Organizing

Staying Organized When Living with a Partner or Roommate

Published: October 20, 2022

When sharing a living space with another person, or multiple people, disorganization can happen when there is miscommunication, or unclear expectations and routines. This is something you can address at any time with the people you live with, but it is usually helpful to discuss before moving in together. Whether it is with a partner, spouse, roommate or other relative sharing your house or apartment, setting expectations and clearly communicating can go a long way in maintaining a peaceful, clean, and organized home. Here are some things to consider when sharing a home:

Plan the Space in Advance

If possible, prior to moving in together, make a plan for how each room will be used. Determine a purpose for each piece of furniture. Take measurements and use the floor plan to map out how you both (or all) agree to arrange the place. If you are combining households, get rid of duplicate items before you move, or as you unpack.

Designate Some Separate Areas for Each Person’s Belongings

Depending on the size of the space, possibly give each person their own room, section of a room, or their own area, such as a home office space or a desk, that is theirs and theirs alone. This gives each person sole ownership of an area. In shared rooms, assign each person a dresser or chest of drawers, a nightstand, a side of the closet, bathroom drawers, etc. The other person or people in the house should agree not to use, rearrange, declutter, or add anything to these areas.

Use Color Coding to Further Separate Belongings

Perhaps each person selects a certain color towel, toothbrush, coffee mug, etc. You can always use labels or colorful tape or stickers to differentiate similar items. This will prevent arguments about who is using what, what belongs to each person, or who left something out, or needs to clean it.

Set Expectations for Cleanliness and Clutter Levels

Talk about how you want to run the household and methods that have worked or don’t work for each of you. Visually, some people need everything in sight, others prefer to have things tucked away in cabinets, drawers, or closets. Discuss each person’s definition of cleanliness. To some it is shiny floors and dust-free spaces, to others, it is just being able to have a walking path through a room. You’ll need to compromise when living with others, so find a common ground that works for all.

Decide How to Divvy Up Chores

Chores can be divided in whichever way makes sense for the household. Talk about which chores each of you likes to do most, or dislikes the least. From everything including sweeping, mopping, doing dishes, setting the table, dusting, doing the laundry, grocery shopping, cooking, taking out the trash, mowing the lawn, to pet care, write it all down and decide who should be responsible for each chore, and schedule when or how frequently it should be done. There are many chore charts and apps available to help with this. Discuss this and agree on a plan together.

Create a Laundry Schedule

As a professional organizer, laundry is the chore that seems most challenging for households, so I wanted to break it down further. Determine who will do the laundry. In some homes, each person is in charge of their own clothing, in other homes it is just one person in charge of it all. Either way, you will need to decide how and when non-clothing, such as towels and sheets, are washed. Set up a place for a few laundry baskets or hampers for each person’s clothing, and for linens. Because you’re sharing a washer and dryer, this needs to be scheduled to prevent overlap or disagreements. It can be as simple as Roommate A does laundry on Saturday, and Roommate B does laundry on Sunday, or you can schedule it in more detail to a certain time each week. Moving clothing from the washer to the dryer, emptying the dryer, folding and putting away clothing in dressers and closets should also be scheduled as part of this laundry routine.

Decide on Mail Processing Methods

Designate a space to place each person’s mail when it comes into the house. A small inbox for each person can help keep things separated. Schedule a regular time to look through the mail, at least weekly. Decide when and where you will take action on mail, such as paying bills. Create a plan for what to do with important papers once action has been taken, such as storing it in a file box or cabinet, or scanning it.

Set up a Shared Drop Zone

Set up a drop zone area near the entrance to your home. This is a place to store incoming mail, keys, purses, book bags, shoes, jackets, etc. Anything that you use on a daily basis can be stored here, so the items don’t go missing. Add a calendar to the wall, and a magnetic dry erase board or cork board to place important notes for one another. This is a great place to have a running grocery list and a chore chart, if you use one. This is the hub of your home, where everyone can post and share information.

Use Shared Digital Calendars

If you prefer not to have everything on paper, setting up shared digital calendars with the people you live with is a great way to keep schedules organized. Shared digital calendars can be used to keep track of when people will be home for planning meals together. You can also use it for chore schedules, appointments, home maintenance services, work schedules, social events, vacations, and more. Being able to immediately share this information with your household assists with communication and makes sure things run more smoothly.

The Top 5 Things to Organize in Your Home

Published: February 28, 2022

In my decade of experience as a professional organizer, I have found that there are five categories of items or areas that are most in need of organized systems to maintain organization. The cyclical nature of these spaces is what makes it challenging, because items are coming and going, or moving from one area to another, or changing on a regular basis. Let’s look at these 5 categories, and review some tips to maintain organization in these areas.

Mail & Papers

Mail arrives almost daily, and while much of it may be junk, the important papers and packages need to be opened and given a home inside your house. Whether that’s being saved in a paper file folder, scanned, or a a bill to be paid, a coupon to use, or an invitation to respond to, you need to have a regular system to open and check the mail, discard the unimportant, and then take action on the important. Setting up areas of your home to hold incoming mail, store action papers, and then store files that you need to save for reference can help you manage paper overload.

