Yeah I tried putting that stuff on the top shelf for a while, but like you said its hard to keep neat. I have shoe shelves in the top of mine & my husband has bins in the top of his for hats. He has a lot.

I really think the shelf near the bottom will help, especially for the kids because they can't reach the top shelf anyway. My son doesn't wear a coat unless he plays in the snow. He has many hoodies to coordinate with whatever he is wearing that day instead of a coat. My kids play a lot of sports so it will be a good place for baseball & football pants too. In summer I can put the baseball pants and shorts on the low shelf & hoodies in plastic boxes on the high shelf. In winter, I can switch.

In my husband's closet I may do a shelf unit all the way up on one side of the closet instead. I like those too.

I think Jan Moyer must have been inside my pre-clutter project house! My late husband had a thing for insulated mugs, cups, and glasses that I am tossing. I've kept those "useful" shopping bags too long, now they ARE useful as I fill them with carp to donate & get double the declutter rewards!

@JAN MOYER----

My grand daughter SAID there was someone in the house--now I know it was YOU!!!!

Yes the plastic!!!!!!! I HATE plastic dishes and will NOT use one unless I HAVE to. I don't like how they clean up for one thing. However---now we have two small grandkids living here and the PLASTIC is outta control! The molded charector plates--that DON'T NEST!!!! The oddly sized round plates with the rims--that don't stack with the OTHER plates. The variety of small bowls--for WHAT I dunno----but we got 'em. And all of this in the tiniest and least well laid out kitchen EVER.

And the cups---OMG the CUPS. We have sippy cups in every size shape color valve system age range and material. We have lids to sippy cups that none of us can ever remember seeing the cup part for---but it might turn up! Someday!!!! And we have the plastic straw inserts that fit no OTHER sippy cup ever. But we have no clue where the cup and lid went. And you can't WASH these! I have tiny hands and getting down in there is impossible---and some refuse to come clean in the dishwasher or they bounce around in there.

Then we have the SNACK CONTAINERS---in every size shape---goldfish anyone???-- color etc. Keeping the lids together with the bases seems as hard with these as regular Tupperware. Swear these were invented by aliens as a mind game.

Not to mention the ADULT sippy cups!! How can there be so MANY none of which thread on the same WAY? One lid will be a nanometer larger or smaller so you THINK you have a match---um--no. The straws are impossible tl clean so you buy replacement straws--yay you are NOT buying a NEW go-cup!!!!---only to find the new straws fit--nothing.

Stealth Grandma has been known to spirit some of this crap into a trash bag and heave it before the lil angels see it go.

Bad Grandma.

Bad Grandma has her OWN hoarder tendencies she is trying to overcome--is there a Hoarders Anonymous??? Are you REALLY a "hoarder" if you are actively trying to get RID of the crap? Today I did one small corner and have a LARGE black trash bag---double bagged!!!!---to toss and we got rid of some donation stuff and I have a food pantry donation box going out tomorrow. And I recently re-did one end of our living room and tossed and donated a LOT of stuff---

Somedays I think that all I REALLY need to get RID of this stuff is a non-handicapped person to stand there and hold up each item and I can say---KEEP; TOSS or DONATE. And then have it hauled OFF. Done! Sadly no such person exists so I have to muddle thru as I can. And people had better STOP with this dying and leaving me STUFF. Enough I say!

@halleycomet
There really are people who will stand there and ask the questions about stuff; some even will haul it away.They're called Professional Organizers. The national organization, NAPO, maintains a list of current members, so you could probably find someone in your area. You're not alone, there is support.

I have a file cabinet at home where I keep all the instruction manuals, warranties, receipts etc. of things I buy. The documents are sorted by where I keep them in the house. So I have one file per room. So for example, in the kitchen file, I keep the documents about the microwave, oven, light fixture, mixer, coffee machine etc. I do the same for LR, DR, BRs, basement, garage, exterior such a BBQ. I must say though I have a separate file for electronics in LR because this file is already big by itself.

