Organizing Small Spaces - How to Organize the Entryway to Be Inviting and Functional

First impressions are important, and your entry way is the first thing to greet you and your guests. It needs to be both inviting and functional by providing a spot to drop your keys, bags, and coats when you arrive home. But if it's not organized, it's easy for this small space to become cluttered and unused, causing frustration as you're trying to get out the door. Follow these tips to create a useful, beautiful entryway.
* DECIDE WHAT SHOULD RESIDE IN THE ENTRYWAY - Ideally, the entryway should be a spot for coats and other outerwear, umbrellas, daily-used backpacks, purses, briefcases, cel-phone, laptop, and totes - anything you need access to as you leave your home.
* EVALUATE YOUR CURRENT STASH OF THESE ITEMS - Pare down your coat and tote bag collections. Toss broken umbrellas, gloves without mates, and boots that don't fit. I often see entry coat closets and mudrooms overrun by tote bags. How many tote bags can you use at any given time. A few is all that you need. It's time for the rest to go! Your goal here is to keep only those things you frequently use.
* REMOVE EVERYTHING ELSE - Don't let your entryway become a catch-all for things you don't know what to do with. (This is not the spot for the turkey roasting pan!) Sort, toss or donate things that you really don't use or need, and assign new spots elsewhere in your home for the must-keeps.
* MAKE GOOD USE OF YOUR SPACE - Most entryways have a closet. Reevaluate its set-up. If it has a single rod across the top, could you raise it a bit and add a second rod below, doubling your hanging space. Could shelves be added above the rod or run across the depth of the closet? This makes use of storage space in the top of the closet that is often wasted. Could you add a tiered shoe rack on the floor? Or an over the door coat rack or shoe holder? I use these often to store gloves, hats and scarves. Maximize every inch of the space! While you're at it, invest in sturdy wooden hangers so your coats hang neatly. I love to use the inside of the door to hang an over the door shoe holder to hold gloves, scarves, and hats.
* USE CONTAINERS TO CONTAIN CLUTTER - This not only makes for a neat look, but it will also help you quickly find what you need. Label baskets or containers on the shelves for out-the-door items, such as umbrellas, mittens, hats, and dog leaches. If, due to space constraints, you must keep other types of items in this closet as well, be sure to categorize and containerize them, labeling as you go. I use 28 quart clear containers and smaller.
* CONSIDER SPACE OUTSIDE THE CLOSET - This is especially necessary if you don't have a closet or if it's very small. For example, a coat rack or set of wall-mounted hooks in the entryway will work wonders if you're short on closet space. Likewise, a pretty urn can hold umbrellas, a bench with storage under the seat can hold outerwear, and a wicker basket on the floor can hold shoes. By simply declaring a "home" and containing these items, you'll instantly take your entryway from messy to marvelous.
* SET UP AN OUT-THE-DOOR LAUNCHING PAD - Dedicate one basket near the door for items that need to leave the house, such as library books, DVDs to be returned, dry cleaning to be dropped off, and things to be delivered to family or friends. A charging station for all the electronics is a great addition to your launching pad. That's where I keep ours, where I charge my cell phone, camera battery and Blue Tooth.

Janet Nusbaum (AKA The Organizing Genie), owner of Simplified Spaces, is an Organizing Consultant, Author of Mom, Can I Help Around the House and Speaker. Janet loves creating order out of chaos and teaching others to do the same. For more helpful clutter-clearing tips, visit Janet's blog: http://www.TheOrganizingGenie.com

Tips to Keep and Display All Your Children's Files

Many parents often feel confused to organize their children's files, especially if their children like to collect things and get some projects from their teacher everyday. Of course, children are sometimes careless, so they often let anything unorganized. That is why the organization task often becomes parents' responsibility.
Having kids gives a great feeling but it sometimes causes you a headache when looking at things spread to all over the parts of the rooms. Besides having toys, they also have other things like papers, photos, school projects, and more. Since you cannot predict when guests will come to your home, it is just not nice letting the guests see your messy home.

To organize large projects, you will need an area where you can permanently display them. Some projects are so big, such as a relief map of an area or a scale model of Vesuvius, making you find no space large enough to store them. In a response to this, you can consider making the photograph of them then scrap-booking a page in an album. Then, add some details about the project, pictures, and also the grade received.

To trick on limited space, using a filing cabinet will be a good idea. It is perfect to set up a filing cabinet for older children as they usually have more responsibility. Add some categories to divide the files, such as ones dedicated to the subjects of the school projects. Then, you can keep a section for notes or materials your kids are going to use for final exams.

