We are moving to a smaller place and I need some good tips on organization, less clutter, and simplifying?
We are moving from a house with 2 bedrooms, living room, sunroom ( we used for storage), laundry room, kitchen, 1 bathroom and a lot of shelving and a garage....to a small apartment with 2 bedrooms, kitchen, livingroom and bathroom. No storage and not too much shelving. I need tiops on how to get rid of some stuff and organize what we are keeping. We are sorta clutterbugs....not really pack rats yet though...lol. ( we are NOT dirty though....just have a lot of stuff). We have 2 kids ( boy 3 and girl 8 mos) and my hubby and I. There is a front porch we will share with the upstairs tenant. Thank you!
There is no room for a kitchen table as well....any ideas on that? We have been setting up a card table nightly....but that gets old....lol.
We are moving because we have to and we are downsizing because the rent is cheaper than the bigger home.
I asked this before and got 1 answer....hoping for more this time!!!
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Buy storage totes and organize everything. You can measure the closets and buy ones that are narrow enough to stack in the closets. You could also consider getting a small storage unit to keep things in that you can’t bear to get rid of.
I love moving. It forces me to go through things and throw out a lot of stuff. I love to keep things, and even though I have no use for them, I don’t want to throw stuff away ever. But once I realize I have to pack, carry, and unpack it, I can take a better second look at my useless stuff. Good luck!
Color code everything. I fyou have kids, do one color for each of their toys and one color for toys that are "everybody’s". Thats what I did and it works amazing! Plus, my kids get excited when it time to clean up because they each have their own color for their own things.
garage sale for everything you dont need and havent used for a year.
1. If you haven’t used it in 2 years, get rid of it.
2. If you need it for the memories, take a photo of it, then pitch it.
3. The larger the collection, the less you can appreciate the individual parts. Cut your collections down to the best 5 examples.
Kitchen: How many cuisines do you really need with 2 tots? Cut cookware down to no more than basic – 1 frypan, 2 saucepans and a pot -covers for all. Avoid duplicates because you just don’t have the space.
I understand your problems. I had to move from a house to a one bedroom.
i think its best to think basics really. what basics you can really use in the new smaller apartment.
then go based on that and keep only the most vital things you’ll get the most use out of in that smaller environment.
also you can search the term home organization tips on yahoo or whichever and also there’s a website called clutterbusters.com which could be a help or the term removing clutter at home on yahoo which pulls up some links too.
Go with that and see how it helps.
I declutter on a regular basis simply because I can’t stand clutter. My first rule of thumb is if I haven’t used it in a year, I pitch it. The only things I’ve kept of the kids’ stuff as babies were all the first outfits. I have plenty of pictures. I don’t really collect anything anymore because I got tired of dusting. I donate any toys that we’ve had for more than 6 months (they get tired of them and get new ones at birthdays and Christmas.). I get rid of any toiletries that I don’t use on a regular basis. Pick your favorite household cleaners and keep it to a minimum so that you don’t have an entire cabinet full of cleaners that never get used. Cut your laundry storage space down with Space Bags.
http://www.flylady.com has great decluttering tips.
Bins, bins, and more bins! They help me stay organized. You can buy a variety of sizes at either the dollar store or Walmart, anyplace cheap. I also reuse Costco size bins for toy storage. My son’s blocks and balls are stored in big pretzel buckets.
You’ll have to just get tough with cleaning out. Allow yourself one storage tote of "just because" things to keep. Don’t let your sentiment overrun your sense of judgment. You don’t need every cute outfit your kids have worn, but let yourself keep a few.
I’m sure you’ve heard this before, but get 2 boxes, one to keep, one to throwaway, one to donate. Then just go through all your stuff. Whatever hasn’t been used in 6 or so months, goes. (Except obvious stuff the baby will need in the future)
In the kitchen, you can get some plate shelves to gain more space in the cabinets. I got some from KMart. They’ve made a huge difference in the amount of room I have.
Keep your eye open for cheap furniture that may work double duty. An armoire, a hutch, a dresser, things like that. It helps to have furniture with "doors" to help things stay neat looking.
Check out IKEA for some good storage and organization ideas. Their stuff is made for European living, where they tend to have smaller homes than in America (I assume that’s where you live). Plus it’s pretty inexpensive and holds up well.