@JOANHARDIN---
\
Thank you----I might need to look into that! Not so sure how many of these people might be found deep out in the rural countryside---in fact we just got "Rural-er" if that is possible--the Amish have come to live here!

A lot of great comments. Being organized comes from making it a daily priority over procrastinating. When you organize daily, a small chore doesn't turn into a big project. Here are a couple cool pictures of organization projects we have completed.

@halleycomet.....you would be surprised, just by putting the word out, lots of us have great organizing skills with terrific personalities, without the NAPO accreditation.....get recommendations, start with a small project, see how you work together. If it is a good fit, map the work out according to your time/budget. You will probably make a life long friend from the experience :)

Great idea @maria smith. Typically, organized people love helping those you struggle. My wife struggles with being organized and has often asked friends for help.

halleycomet,have you considered posting a dilemma on Houzz. Do a small amont at a time. For example, "Need help organizing this cabinet". We will walk you through it. If you post pictures of your progress, you will continue to get feedback.

@halleycomet
I love people's comments on finding someone who is organized to walk with you. Just pick someone who understands how difficult decisions can be, who will have patience as you work through , but will ask how it's going and give a gentle, firm nudge to keep going. I know having someone ask me about a project gives me incentive to continue an overwhelming task. Thanks Maria! I like cdrdesigns suggestion as well. In the responses from the community you'll start to see certain patterns for approaching organizing and pick up the skills. Organizing is part learning a skill, part habit. It's so possible. Looking forward to seeing your progress.

Getting organized is a great time saver. Especially when you get ready in the morning. I decided to organize my whole closet and more specifically my shoes. I did not want to display them out of their boxes because of dust and sunshine fading. I then collected shoe boxes from a store so that they would all be the same and glued a picture of my shoes on the front.
I just could not imagine it would be so easy to find the pair of shoes I was looking for every morning !

Once you decide to donate things, load them into the car's trunk and take down that very day!

I reserve 2 small places in my house for things to donate. One is to a charity and the other one is for my family we have a gathering once or twice a year. When the space for donations to charity is full, I bring them right away. As for things for my family, part of my own packing, I go to the basement and grab things that I have already planned to give them.

Make an Home Organizer File, in this- place everything that helps in running the house such as emergency numbers, school numbers etc.. Inside have a dining section for a list of favourite formal/family or special holiday meals to cook and desserts, also a list of side dishes, salads etc. and so forth. You can even arrange them in Menus for specific events or special days ahead of time, then all you do is tick off the menu you have decided for that day... next to it , should be a list of ingredients to buy. All prepared without wasting time thinking what to make.

If find it is one thing to get organized but it is another thing to stay organized.

To stay organized, you need to create a system that works for you. For example, I am a visual, so clear bins really work for me. I make it really easy for me to put things back by removing their lids. I make sure I don't need a stool or ladder to get things I use often. If I have no choice, I keep the stool right in that corner.

I also don't like to take decisions all the time, so I find ways that help me not having to take a decision where to put things like:

- Having my clothes sorted by colors in my closet is not working for me. What if I have a blue with red stripes blouse? Would it go with the blue clothes or the red clothes? I chose to sort my clothes by the shape: collar, no collar, long sleeves, medium length sleeves, short sleeves etc. When I look at piece of clothes I know where to put it without questioning.

- Same for my instruction manuals,warranties of items I want to keep. They are kept in different files labeled by room like I already mentioned in one comment above.

- For objects that are not so obvious, I use labeling. I try to find the best way to categorized and if one item is really hard to decide. I make the decision once on under which category it should go and I add its own label on the bin along the other label.

I agree with Suzanne that it is not always best to put clothes by colour. I divide mine by type: skirts, pants, long-sleeved or short-sleeved tops, jackets, out-of-season. That way, I mix and match less likely things together by rotating through my closet and maximize my wardrobe. I also turn my hangers backwards (which I have mentioned on another houzz stream). As I wear the item, I turn it back. At the end of the time period (in my case, each year around my birthday), the still-backwards items are candidates for donation, rags or the garbage bin (in that order).