For younger children, making your own creation of a Weekly Wall of Fame will be a good idea to keep their artwork and papers. To make it, you can use a bulletin board and put it in areas like room or study areas. In weekend, you can tack up some of the work that they bring home from school. In this case, you can sort the works to what needs to be filed. However, you should ensure that the photographs are displayed safely by laminating them before tacking them up on the bulletin board. Then, make sure that you have properly stored the photographs that are not going to be displayed.

Your children may often receive invitations or birthday cards and it is just so important to keep the cards until the happening day. To store the cards, you can keep them in storage you have prepared before and remember to keep only the important cards. The important cards here could be the ones that that really mean something special to you or your kids. Finally, you can give them something as a reward of their file organization. It makes you kids learn to organize their own files without your help as they will have more responsibility from doing a small thing.

By Roger Elliott

Organizing a Child's Closet and Room

Storage Racks: Adding shelving to your child's closet can create places for all of those little things that you do not necessarily need to hang.

Stacking Bins: Bins are easily accessible by children and color coordinating or labeling each bin makes cleaning up a snap.

Linen Storage: Children often have a lot of extra sheet sets and comforters. Making a space for extra linen storage can keep it from spilling over into a clothing area. You may want to use crates up on shelves to keep them separate. Another option is to put them in large shallow containers underneath the bed.

Laundry Hamper: Make sure that your child has easy access to a laundry hamper. Ones that match their room decorations will encourage them to actually use it. Teach them to put their clothes in as part of their morning and night time routine. Then, when it is full, they can help do the laundry.

Cabinet: Adding cabinets to a child's room can be relatively inexpensive. Cabinets make great spots for keeping games, puzzles, art supplies and books. If you have a young child or a baby, you can keep diaper changing materials, out of reach medicines, humidifiers and thermometers in a cabinet, safely out of sight and reach.

Nets: Nets are great for getting all of those stuffed animals off the floor and out of the toybox. They can really take up a lot of space. Putting them in a net also keeps them out where your child can easily pick which one they want to sleep with at night. Plus, the net makes a fun place to play stuffed animal basketball.

Pocket Organizer: Pocket organizers are great for shoes, but they can also be used for a plethora of other children's needs. Mittens and gloves, socks, small cars or building blocks, art supplies, you name it. As kids get older, it seems like the pieces of their toys get smaller and smaller. See-through pockets make organizing tiny pieces a snap.

Hooks and Clips: Hooks and clips can help keep backpacks, coats and scarves off the floor. Ball caps, book bags and anything that can hang can be placed on a hook. Then, not only is it put away, but it's easily accessible for quick bolts out the door. Wet winter coats are able to dry without getting other clothing wet.

Children's Hangers: Using children's hangers will help you get the longest life out of your child's clothes. Adult hangers can stretch out the shoulders of your kid's clothing. Getting exciting colors of children's hangers that match your child's room can make the closet more a part of their decorations. Using childrens hangers will encourage your child to hang their own clothes.

About the Author: Ron Maier is the owner of Only Kids Hangers, a leading provider of childrens hangers. The right children's clothes hangers really make the difference in kid's retail or home organization.

How to Organize Coupons

You have finally jumped into the exciting world of coupons but now you do not know what to do with all of them. After clipping coupons from Sunday papers and printing coupons from the internet, a big pile of coupons will soon form. Putting all of them in a large envelope for safe keeping is a good way to put them away so they are not scattered everywhere, but you will find that it is too hard to find exactly what you are looking for. You will need a way to organize all your coupons so you can easily find them. You will also want to use something that will allow you to carry your coupons with you to the store. There are lots of different ways to do this but there is not a best way. One method of organizing may work for one person but not for another. Here are a few options to get you started.

1. Use a small expanding file folder that is sized for photos. You can organize your coupons by using broad categories such as baby, dairy, or pet. You can arrange these categories in alphabetical order or in the same order that you would pass each category in your grocery store. Many people find that they outgrow this method very quickly, especially if they get multiple Sunday coupon inserts each week.

2. Use an empty craft or fishing box. You can create your own dividers for categories out of index cards to organize your coupons. Using a box allows you to fit and carry more coupons.

3. Use a large binder with baseball card holders. For this method, you can buy binder dividers to separate your categories. This method is especially useful for people who get multiple inserts. Each coupon can have its own slot and all the multiple coupons can fit too.

Like I said before, each person will find that one method works better for them than others. A large binder is probably the easiest way to organize your coupons. You can put the binder in the seat of the cart and flip through the pages without having to fumble through a stack of coupons. However, this may not always be the best option. For example, people with babies probably will not be able to carry both their baby and a large binder/box into the store. In addition, the baby has to sit in the seat and there would not be room for a binder or box. For these people, a large expanding file folder that can fit into a purse would probably be more beneficial. Each person's situation and coupon experience will determine which method is best. Also remember, these are only a few options. There are many other ways you could organize your coupons, so get creative and find the best method for you.

