Organize Your Home to Minimize Stress

Research has shown that the mere sight of clutter can cause anxiety. Clutter will rob you of your time and energy; you’ll find yourself constantly searching for things that have gotten lost in the chaos. Life is busy and you may think that there's no time to organize, but every little bit helps. You'll start noticing results in no time. The key is to be diligent. Recruit your family to do the same. Follow these tips to get organized and save your sanity in the process. 

Control the Cords

Almost everyone who has more than a couple of electronics knows the aggravation that comes with trying to untangle the mass of cords and wires behind a computer desk or television stand. It’s like a jungle back there. Use cord clips or another type of cord management system to keep them neat. Then, attach a label to each cord. Color coding will take your organization one step further. 

Label Your Life

Just as with your electrical cords, labels are an excellent way to organize your entire home. Organize the contents of boxes and drawers into like items and put them in labeled bins. You can label practically everything from office supplies to kitchen gadgets to children’s craft items. Whether things that you use on a daily basis or items that are stored in the attic, labeled containers will save you from endless searching.

Convert to the Cloud

When decluttering your home, a common question is how to organize paperwork. Scanning and uploading your paperwork to the cloud takes very little time and gives long-term rewards. You can access the cloud from anywhere that you have an internet connection. It’ll be safe, but also easily shareable. Google Drive, OneDrive and Dropbox are just a few cloud storage options. You may have some paperwork that you need to keep hard copies of, but discarding the majority of your home’s papers will make a big impact. Remember to shred sensitive documents and recycle the rest. 

Become Transparent

Get rid of the infamous junk drawer once and for all. While the main point of organizing is to declutter your home, you also want to make it easy to find a particular item. Transparent bins will help you to quickly see the contents. 

Organize Your Inbox 

It might not take up space in your home, but an inbox with hundreds or even thousands of emails can eat up a lot of your time. Take time every day to delete unnecessary emails and unsubscribe from anything you're not interested in receiving. You can also create folders and sort the emails that you want to keep. 

Go Vertical

People often take advantage of the horizontal surfaces but forget about all the potential vertical storage areas. Shelving and wall organizers are very versatile and can be used in every room of your home (including pantries and closets). In some homes, kitchen counter and cupboard space can be worth its weight in gold. Instead of a knife block use a magnetic wall knife holder. Also, hang pots and pans rather than piling them in a cabinet.

Keep Your Refrigerator Clear

Every time you have leftovers, make a list of them and the date you cooked them. This way you’ll know exactly what you need to eat so that you don’t forget about anything before it spoils. Mark them off the list as you finish them. Monitor all the contents and discard anything that’s expired. 

Avoid Procrastination

Procrastination can be your worst enemy when it comes to incoming mail, receipts, magazines and newspapers. They can pile up quickly. Sort through them and file or discard them as soon as you receive them.  

Decluttering can seem like a huge job and a never-ending process. With a little forethought and planning, you can have an organized life while regaining some much-needed time as well as peace of mind. Before you discard, if possible, recycle or donate.