My problem is paper. I do put junk mail and envelopes in the recycle immediately (and I have a "no junk mail" sign by my mailbox), but I often don't file or act on the other immediately. When guests are coming over, I throw mixed papers into a bag or box and hide them. In the past, these papers were never to be seen again (even some important ones) as I am very much an out of sight, out of mind person. I am trying to make it a habit to deal with paper right away (not easy for me), but can anyone suggest a way to go through the mountains of paper that is down my basement. Some has personal info, some needs to be kept on file, some can get recycled. I guess I might just have to bite the bullet ((anand do some each day until it is done (gulp).

Yes, lepstein, a bit each day! 20 minutes. If you do it every day at some point you will notice you are making progress and then be motivated to do more. I know from experience.

Community shredding days - our suburb has spring and fall weekends where we recycle. They have an industrial shredder parked and we can toss all of our personal papers in there. So I sort in 3 piles: Shred, keep, not mine (!). The shred pile I then store in paper bags in the garage until recycling day. The "not mine" pile gets delivered to the owner who is then forced under my watchful eye to deal with their paper right then! And finally I attempt to find the rightful home for the keep pile.

Good luck!

Sigh! I guess I knew that there were no shortcuts. Will work on the 20 min. theory. That sounds manageable (maybe right after breakfast, lunch or supper, depending on my plans for the day).

We have recycling and I have a small personal shredder. We don't have an industrial shredder (what a good idea!), but my investment company has said I can use theirs (within reason).

Thanks for your response...I will forge ahead!

BTW: The "not mine" pile should be ok as I usually deal with that fairly quickly.

lepstein, you're right, there is no other way than just tackle paper piles. jn3344 do you use the community shredding day as a deadline to get the job done by and then revisit this job twice a year? Sounds fabulous! lepstien, would it be helpful to you to have a benchmark as well as the 20 minutes a day?

lepstein try placing a bag or box for paper to recycle, one for the shredder items and one for the file items right next to where you work on the paper . Perhaps plan into the 20 minutes time to file what you just sorted?

leptstein, I read once in another thread that one way a houzzer does to be encouraged to pick up things in the house is to set a timer. She uses like her favorite song as the timer. Once the song is over, she stops the cleaning. I guess, you could do something like that but maybe use 2 or 3 songs instead of one.

@lepstein: your closet method is very organized. Perhaps there will be other suggestions for dealing with the paper mountains in the basement. Do you have more than a dozen grocery bags of miscellaneous paper?

I am a super organized person and did my best friend's closet more than once. First time was her linen closet - I had to convince her to donate really old linens she'd never use again. Second time was her clothes closet (I'm much more of a fashionista than she is and she trusts my judgement on her clothes). So don't be shy about asking an organized friend for help. They'll be great about saying "No, donate that!" when you get sentimental about something that will annoy you later.
One other thing: If you can afford it or if you are handy, get closet organizers. When I bought my house my sister was fierce with me about using her closet people. Thank goodness! That is precious real estate that often comes with one shelf and one long pole. The best closet in our house is in the laundry area and it holds tons of stuff (including our paper/ plastic bags!) It really helps to get your stuff organized when you have great shelving and double poles and a long narrow spot for the brooms.
I also keep a bag for the Vietnam Vets in a spare bedroom ALL THE TIME. When it hits me that some piece of clothing (even my unsuspecting husband's) is ready for retirement, I put it in there. Luckily, I'm on their email list and they remind me to donate the bag every now and then!
This whole thread makes me think of the famous George Carlin skit on "Stuff". :)

Thanks for all the paper suggestions. JoanHardin: I have a shredder, file cabinet and garbage in my office where I open my papers and a recycle container in the next room. I just have to think "JUST DO IT". Suzanne: I have a kitchen timer and will try that. apple_pie: Yes, more than a dozen...many years of accumulation and not following my own advice (see previous in caps). Guess all of this will be my New Year's resolution, except that I will start right away.

