The NEED for Organization

My sisNlaw is the best at organization; she literally has a place for everything.  Every square inch of her home is tidy.  I do not know how she does it with my brother and four kids.  It could be the results of her coming from a small island called Okinawa, Japan and everything on the island (from what I've been told) is compact so the people of the island have to make the best out of tight spaces.

(picture of an apartment building in Okinawa Japan)


I absolutely suck at organization. SUCK!  I wish when I take something out of the it's place, i'll put it back.  I'm alright at paring down but it is the actually sustaining the efforts.  Anywho I found some tips from HGTV that I hope will help you and me:

Make Your Bed Every Day

Remember when Mom used to force you to make your bed each morning? She was practicing the basic tenet of staying organized. According to Julie Morgenstern, "Don't think of [organization] as 'putting things away,' but think of it as positioning [something] for its next use." Treat your bed as the sanctuary it is by positioning it for use every day. If you spend three minutes each morning to tuck and fold, you'll develop a habit of keeping order in the room, which may translate into motivation for picking up the pile of clothes on the floor.

Keep Flat Surfaces Clutter-free

Papers, books, brochures and magazines tend to accumulate on flat surfaces all around the house, and the family room is no different. "You need a household information center, and the family room may be where that happens," says Julie Morgenstern, author of Organizing from the Inside Out. In fact, the family room is often more cluttered because it's a central gathering place in the house. A two drawer lateral file is Morgenstern's ideal recommendation — on average she says that's really how much paper it takes to run a home. If you don't have the floor space, a stackable file cart will do.

(my dream organized space for Eleven35)

Curb Your Collectible Enthusiasm

Collections, if you're not careful, can take over valuable storage space in a family room and can be even harder to organize. Large collections display best when bits and pieces are shown at a time (think shadow boxes) and rotated to keep the decor fresh. Cut your displayed collection in half by putting half of the pieces into an appropriately sized container and storing it in a hall closet. For added value, personal or otherwise, keep an inventory of each piece (date acquired, date of piece, description/significance) in the storage bin.