We’re now one month into the New Year-have you stuck with your organization resolutions?

If not, the year is still young! Aside from the importance of increasing a well organized home environment to reduce stress, it’s particularly important to stay organized if you are listing & selling your home. Dick & Karla Nielsen of Keller Williams Tampa Properties were kind enough to include mention of SOS in their recent blog post about keeping your home presentable for you &  potential home buyers.

2014 is still shiny and new, but how about those resolutions? They seemed like such a great idea, didn’t they? This is just about the time in the New Year when resolve can weaken, fitness plans are abandoned and someone sneaks the Oreos back into the house.

It can be hard to break old habits, and that’s especially true where your home is concerned. And if you’re staging your home for listings & showings, it’s important to stay clean & organized-no buyers want to see your mess. Think about the junk drawer that won’t close or the Tupperware avalanche in your kitchen. Don’t worry! Here are some quick solutions for the most notorious clutter areas in your home.

  • The Laundry Room/Mud Room: For many Florida residences who don’t have an entrance way closet, the laundry room handles sports equipment, shoes of every type, pet accessories, jackets, hats and oh yeah, laundry supplies. Solution: use shelving in strategic areas to store the laundry cleaners up and out of the way. House all shoes and sports equipment on shoe racks or in an organizer with removable bins. Move the muddy cleats & messy equipment into the garage, but still give them a designated bin.
  • Kitchen: Does it seem like a daily battle to keep your counter space clear?Solution: Find dedicated places for the usual suspects: car keys, newspapers, briefcases, purses, mail, and let’s not forget all of kids’ school papers. Keys, pens, scissors and other daily use items should be in a handy drawer nearby. Find briefcases & purses a home in your bedroom or another room. Dedicate a stylish wicker basket to catch all paper & magazine recyclables. For the kids’ papers and junk mail, hang a sleek wall organizer that has deep pockets for temporary sorting.
  • Junk Drawer: This all-purpose drawer is so overstuffed with trinkets that it actually ends up serving no purpose. Solution: Take every item out of the drawer one at a time and sort them into 3 categories: keep, toss or donate. Keep high usage items in here: scissors, keys, stamps and anything else that you reach for daily.

 

Take it slowly but resolve to stick to it as best you can. It’s amazing how a clutter-free home can help you feel more calm and in control. And you may even have more time for the gym. Just sayin’.

Tip: Want to enlist the help of an organizing pro? Contact Susan Layden of Susan’s Organizing Solutions at 813.503.0967,who has been keeping Tampa Bay homes clutter-free and organized for years. Susan is a Certified Professional Organizer and member of the National Association of Professional Organizers.