Merry Christmas and Happy Organized Holidays to all...

Several years ago, we had our master closet done by California Closets. So every time I buy a new sweater or pair of shoes I must be willing to part with an old one. I keep a bag in my closet to take to Goodwill. My husband refuses to let anything go. A few years ago, I took 35 of his baseball hats to Goodwill. He never noticed. I believe is part hoarder. It's a running battle. He always needs just one more of what ever it is:(

crikey with the hats and golf shirts - gotta pick my battles

These unnecessary items should be put into the storeroom to give you more space.

My husband is always reluctant to get rid of things and I feel overwhelmed at times with what we have that we don't use or need. A treadmill, furniture, some dishes his mom owned, some tools, the list goes on and on. He's good with clothing - we take what we don't need to a homeless shelter but you'd think I was wanting to give away priceless family heirlooms. Anyway, I've strongly suggested to him that on Jan 2, we're going around the house with coloured stickies and tagging these unnecessary items. Then I'll list them on kijiji or craigslist. What I don't get rid of that way will go into a garage sale in the spring. He's already nervous......

The other thing I'm doing to cut down on paper is getting the e versions of my magazines as subscriptions run out.

35 surplus ball caps?

@lepstein: with more than a dozen bags to go through, it would be nice to have some rewards. How about paying yourself some token amount per bag? Say a dollar a bag, cash on the barrel. Buy yourself a movie ticket or some flowers with the cash.

Another option is to hire a high school student to shred right next to you while you sort. They can also dust, vacuum up the cobwebs and shredded bits, and take bags up to the trash from the basement. The true purposes of the student are to keep you on track and to do some of the grunt work.

For papers you want to keep, I recommend plain old "household organizer" accordion files, one per year (and one to rule them all, meaning papers to keep forever such as real estate deeds and roof guarantees) Smead and Mead both make them. One you make the decision to file by year, you've covered in one fell swoop hundreds of individual decisions on "what should I do with this?". The best thing, of course, is to shred it all. But just getting it sorted by year means that you can go back to the ten-year-old file and empty it out for use next year.

As I wrap ornament gifts for my nieces and nephews, I am thinking that for those of you who have children who have started homes of their own, now would be a good time to consider handing off ornaments that were given to them over the years. Maybe get each kid a plastic box and as you take down your tree, divvy them up.

Watch one of those "Hoarders" shows. Makes me feel better and gets me motivated to clean up some closet. My mother was 'hurt' that I didn't want to take much of her stuff when they moved to a small apartment/retirement home. I just know that I would have good intentions to sell it on ebay but never will. It would sit in some closet. I helped my parents sell on Craigslist and donate. I just know I can't handle more stuff than I already have.

My better half and I were both packrats. Then we had to do a life move.

I am not kidding, it was three full sized skip dumpsters and a running rummage sale for a month on that side of the yard and the other was 'take it it's free' and the stuff always disappeared and the rummage sale kept us in takeout pizza.

It took us two years to recover from that move, I am not kidding.

We sorted it into places that are 'mine' and 'his' and if you outgrow your place/space, you gotta toss. We both had an 'emergency purge' here when the house got shifted into a full remodel because of structural... but. I'd do another move just to shed stuff IF I didn't have to get healed up afterwards.

I still am a fan of pile filing; and I still like my 'keep' 'toss' and 'other' piles. We have a local thrift store, I sometimes haul them donations instead of buying stuff to take home. :)

On a K/T/O pass on something that has just collected, I want at least 70% to go to Toss, and another 20% or more to Other. Doesn't always work that way but it does help....

Better than watching the hoarders I just did an estate sale for the overwhelmed son of one and you can be sure my home is being purged ASAP.

