Imagine an area of your home that's particularly cluttered now, and then picture in your mind's eye how nice it would look if it was cleaned and organized. If you take a few seconds to visualize this scenario, it will feel like a breath of fresh air! For many people, a cluttered, disorganized living space or working environment tends to create mental clutter -- and that makes it nearly impossible to be at your best.
On the other hand, when you create a plan to organize your storage space and get rid of household clutter, you're taking a major step toward enhancing your home and the way you feel about it. Although you may have a dozen or more areas that need to be organized, if you create a methodical plan to tackle one small area at a time, then the project is much more achievable and less overwhelming.
The Outcome Is Worth The Effort
If you've ever undertaken a task like this, you know how rewarding it can be to see the results. You'll also enjoy the feeling of pride that accompanies improving the look and feel of your home. When you've transformed chaos into a semblance of order, it can have a positive effect on your attitude and your self esteem. Although taking charge of household clutter is not a panacea for stress, it can be one of several improvements that make a big difference.
Where to Begin
You can infuse a feeling of fresh energy into your home by organizing and cleaning the following ten areas:
- Closets: Most homes have a ton of them and they're probably in a major state of disarray!
- Book shelves: If you have a library of books, then organizing them can dramatically improve the appearance of any room -- from living rooms and family rooms to bedrooms and home offices.
- Kitchen cabinets (Check expiration dates while you're organizing.)
- Bathroom cabinets and drawers (Refer to note in item #3.)
- Junk drawers: Virtually every home has them, and they usually consist of a combination of junk and treasures. In most cases, it's obvious what should be thrown away and what's worth saving.
- Garage and tool sheds: These areas are typically in desperate need of cleaning and organizing.
- Work bench: If tools, hardware, and supplies are haphazardly piled on top of each other or randomly strewn on your work bench, then finding what you need when you need it becomes increasingly frustrating and time consuming. Taking an hour or so to organize your work bench can make life a lot simpler and more productive.
- Spare bedrooms: In many people's homes, that area tends to become a repository for things that either need to be put away, given away, or thrown away.
- File cabinets: Being able to find important documents, information, and receipts depends on well organized and clearly labeled files. Ideally, that takes place on an ongoing basis, but if that's not happening, a semi-annual review of your filing system can help keep things in good order.
- Basements: Depending on how long you've lived in your house, this might be a project that needs to be spread out over a few days!
About the Author
Rudden|Bobruska Team
Gary Rudden, Lisa Rudden, and Nick Bobruska
RUDDEN BOBRUSKA TEAM
What sets your team apart from other real estate teams?
There is no team out in the market that offers what we do. All of us are Realtors, but
we each have specialized roles, which make our team so unique!
After decades of living and selling real estate in the DMV, we have established
ourselves as one of the top real estate teams with our market expertise and
cutting-edge technology. Our savvy high-tech marketing is on every website
and social media source. We have a huge network with other top agents, which
helps to premarket homes and discover homes for buyers before they reach the
open market. Our services include professional in-house staging services, broker
expertise in negotiating and navigating contracts, and buyer representation in all
price ranges. Each client has different needs and we create a marketing plan based
on those needs.
Our most distinct feature is our in-house construction and renovation team. We
are literally a full-service, one-stop shop when selling or buying a home!
How does the in-house construction and renovation team work?
All work is managed and completed through our licensed and bonded construction
crew. No need to call outside contractors. We are like “HGTV,” but we just don’t
have a show! Whether it’s a small makeover or a major renovation, we do it all. Our
sellers love this aspect of our team because we make preparing your home for the
market so seamless. Our buyers love the advice and insight we can give for future
renovations and repairs.
Having a licensed Maryland Home Improvement contractor as part of our team
along with the knowledge, experience, commitment and services that we offer, truly
puts our team as a vanguard in the real estate industry.