Laundry & Clothing

Sizes and seasons change, we buy new clothes, and don’t always declutter the old clothing. Clothes go through a cycle of clean (and ideally in a drawer or closet), to being worn, to being dirty and then needed to be washed, dried, folded or hung up again on a regular basis. Creating homes for clothes in all of these states is extremely important to maintaining organization. For example, selecting and placing laundry baskets or hampers in an accessible place, and regularly decluttering drawers and closets to give each type of clothing it’s own space, so you can easily put it away and retrieve it when needed, will help you stay better organized.

Dishes

Just like the clothing, dishes, silverware, and cooking supplies have a cycle of being clean (and ideally is a designated cabinet or drawer), used, dirty, and in a sink or dishwasher, then clean and awaiting to be put away. By decluttering and organizing your kitchen so every item has a space, and then setting up routines to load and empty a sink or dishwasher, wash the dishes and put them away, you can keep this area organized.

Groceries & Meals

Food cycles through a home from the fridge, freezer or pantry, then being consumed, and then needing to be restocked by a trip to, or delivery from a grocery store. Setting up organized spaces in your fridge, freezer and pantry, and planning a regular decluttering of spoiled or expired foods, then keeping up with writing a grocery list, and meal planning weekly can help keep the organization of food items under control.

Schedules & Time

Just like physical spaces, calendars and schedules can become cluttered and disorganized. By choosing the right planner, calendar or task management tool for you, whether that be paper or digital, and using it everyday to keep track of your time, you can keep your schedule better organized. You can schedule times for work, commuting, chores and errands, appointments, relaxation and social time on your calendar. Having a way to contain and manage your schedule can prevent you from being late or missing important events, and lead you toward better organization in all areas of your life.

Organizing Tasks to Tackle: 10 Minutes at a Time

Published: January 26, 2022

A common reason some of my new organized clients say that they haven’t gotten organized is because they don’t have the time. While doing a deep declutter and reorganization of an entire home can take a long time, there are some organizing tasks that can be done in short bursts of time, in just 10 minutes or less, to get you rolling and keep up momentum. While staying organized is a daily process, here are some things you can do that might take 10 minutes, depending on how much stuff you have.

Ten Minute Chores

Make the beds.

Gather up trash from a room or an entire house.

Empty the kitchen sink.

Put away the dishes.

Empty the fridge and/or pantry of spoiled and expired food.

Pick up the toys in a playroom.

Gather up dirty laundry and bring it to the laundry room.

Fold and put away one laundry basket full of clothing.

Break down empty cardboard boxes to be recycled.

Ten Minute Decluttering Tasks

Sort through a pile of mail and toss or recycle the junk mail.

Shred some old mail or paperwork.

Start filing away some important mail or paperwork.

Organize the contents of one file folder in a file cabinet.

Empty out the trash and remove clutter from your car.

Declutter your purse or wallet.

Pick one small drawer in a dresser or kitchen and declutter it.

Declutter a small flat surface – for example, your bedside table, a bathroom counter, the top of your home desk, the top of your kitchen table or dining room table.

Start decluttering your email inbox.

Pull a handful of clothing pieces out of your closet that you will no longer wear, and put those in a bag or box for donations. (Move that bag or box to your car once it is full, so you can drop it off when you’re near the charity of your choice).

Ten Minute Errands

Make a weekly meal plan and grocery list.

Pay a few bills.

Gather up items you want to return to stores, and put those in your car.

Ten Minute Time Management Tasks

Update your to-do list for the day or week, use a paper or digital calendar to plan when to get things done.

Schedule an appointment with a doctor, a dentist, etc.

Contact a company about a bill or financial issue.

While ten minutes alone will not be enough to get and stay organized, if you can find small pockets of time to work on these small tasks, you’ll begin to feel better organized! If you’d like further guidance and assistance from a Certified Professional Organizer, On Task Organizing offers virtual organizing sessions over Zoom or in-person organizing sessions in the Raleigh, North Carolina area. Please contact me to learn more about On Task Organizing’s services.

How to Organize Stuffed Animals

Published: August 4, 2021

Stuffed animal collections in a playroom or child’s bedroom can easily become overwhelming. Often, children have accumulated a large number of stuffed animals, and do not have enough storage space. Here are some of my tips for decluttering, organizing and storing stuffed animals.

Declutter Regularly

Children usually receive stuffed animals as gifts for birthdays or holidays. Prior to a gift-receiving event, declutter the child’s stuffed animal collection to make room for new ones.

Gather all stuffed animals in one place, and with your child’s input, help them choose their most favorites to keep. Set a limit on the amount kept, such as only what will fit in the stuffed animal storage container, or a certain number to keep.