Can't watch those hoarder shows. They make me ill.

apple_pie: I already treat myself more than I can really afford, so that doesn't quite motivate me and I have tried the accordion files. They worked for a couple of years, but the bottom line is that you still have to keep them up. Even a basement redo didn't seem to motivate me (of course, I can't sell or donate papers like I can with other, more interesting things to sort).

I do like the year-by-year idea as I can see that I will file items in their proper place when I can, but at least, by putting them in the appropriate year when I am busy (or lazy), they will be off my desk and out of the paper-sucking boxes and bags. I am a writer, so I will also have three files - ideas, published, and research - to help contain some of that type of paper.

This discussion HAS motivated me, and I DO plan to work on it a minimum of 20 mins. a day (New Year's resolution), starting now. Writing the dates 2013 & 2014 on files as well as going through my "to do immediately" file as soon as I submit this.

I love watching the hoarders show once in a while it makes me clean even more out and makes me feel like I have clutter even though I know I don't and then I purge even more. The day before christmas we did three bags to salvation army.

My friend placed two shoe box size boxes and a garbage/recycle can near the door she comes in with the mail. She stands there sorting as soon as it comes in. Items that need immediate attention (in next month or important papers needing to be filed) in one and To File in the other. When the boxes are getting full, it's her reminder to take some time and deal with them.

I find paying bills once a week helps to keep that fun task under control.

Most of my bill paying is through automatic payment, so I don't have much problem with that. I like the idea from joanhardin of two containers - one To Do and one To File (assuming that the rest is to recycle immediately).

Join me in an Organizing Challenge over in the Discussions. Spend 7 days throwing out, donating or giving away 5 items a day. List your items, inspire the rest of us!

Just passed on some cashmere sweaters to a friend (I got them from my aunt and not my size or colors).

Still have girlfriend gift exchange coming in a few days. Each one is getting two of my favorite books: inside cover has the date and place to write down who she will pass it on to.

I LOVE Hoarders show- before the episode is over I'm looking at my space with a fresh & critical eye. Used to watch episodes back to back on Friday to pump up for Sat. Cleaning. As a reformed packrat, daughter of a hoarders dad & sentimental saver mom, I am on a mission to De-clutter my way into a minimalist lifestyle. When I'm struggling with an item that I can't decide on, I sometime turn to my new best tool: the trashcan! It's amazingly liberating to drop the problem in and feel the tension disappear.

Actually Organized, NY & Miami

Organization: what does that mean. simple definition: Everything has a place and a place for everything.....You are organized when you can find what you want when you want it. Many clients complain of the "Clutter". Clutter is actually decisions not made. You walk in your home you have an item in your hand you are not sure what to do with it you put it down on the counter.....this continues with all sorts of items in your home and eventually you have piles of stuff everywhere on every surface. Nothing has a designated home where it lives when not in use, so it remains where ever you put it....and when you can't find it you buy a new one. So designating a home for your belongings will save you money and duplicating your belongings.

When starting an organizing project it can seem overwhelming. Break it down into smaller pieces. Instead of trying to organize the entire room, (you may not have enough time to do the whole room, you may not be able to focus long enough to do the entire room) pick one area. Maybe begin sorting through those items that are on the floor, or maybe organize one shelf, one drawer, one corner of the room at one time.

Cardboard boxes labeled "Pitch It!"

Took a few days off to begin my purge....4 lawn bags and then some! Closet still seems too full!

In order to organize anything, you must first ask why you are organizing it. Does it truly need to be there at all? Plenty of company and works in progress right below! Take a stroll, and scroll : )

[https://www.houzz.com/discussions/as-the-season-of-consumption-ends-and-the-purge-season-begins-dsvw-vd~4349798?n=261[(https://www.houzz.com/discussions/as-the-season-of-consumption-ends-and-the-purge-season-begins-dsvw-vd~4349798?n=261)

I am having plastic bowls of various sizes and they don't fit into one another. Can anyone suggest better ways to organise them?