By Brandi Yates

I am a stay at home mom of three children and I am always looking for ways to save money. Here you can find discount coupons and Coupon Organizers

How to Get Organized in Early Spring For a Great Summer

Winter is coming to an end and you are looking forward to a summer of fun and accomplishment but what do you do first? You know you need to start getting ready. You have the energy and desire to do something but what should you do? The weather is getting a little warmer, the sun is out longer and you feel like doing something. It is still too cold to spend much time outside.

Your yard is still snow covered or the ground is too soft and muddy to work on it. You would like to put all your winter clothes and winter stuff away but you know there might be some more snow and cold for awhile yet. This time of year is the limbo time between winter and summer. The extreme difficulty of dealing with winter is over but there is enough winter left that you cannot just put everything away and only have your summer stuff out.

You need an organized plan to use to jump start your summer preparations. Here is a plan that will get you organized and moving forward towards a great summer:

1) Go through your winter clothes. Anything that is ripped, stained and beyond repair needs to be thrown out. All the winter clothes that are still good but that you did not wear at all can go into a bag to drop off at your favorite charity. This includes clothes that are too big, too small, that are really not you or that you just do not like for whatever reason. This is the perfect time to do this because you will not be needing these clothes anymore soon.

2) While going through these clothes you should make a small list of your wish list for the types of winter clothes you want to get next fall. Put this list in your planner book so you have an early jump on your ideas for next year.

3) Get out your spring and summer clothes if you had them put away for the winter and put them in your closet. There should be room because you have removed some of your winter clothes in step 1.

4) Go through your spring and summer clothes and make a list of what you really want to get now. This will be your shopping wish list to use in the next few months to make sure you are looking for what you really need and want.

5) Put away any remaining Christmas decorations and anything else related to winter. It is still too early to put away everything needed for winter. You will still need boots, coats, mittens, hats, shovels and salt. What I mean is to put away things that are not needed for winter but that are reminders of winter.

6) The big thing to do is to finish your indoor projects. You really need to push to finish any home painting or remodeling projects now. Spend the time and money to get this out of the way. Once the nice weather hits there will be a lot more distractions on your time. Trying to work on outdoor projects and indoor projects at the same time is just too difficult and draining. Planning travel and fun activities around your remodeling is
frustrating.

7) Move your cars out of the garage and sweep your garage floor as much as you can. Where I live they use a combination of sand and salt on the streets to deal with the ice and snow so my garage is filled with both. You will be needing to sweep again later in the spring but it really helps to get as much dirt picked up now as you can.

8) Sweep your sidewalks and the main areas of your driveway where most people walk. By spending some time sweeping you will be minimizing the amount of dirt tracked into the house.

9) Vacuum your car and clean and straighten it out. Do not put away your winter stuff yet. Where I live in
Wisconsin we can still get snow up through the middle of May. So you really need to wait to put away winter stuff until winter is for sure done.

10) Do some straightening in the garage. It is too early to put away the winter stuff but you can spend some time working here to make the big cleaning easier later.

11) Look at your equipment for your summer activities and make lists of what you need. If you golf, see if you need golf balls. If you fish, make a list of the fishing tackle you want to buy. If your outdoor tools are in poor shape, put together a list of what you need. Put these lists in your planner book so you can start getting these things as you can afford them.

12) If you have kids or are a biker, get your bikes out and fill up the tires. If your bikes need to be fixed either fix them, get them to the bike shop or buy new ones. As soon as the good weather arrives everyone will want to go for a bike ride.

13) If there are any Christmas decorations still up outside, get those removed and put away.

Here is a list of tools you will need to get these things done:

- Big garbage bags and ties. You will use these bags to throw out your clothes as well as haul any other clothes to charity.

- Paper that fits into your planner book and pen to make your lists of the winter clothes you would like next year, your list of the warm weather clothes you want now, your list of equipment needs for your summer activities and your list of outdoor tools for your outdoor summer projects.

- Boxes and bins to pack away your winter and Christmas type decorations.

- Broom, dustpan and garbage can.

- Shopvac or vacuum you can use outside.

- Air pump for the bike tires.

- Motivation, energy, time and money to finish those indoor projects.

You can see from this list that the work will be a combination of indoor and outdoor work. Doing these types of tasks will be a pleasant reminder of the wonderful summer weather that is coming and all the fun you are going to have.

About the Author:

Hans Hallanger is The Organized Man. Do you dream of having more free time, of a simpler life, of less stress, of an uncluttered home, of well-designed storage systems and about getting more done? My website, http://www.organized-way.com/index.html is full of easy ways to quickly improve your life. Sign up for my FREE newsletter and get a FREE Ebook titled "Seven Ways to get Organized Right Now".