The garage can be a haven for your vehicle or a total dumping ground for everything else under the sun. Sometimes that space can become the black hole that you just toss items at when you're in a hurry to move on with other activities. 

Then Spring cleaning fever hits and you are determined to get the garage cleaned out and make it more useful to you and your family. Envisioning space for your car(s), sports equipment, tools and holiday decorations you dive into the weekend project of sorting through and organizing all the stuff.

Useful and Necessary

Emptying everything out of your garage space out into the light to sort through can be half the battle, so enlist the help of the entire able-bodied household member. Put your items in categories when you take them out, this will make evaluating what to keep easier. Take your lifestyle into consideration and then rank each grouping by how often you use them. By the frequency of use, you can assign the proper location. 

Once empty, you can see the layout of your garage space and how to create areas for storage. Frequently items up front towards the garage door for easy access. Holiday storage or seasonal items stored in the back or even up high on shelves or ceiling racks. Once you understand what things will be going back into your garage and the space you have available for storage you can decide how to keep your items organized.

Containers galore

You may dream of neat and tidy boxes all in a row, clearly labeled and uniform in size. That is mostly just a dream. Your items are of all shapes and sizes and need their own individual way of storage. Try to stay away for cardboard boxes since garages can be damp. Clear boxes can help you find your items quickly without having to label. Remember that you can hang things on the wall like yard tools or sports equipment. 

Many creative storage options can be found out there to help you make the most of your garage storage possibilities. Taking a look online can help you find what may work for you. Whatever you choose make sure it has ease of use for those individuals that will be assessing those items on a regular basis.

Take a tour of your local open houses and make sure to peak into the garage space and note the storage possibilities.

After a move, everything feels fresh and energizing. This is, of course, in part because of the energy that comes with a big change. But it also comes from having a neatly, organized home. In the jumble of packing and unpacking, junk gets tossed and items get new homes. Everything gets a new dedicated area where it belongs. Everything is tidy, as it should be.

So how then can you maintain this wonderful feeling and continue to keep things neat and tidy?

First, you need to make a daily habit of doing a quick clean sweep every day. Whether you do it in the morning, afternoon or before bed isn’t important. What is important is that you do it every day.

Go through the house to make to corral up stray dishes, put items back into their dedicated places, and give homes to those who don’t have one yet.

And if you can’t think of somewhere to put it? Question its purpose and consider either donating or tossing it.

Aim to keep your surfaces clear of items. Allowing things to accumulate is one of the fastest for clutter to quickly take over. Stop it in its track by tidying up when you’re done using this “station” of your home.

Practice not being “lazy”. If you bring your tea to sip on the couch when you leave the room take your mug with you straight to the dishwasher. If you finished the last of the chips put the clip away where it belongs instead of leaving it out on the counter. Put pens back away after using them to jot out notes. Recycle magazines when you're done reading them.

If you find things are building up as clutter quickly you might have too much stuff. Which is okay, it happens!

Decluttering isn’t a one and done process. We need to consistently be assessing the things that collect in our homes and what benefit they are adding to your life. Sometimes we once used all the time have fallen out of favor or need to be repaired/replaced.

Make time once a month for a quick declutter session and once a season for a more detailed one.

And the best way to avoid clutter is to closely monitor what you’re allowing to come into your home in the first place. If you find you love to take things home just because they were free or on sale, it’s important to take a step back and ask yourself why.

After all, the less stuff we have in our homes the less there is to manage. Which means more time spent doing what you enjoy doing, like spending time with your family, and less time organizing it all.

 

Imagine an area of your home that's particularly cluttered now, and then picture in your mind's eye how nice it would look if it was cleaned and organized. If you take a few seconds to visualize this scenario, it will feel like a breath of fresh air! For many people, a cluttered, disorganized living space or working environment tends to create mental clutter -- and that makes it nearly impossible to be at your best. On the other hand, when you create a plan to organize your storage space and get rid of household clutter, you're taking a major step toward enhancing your home and the way you feel about it. Although you may have a dozen or more areas that need to be organized, if you create a methodical plan to tackle one small area at a time, then the project is much more achievable and less overwhelming. The Outcome Is Worth The Effort If you've ever undertaken a task like this, you know how rewarding it can be to see the results. You'll also enjoy the feeling of pride that accompanies improving the look and feel of your home. When you've transformed chaos into a semblance of order, it can have a positive effect on your attitude and your self esteem. Although taking charge of household clutter is not a panacea for stress, it can be one of several improvements that make a big difference. Where to Begin You can infuse a feeling of fresh energy into your home by organizing and cleaning the following ten areas:

1. Closets: Most homes have a ton of them and they're probably in a major state of disarray!
2. Book shelves: If you have a library of books, then organizing them can dramatically improve the appearance of any room -- from living rooms and family rooms to bedrooms and home offices.
3. Kitchen cabinets (Check expiration dates while you're organizing.)
4. Bathroom cabinets and drawers (Refer to note in item #3.)
5. Junk drawers: Virtually every home has them, and they usually consist of a combination of junk and treasures. In most cases, it's obvious what should be thrown away and what's worth saving.
6. Garage and tool sheds: These areas are typically in desperate need of cleaning and organizing.
7. Work bench: If tools, hardware, and supplies are haphazardly piled on top of each other or randomly strewn on your work bench, then finding what you need when you need it becomes increasingly frustrating and time consuming. Taking an hour or so to organize your work bench can make life a lot simpler and more productive.
8. Spare bedrooms: In many people's homes, that area tends to become a repository for things that either need to be put away, given away, or thrown away.
9. File cabinets: Being able to find important documents, information, and receipts depends on well organized and clearly labeled files. Ideally, that takes place on an ongoing basis, but if that's not happening, a semi-annual review of your filing system can help keep things in good order.
10. Basements: Depending on how long you've lived in your house, this might be a project that needs to be spread out over a few days!

