Time to Get Organized

One common trait humans have in common is that we like to buy stuff. Over time, our stuff may grow to a point where we need to either move to a larger residence or bite the bullet and get rid of some things.

Getting organized by discarding possessions is no easy task. Some people are really organized at getting organized, while others may need the help of a professional organizer such as Lindsay Cleveland.

Cleveland, who has a background in education and small business management, owns Life Organized. Her company's slogan is "Control the clutter. Enjoy the calm."

"Most people call me in desperation and say they are overwhelmed," Cleveland says. "The first thing I tell them is that we have to figure out what they have and how much they use and need for their lifestyle."

Cleveland starts by doing a walkthrough of a client's home. The advantage of using a professional organizer is that this person is not emotionally attached to anything and has the skills of being that third eye in detecting items not adding to one's lifestyle.

"Men tend to have a hard time getting rid of items they spent a lot of money on, while for women it's more about things being sentimental," Cleveland says. "Some clients just can't get rid of certain things, and so I organize them for the client and try to revisit the subject in six months."

Step one is to take everything out and take a hard look at it, Cleveland explains. Pictures, for example, take up a lot of room and can be put into digital books, she suggests. Children who have too many toys can be asked to pick out their favorites and then donate the rest to needy children.

For men who have too many tools, sports, hunting and fishing equipment stashed in the garage, Cleveland suggests giving it to people who are still actively involved in these recreational activities.

The rule, she says, is that if you haven't used anything for a couple years, you probably aren't going to and so you should get rid of it.

Once your life has been cleansed of clutter, then putting in place a system for staying organized becomes much easier. The clothes closet is a common culprit to tackle first. Purchasing and installing a closet system with organized sections is an excellent choice. These systems have specific areas for hanging shirts, pants, dresses, blouses and ties. Wire shelving, wire baskets and shoe racks are easily accessible.

"You can put 25 percent more clothes in a closet with a closet system," Cleveland says. "The question to ask is what goes together and have everything hanging in order."

For the kitchen, Cleveland suggests purchasing sectional dividers for junk drawers or placing shoebox lids in drawers for better organization. Wire door and wall racks can be hung from kitchen closets to organize items more efficiently.

And for the couples who buy too many grocery items and stuff them in a cluttered closet, Cleveland suggests planning your meals on a daily basis and only buying food for the scheduled days.

"Plan for the week," Cleveland suggests. "Plan what you will make and what you will eat. Plan your evenings. This way you won't buy too much at the store and waste food that goes bad."

In the children's playroom, Cleveland suggests buying bins for all the toys, labeling them and even putting pictures of the toys on the outside so kids can see where everything goes. But don't purchase bins with lids because lids will only end up being stacked in the corner or thrown on the floor.

"If you are teaching your kids to read, putting words on the bins can be a lesson," Cleveland says. "Having a huge corkboard in the room will allow kids to hang their things in a more organized way."

To keep a child's room less cluttered, Cleveland suggest taking everything out of the bins, placing the items on the floor and teaching the child how to put them back in the bins.

"Put on a song and use music to go with cleaning up the room," Cleveland says. "Playrooms are a huge area to work on."

For the central living area of a home, Cleveland advises keeping all flat surfaces clear and clean at all times. Don't throw or store items on coaches, chairs and table tops.

"Have a place when you walk into a room to put your mail, the laptop and clothes," Cleveland says. "Everything should have its own home to be put when you walk through the door. … Home offices should be neat and set up with a filing system."

Cleveland charges by the hour to help people organize their homes. A typical room can take from four to six hours to evaluate and organize and the whole house from 20 to 40 hours.

"More people are finding out that professional organizers exist," Cleveland says. "They realize they don't know how to get organized and seek out a person who has these skills."

Cleveland says her typical client is a woman in her 40s who works and has a higher socioeconomic status. Approximately 70 percent of her clients are women and 30 percent men.

Now that the holidays are winding down, storing seasonal decorations can be a problem, too, if you aren't organized. However, The Container Store in Town Square Las Vegas has some storage products that may be helpful.

Instead of stashing Christmas wreaths in brown grocery bags or cardboard boxes, custom-shaped plastic containers are a viable option. These holders can be easily hung, and out of the way, on garage or storage walls.

Compartmentalized ornament boxes separate fragile tree decorations that can also be wrapped in bubble plastic. There are large plastic boxes with wheels on to store trees and various other holiday items. And instead of throwing long rolls of wrapping paper in the corner of a closet, tote organizers are convenient to organize paper and easily slide under the bed.

The key to getting organized is to start out with one area of the house at a time, says Danielle Houle, spokeswoman for The Container Store Las Vegas. She suggests starting out small and working your way up to larger projects.

"Access your vertical space by using door and wall racks," Houle says. "Cabinet rollouts in kitchen cabinets are an easy way to access your pots."

Houle also suggests using airtight and watertight containers for storing items in the garage and using wall hooks and wall utility boards to hang tools.

"Get everything off the floor," Houle strongly suggests. "Keep things you don't need up high and what you use close to reach."

Of all the jobs she has had, being a professional organizer has brought the most joy to her life, Cleveland says with a smile. She likes helping people control the clutter in their homes, so they can be free to live a more organized and calmer lifestyle.

"It's usually the wife who calls me first," Cleveland says with a laugh. "She calls and says, 'I'm calling you because my husband's garage is a mess. We need help.'"