Purge!

Working full time and having a child pretty much puts organization at the bottom of my list each night. I know organization helps your morning start smoother and helps you get out of the door faster and prepare a meal at night. But how can we keep up? 

Baby steps. One organizational purge at a time! 

At least 3 times a year I clean out the pantry. This is where snacks get lost, unopened items expire and can sometimes be a "catch all" for everything we need in the garage, so I thought it would be a good example of a small organization project with a huge impact. Did I mention we do not have a garage? 

So here I am. Fearlessly sharing and exposing my pantry for all the world to see in the name of organization!

BEFORE

AFTER

This literally took 15 minutes.I found that if I organize each shelf by categories it is easier. For instance, the top shelf is supplies. Garbage bags, napkins, plastic utensils, lunch bags etc. The next shelf is snacks and canned goods. Everything here you can eat! The next two shelves is bulk. Sugar and flour bags, paper towels, juice, bottled water etc. And the last shelf ( is a bit cut off in photo) is industrial. Cleaners, toolbox, broom, batteries, light bulbs.

Now it is still not the prettiest of pantries and I by no means will get the Good Housekeeping award of the year. But it is orderly, clean and I can finally see all the way back to the end of the shelves without rummaging through food, storage items and empty snack bags. 

Other organization habits I incorporate include ironing the night before. This is a huge time saver. If I know my clothes are picked out and ironed I saved myself at least 10-15 minutes searching for clothes, making a decision and ironing. To aid in this daily task, I purged the clothes in my closet twice a year. If it does not fit right, has not been worn in over 2 years.. it goes. And most times to Goodwill if it is in good shape still. 

I also do the lunches in advance. Again same idea. I can decide what to pack, organize it all and have it ready to take in the morning. Saves at least another 10 minutes. 

If you are calculating this correctly, that is 20-25 minutes of extra time in the morning to sleep in, enjoy your family or an extra cup of coffee!

Although I often feel the thought of starting an organization project daunting, I try to remember the sense of completion, calm and satisfaction I feel when I am done and small ones like the pantry really take a short amount of time but have a big impact. Not to mention how much smoother everyday living is with finding what you need when and where.

Perhaps you will give some thought on giving a small amount of time to organize a few things.  Small projects that will by all means have a huge effect on your daily living. 

 Since I am not the expert on organization, here are some useful links that I found were down right fantastic! Check them out.

http://www.housemixblog.com/

http://iheartorganizing.blogspot.com/

http://www.realsimple.com/home-organizing

https://www.pinterest.com/search/pins/?q=organizing


Share your go-to organization tips!