Involving members of your family in the cleanup plan can also make it move along faster and feel more like a team effort, rather than a solo undertaking. To avoid procrastination, start small and branch out from there. As the ancient Chinese philosopher Lao Tzu once said: "A journey of a thousand miles begins with one step."

The thought of trying to declutter your home could stress you out. If you put off the act of organizing, however, you could end up even more stressed out. Clutter in the home is proven to be a cause of stress. Not being able to find what you need can cause you to feel that you’re living in chaos. There’s a few tips that you can take into consideration to help you declutter, destress, and get organized for good! 

When Planning Storage Solutions, Measure First

If you shop for containers and other storage organization tools first, you’ll never know what will fit properly. Taking the time to measure things out and get the right size containers can help you to avoid creating more clutter for yourself. Measuring spaces helps you to come up with a plan for what your vision is for that space.

Declutter For Less

You don’t need to go into a huge debt to declutter your home. You can shop at the local dollar store to find containers, hooks, and bins to help you stay organized. Organization doesn’t need a lot of fancy tools. 

For Kids, More Is Better

When it comes to finding containers and bins for a child’s room, more is definitely better.  Having many separate compartments really helps the kids to stay organized and find what they’re looking for when they want it. 

A Junk Drawer Is Actually A Good Thing

You can actually keep that junk drawer or bin that you have in the house. A junk drawer is a great place for collecting items. Just learn to keep it organized. If you have a bin, make sure that you clean it out from time to time so that tons of things don’t end up building up there in a pile. If you have a junk drawer, try to compartmentalize it with categories and separators for a “lost and found” or “things that need to be put away.”

Every Door Is An Opportunity

In your home, think of each and every door, cabinet door, or closet door as an opportunity to create more storage. You can hang things on the backs of these doors including spice racks, shoe racks, hooks for coats, and so much more. Don’t miss out on a simple yet very effective space saver.

  

Create Zones

In each room, there’s places where the same activity is done over and over again. Creating zones helps to reduce clutter and increase organization. In the kitchen, for example, you probably have a dedicated prep space along with a clean up station. In bedrooms, there’s a place where you get dressed, throw your dirty clothes, and get ready for the day. Have everything that you’ll need in each “station” or “zone” so that you can stay on top of being tidy.

Humans have been thinking about the way they decorate their homes for thousands of years. In ancient India, Vastu shastra (literally, "the science of architecture") has been informing decorating techniques since as early as 6,000 BCE. The more commonly known influence for home decorating, feng shui, has its roots in ancient China where practitioners were inspired by astronomy. In the early 1900s, however, a modern science was founded that attempts to solve some of the problems that arise based on our environments. Environmental psychology is a field that focuses on the interplay between humans and the environments they live and work in. Scientists have studied the way humans (and other animals, like rats) are affected by their environment. Their findings help to inform us of how we can live more relaxed or focused based on how we decorate our home and workplace.

A place to call your own

As society becomes increasingly urbanized, many psychologists are studying the problems that arise from being in constant contact with one another, both physically and in the digital world. One thing that scientists have discovered is that it is important for humans to have a place of sanctuary during their day. Whether this is your cubicle at work, your home office, or your tool shed, everyone needs a place they can be alone. Ask yourself if your home setup provides you with a space that you can go to be alone.

How colors can affect mood

Have you ever been in a school or hospital that was painted an awful color that just made you uncomfortable? Many of us have trained ourselves to adapt and live with environments that aren't ideal for us. For example, the bright red walls of McDonald's or the blinding fluorescent lights in a department store probably aren't conditions we'd pick for our homes. Scientists have discovered that there is a correlation between colors, brightness, and our mood. Try to match the colors of your rooms with their functions. For example, you wouldn't want to paint your bedroom bright red, as your bedroom should be a place you can relax to fall asleep. Instead, go with a less-pronounced color for the bedroom.

The balance between cluttered and sterile

Much of the way we choose to decorate our homes is informed by our childhood. If you learn meticulous cleaning habits from your parents, you might carry on with this into adulthood. As a child, you probably went to a friend's house and marveled at how differently they did things. Part of that lesson is learning that the way someone chooses to decorate and clean their home is part of their personality. But like most things in life, it's important to find a balance. If you find yourself restless or distracted you should ask yourself if the room is too cluttered or messy. Maybe it's the opposite; you could just as easily become distracted or uncomfortable by an environment that is too sterile looking.

Listen to yourself

The most important thing to remember when decorating your home is to follow your intuitions. Decide if you decorated a room a certain way because that's what everyone else does or if it actually makes you feel more at home.