purchase a pants trolley which will roll right into and out of your closet for ease of use. Make sure you purchase a trolley made out of a sturdy metal or wood.

If you've organized your closet and still don't have room, it's time to move some of your clothing to storage. If you live in a location with clearly defined seasons, you can store away your winter clothing until it's needed again, for example. Airtight storage bags are the ticket here.

And finally, don't forget the little things. You don't want moths getting into your clothing! Moth balls, cedar blocks or herbal sachets are of use here, and of course the cedar blocks or sachets will give off a pleasant aroma. If you live in an area subject to damp, you'll want a closet moisture absorber to take care of that problem.

About the Author
Andrew Caxton contributes adding content to http://www.home-decorating-reviews.com. Find more publications about closet organizers at his website.

Kitchen Organization Tips

The American kitchen is busier than ever. We prepare our meals, eat and clean up in a hurry. In such a busy place, organization is key to keeping everything running smoothly.

Just like the office, your kitchen should be organized. If you've never organized a kitchen, it can seem like a daunting process. In such chaos, knowing where to start might even look impossible. Thankfully, there are some simple procedures that you can follow to keep your kitchen clean, tidy, and well arranged.

The first thing you can do to subdue chaos in your kitchen is to identify zones within the space. A kitchen zone is an area where you perform the same task over and over, such as preparation of food before cooking, baking, serving, storage, or cleaning. Once you have designated these zones, it's easy to optimize that part of the kitchen for the activities it plays host to most often.

When you embark on a major organization project, be sure to plan ahead. Don't take everything out of the drawers and cabinets unless you know that you have a block of time to be devoted to the project. Invest time in deciding what appliances and supplies will end up in what location. If you have a plan for your kitchen ahead of time, you won't be as likely to feel lost in the middle of your reorganization project. Consider your habits, the flow of traffic through your kitchen, and what appliances you use most often when planning your new kitchen. Then systematically remove everything from the kitchen and sort all items into categories.

You can then go through each category and choose items you want to keep and ones you want to discard. Items that you do not use often should be stored towards the back of the cabinet, or on top, to allow easy access to ones you use more frequently. If you have a hard time remembering what you keep in your drawers and cabinets, consider posting an inventory list on the inside of the doors. Another handy tip is to keep a grocery list on the inside of a cabinet door or on the refrigerator, where you can add to it easily when you think of something that needs to be purchased.

If you have trouble with forgotten items clustering at the back of your cabinet, try installing a Lazy Susan. These turntables will help you easily bring items at the back of the cabinet into view. Specialty organizational tools such as paper bag storage, turntable spice racks, and racks to hold plastic wrap and aluminum foil are available. These can help to save space and alleviate mess, but too many of them or ones purchased without forethought will contribute to clutter. Planning and careful consideration are of the utmost importance when organizing your kitchen. In addition, routine maintenance of the kitchen will lessen the need for major reorganizations. If you keep the amount of clutter in the kitchen low, your job will be easier in the long run.

About the Author
Hunter Pyle wrote this article to give some tips and ideas for organizing your kitchen. Check out Kitchen and Much More for more storage and organization ideas.