Give Away or Sell Stuffed Animals Your Child No Longer Wants

Most charities do not accept used stuffed animals due health safety concerns such as bed bugs. However, you could give away stuffed animals to friends or family members, or post online to places such as Freecycle, Nextdoor, Craigslist or Facebook marketplace.

Determine the Size of Storage Needed

Once the stuffed animal collection has been narrowed down, determine the size of container you need to best hold them. It is helpful to separate by size into a couple of containers, so the smaller ones don’t get lost.

Choose a Storage Product That Works Best for Your Home

The choice of storage products depends on your decorative style, your child’s age, and how large of a stuffed animal collection they have. Here are some options:

A Wooden Toy Box/Bench

A Fabric Toy Chest

A Stuffed Animal Zoo

A Toy Storage Hammock

A Stuffed Animal Storage Bean Bag Chair

A Large Rope Basket

A Canvas or Mesh Laundry Hamper

A Large Canvas Storage Basket

Floating Wall Shelves

Choose the storage piece that works best for your home and your child. Remember that regular decluttering, and having a routine of putting away toys after they’ve been played with is the best way to keep a playroom or bedroom neat and organized.

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Reasons to Get Organized Before a New Baby Arrives

Published: March 25, 2020

Life transitions often bring about the need to get better organized. If you’re expecting a new baby, you’ll need to make room for all of the baby’s belongings, plus you are going to be heading into a time of physical healing, sleep depravation, and a complete change in schedule as you focus on caring for a newborn. The good news is, you have 9 months to prepare!

Here are some reasons to get organized before a new baby arrives:

-To coordinate plans for your life in the first months after the baby is born. This can include postpartum meal planning (having friends drop by with meals during the first weeks), and making plans for completing usual chores such as cleaning, laundry, washing dishes, and grocery shopping during that time.

-To pre-schedule help with childcare (from your partner, family members or friends), so you can get sleep when needed.

-To already have a calendar system in place (paper or digital) to easily schedule the baby’s doctor appointments, your postpartum doctor appointments, times for visitors to meet the baby, etc.

-To organize your car, with a space for the car seat, a stroller, and portable storage for other supplies you can take on short trips for feeding, diapering, and clothing the baby.

-To set up an organized space in the kitchen for storing and washing bottles, and a system and space for storing breast milk, if breast feeding.

-To create storage areas for strollers, bouncers, play yards and toys.

-To set up a functional diaper changing area in your home.

-To make storage for bulk purchases of supplies like diapers and baby wipes.

-To set up baby bathing and grooming supplies in the bathroom.

-To make a laundering plan, if you’ll use cloth diapers.

-To set up an organized storage space for baby related linens, such as baby blankets, crib sheets, quilts, burp cloths, towels, and wash cloths.

-To have the baby’s clothing organized and sorted by size and season.

-To set up a functional and organized nursery.

-To be prepared for visitors to come into your home to meet the new baby.

-To plan for your own self-care time while caring for a newborn.

Decluttering and organizing your home, so that you feel comfortable welcoming guests, you’re able to easily find things and care for the baby, recover from childbirth, and focus on your own self care, will make a big difference in lowering your stress level during this life transition. By setting up a more functional and organized home before the baby arrives, you can spend more time enjoying your newborn.

If you live in the Raleigh, North Carolina area and need hands-on organizing assistance or want a do-it-yourself plan to get better organized before your new baby arrives, I’d love to help you! If you live elsewhere, I offer virtual organizing services via video chat. Please contact me for a free phone consultation to get started.

Color Coding for Family Organization

Published: February 26, 2020

When trying to keep a family organized, color-coding belongings can sometimes be a clear and easy way to identify the owner of a particular item. For those who are more visual, as well as children who have not yet learned to read, giving each person a color is a simple way of maintaining organization.

For example, in my family, my color is blue, my husband’s is orange, and my daughter’s is green. Over the years, we’ve purchased many things in these three colors to easily identify who owns an item. This may not work for all families, but if each person has a favorite color and identifies with it, here are some places where color-coding can be used in your home.

Here are some examples of how you can use color-coding in your family’s lives:

Use different color pens or dry erase markers on a family paper calendar or dry erase board calendar to indicate who is doing each activity.
When writing a chore chart or a to-do list, use pens or markers in each person’s color.
Buy luggage, backpacks and totes in that person’s chosen color.
Color code wash cloths, hand towels, bath towels and beach towels.
Choose water bottles and lunch bags in the selected colors.
You can color code plastic bowls, cups and utensils for children.
Color code toothbrushes.
You can use colored sticker dots in a variety of places, such as on chore charts, toys or electronics, to determine who is responsible for the item.
If your child really loves wearing this color, buy hats, gloves, and scarves in that hue to easily identify their winter clothing.
In the summer, choose goggles or plastic sunglasses in this color.
Choose laundry bags or baskets and organizational bins in the chosen color.
Use colored duct tape to wrap around the handles of luggage to easily identify that person’s bag.