Currently, paper products are trying to devour my home; I have a problem throwing out and/or recycling paper. What do I do with all my husband’s CDs, DVDs, and VHS tapes? What do I do with all my notebooks? My books? How do I store my enormous yarn stash? Material? Thread? These are the items I have little piles of all over the house!

Not to worry… You can definitely learn how to organize your paperwork, your husband’s CD, DVD, and VHS collections; your books and notebooks; and your yarn, material, and thread. Just follow these steps…

get prioritized.

What is bothering you the most? Your enormous yarn stash or your books? Jot down a list, in priority order, of what needs to be organized. Think small. For example, you should break down your husband’s “mess” into three different organizing tasks : [1] VHS, [2] CD, and [3] DVD.

get focused.

Now that you have all your ducks in a row, tackle the first item on your organizing priority list. In fact, pretend that you’re a squirrel (kids or grandkids could help with this one) and gather like items into a single area. So, if you decided that your enormous yarn collection was most bothersome, gather all of your yarn together in a plastic bin or a pile on the floor.

get real.

Time to make some tough decisions. Realistically, what do you need to keep and what can go?

Ask yourself these questions:

• Do I currently use it? If not, how long have I had it?
• Do I really need it? What’s the worst that’d happen if I got rid of it?
• Do I truly love it? Is it beautiful? Does it hold great sentimental value?

Remember : Anything that you decide to keep will cost you in space, time, or sanity. Make sure it’s worth it.

get neat.

Now that you’ve pared down your collection, find an appropriately-sized container in which to store the remaining items. This will define your limits. You may only keep what will comfortably fit into your chosen container.

So, if your husband comes home with a new DVD, only to discover that the DVD storage cabinet is completely full, he must get rid of an old DVD to make room for the new one. Or, he can return the new DVD if he really doesn’t want to part with any of the old ones.

As you can see, by limiting your stuff to a container, you have created an easy maintenance system that will ensure your control over your belongings and your space.

Finally, repeat this process for any area of your home that you need to organize, and you’ll soon find yourself reveling your new home oasis!

… my new favorite website!

If you’re anything like me (i.e., an avid reader who also favors organization and simplicity), you’ll quickly fall in love with this online book trading community!

~ get started ~

Scour your home, collect at least 10 books (i.e., paperback, hardcover, and even audio) that you no longer want or need, and enter their respective ISBN’s at PaperBackSwap.com. Then, browse or search the inventory of over 2 million books to find new-to-you reading materials, and order your first 2 books for free in a matter of minutes!

~ next steps ~

Then, you just send out any books that others request from your virtual bookshelf (via USPS media mail) to earn credits that you can then use to order gently used books for yourself. Not a bad deal! It’s like trading books with your neighbors… in your really big subdivision (i.e., United States)… who collectively read a lot of books (i.e., over 2 million)!

~ end result ~

So far, I’ve sent out 8 books in 8 days and received 5 of the 7 books that I’ve ordered. It’s been a really easy and inexpensive way to acquire like-new books that I’ve been wanting to read (and aren’t available at our local library)! Plus, of course, the bonus : I’m getting rid of my clutter at the same time!

[ Hey… What are you waiting for? An invitation!?! Go check it out! ]

Courtesy of ParentHacks.com:

Like most homeowners, real estate agents are flooding our house with magnetic calendars this time of the year with their picture and contact information on the magnet. As I was about to throw away a 2007 calendar magnet, I stopped and wondered what I would use to hold up the two pictures that were behind the magnet on the refrigerator—and it dawned on me—use the magnet! I cut the pictures to fit the magnet, taped them on the front, and put it back on the refrigerator!  Saved the magnet from a landfill and now the pictures are easy to see!

Courtesy of Jan Hayner from OrganizingAndCleaning.com:

The rule for cleaning a room is that if you can do a particular job in less than 2 minutes, get it done! It will be one thing that you won’t have to do later. After all, what is 2 minutes?

What jobs can you do in under 2 minutes?

1. Wipe the sink and faucet
2. Sweep the floor
3. Take out the garbage
4. Make the bed
5. Throw dirty clothes into the hamper
6. Unload the dishwasher
7. Pick up the newspapers
8. Do a fast clutter pick up
9. Put things away in the bathroom
10. Clean the mirror
11. Hang up your jacket
12. Sort the mail
13. Check your calendar
14. Pick out clothes for the next day
15. Throw a load of laundry into the washer

The ideas are endless! Sure if you do more than one project, it is going to increase time, but look at all of the things you could do with 10 minutes to make your life easier.