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10 Easy Ways to Get Organized and Save Money

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One of the easiest ways to save money and reduce stress is to stay organized. Here are some easy organizing ideas to get the most benefit for the least work!

One of the easiest ways to save money and reduce stress is to stay organized. Here are some easy organizing ideas to get the most benefit for the least work!

10 Easy Ways to Get Organized and Save Money

  1. Hang up your keys. (Preferably by the door.)
  2. Find a place for your purse, coat, gloves and other frequently used items and always keep them there.
  3. Make your bed each day as soon as you crawl out of it.
  4. Get dressed. Even if you are a stay at home mom or a mom who works from home, get dressed. Clothes really do make the man or woman. You’ll be just as productive as you are dressed which means if you are dressed for sleep (pajamas, sweats or a robe) then you will get about as much work done as you would when you are sleeping. That may be stretching it, but you get my point.
  1. Wash the dishes and wipe the counters after each meal. No matter how large or small the meal or how tired and in a hurry you are, do the dishes. Even if you are hurried or late in the morning you wouldn’t dream of leaving the house half dressed. Make leaving your kitchen clean as important a priority as getting dressed for work. This may seem impossible at first but once you are on top of things it should only take five or ten minutes to clean your kitchen.
  2. Get rid of trash. About 50% of what unorganized people have in their homes is trash or stuff they will never use again. Stop wasting time taking care of it, moving it or stepping over it. As you walk through the house, pick up garbage and toss it.
  3. Control your laundry. Don’t let it control you. Follow these simple steps to help keep your laundry from taking over your home and you.
    1. Place a hamper or basket for dirty clothes in each bedroom and/or bath. Make sure that everyone’s dirty clothes are put in the hamper before bed and in the morning. Laundry laying around is the second biggest cause of clutter after trash, so arrange things to prevent it!
    2. The laundry isn’t done until it is put away. Get out of the mindset that if it is washed and dried it is done. Folding and putting it away is equally as important.Some of us think that if we get the laundry washed and dried that’s all we need to do and it’s okay for the family to just pull stuff out of a pile. That makes as much sense as cooking a meal and expecting everyone to stand at the stove and take turns scooping the food out of the pan and eating it one spoonful at a time. You wouldn’t dream of doing that. Yes the food is cooked, but the meal is not complete until the table is set and the food is put on plates. Do the same for your laundry. Put it away.
  1. Pick up continually. This may seem like a pain to do at first but if you stick with it, it will become a habit. I didn’t realize how much of a habit it had become for me until I was visiting my daughter’s the other day (Hey! That’s me! 😉 -Tawra). As I was walking into the kitchen, I picked up empty glasses and odds and ends on my way. Then when I walked from the kitchen to the bedroom I picked up toys as I went in there. It wasn’t even my house but I had seen something out of place and out of habit picked it up.
  2. Read and dispose of newspapers and magazines. There are usually two reasons people have stacks of newspapers and magazines piled around:
    1. They want to save one article from it. If that is the case, then cut the article out as you are reading the magazine and file it. Trust me, you not only won’t cut that article out at a later time, but you probably won’t remember what or where it is.
    2. They don’t have time to read them. If you aren’t going to read the magazines, the why are you subscribing to them? You’ll never catch up later if you’re not reading them now. Stop your subscriptions. This doesn’t have to be an all or nothing thing. If you can’t keep up with the daily newspaper, then just get the Sunday paper. Most people usually have more leisure time Sunday to read it. Pick out one or two of your favorite magazines and stop subscribing to the rest.
  3. With any item, if it is broken or you don’t use it anymore, get rid of it. That includes clothes, toys, furniture, decorations, dishes and exercise equipment ;-). If it’s not important enough to fix right now, you don’t need it!

[organizing]

Get The Most Money Selling Your House

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Get The Most Money Selling Your House

By Tawra Kellam

A clean neat house can add an additional $5,000- $10,000 to your asking price. Using this method we sold our house in 10 days.

As soon as you find out that you are moving, start getting rid of things you don’t need or use any more. It is ridiculous to move things that are never used to another house. They will merely clutter your space as they did before. Get rid of all of it!!!

To begin de-cluttering, start with one room or one cabinet at a time. Packing while carrying out your usual routine may make it easier. For example, pack the bathroom cabinet while the kids are in the tub or de-clutter a kitchen drawer while you are waiting for something to boil. You will be amazed how fast this method goes.

Get rid of anything that is broken, old or that you just don’t like. Hold a garage sale, it not only eliminates things but can also provide a little cash. The goal is to eliminate clutter so don’t price your items to high! A good rule of thumb is 10%-25% of retail.

As you go from room to room de-cluttering, organize using three boxes: one for garage sale items, one for things to give away and one for trash. When you take a break from organizing, keep the three boxes set up in the utility room or garage so that when you find something laying around you can toss it in the appropriate box.

Keep an extra large trash can set up in the house. You won’t have to empty the trash as often.

 

CLEANING YOUR HOME TO SELL

Clutter is visually disturbing to potential buyers. One of the biggest reasons houses don’t sell is they are cluttered and/or dirty.

When you are trying to sell your house and you will be showing it to potential buyers, pack up things that you only use occasionally. Stack all your packed boxes in the garage or the corner of a room. This NOT the time to make your house comfortable for you, but attractive to sell.

After you have de-cluttered, it is time to DEEP CLEAN.

KITCHEN – Clean the sink, stove and refrigerator. Don’t forget to clean the fronts of your cabinets. Wipe fingerprints off of everything, including walls and light switch plates. Remove as much as you can from the counter tops. Make sure that the space under your kitchen sink is clean because everyone always checks the plumbing under the sink. Sweep, mop the floor and empty the trash.

BEDROOMS – Make beds, pick up clothes, clear off dressers, end tables and other furniture. Dust, vacuum and make sure closets are uncluttered, neat and clean.

BATHROOM – Put away (meaning in a box or drawer out of site) all bathroom items including makeup, shampoos, baby toys and toiletries. Clean the sink, tub and toilet. One trick I learned while cleaning houses professionally was to take a soft cloth and dry everything well, to prevent water spots. It is especially important to shine the metal fixtures. Clean under the sink, empty the trash and wipe off light switch plates. Mop the floor. As in the kitchen, the less clutter you have, the better. Keep one nice set of towels handy that you can put out when you are showing the house.

LIVING ROOM – Remove all unnecessary items that are laying around on the furniture including toys, magazines and newspapers. Remove all pictures and accessories that are not adding to the decor of the room, either pack them or garage sale them. Dust (don’t forget to dust the pictures on the walls) and vacuum.

GARAGE – Don’t overlook the garage! Make sure things are neatly placed and sweep the floor. Place all items in boxes if you can. Neatly stacked boxes give a better impression than piles of stuff.

Continue going through each room using the same basic ideas.

If your carpets are dirty be sure to either rent a carpet cleaner or have them professionally cleaned. Seeing all kinds of carpet stains from kids is a big turn off to potential buyers.

 

SHOWING YOUR HOUSE

Keep a basket in each room so that you can quickly throw things in it when you have to show your home. This is particularly useful if you have children and you usually have toys on the floor. Hide the basket with a nice blanket.

Don’t leave open trash cans sitting around.

Turn lights on in every room including the garage. This will make the house show better.

In a potpourri pot or pan, simmer some cinnamon with either or all of the following: ginger, nutmeg, or cloves. It is best to stay away from strong scented candles with berry, apple, peach or other similar smells because some people find these scents overpowering and unpleasant. Most people do however like the smell of cinnamon.

 

IF YOUR HOUSE IS VACANT

If you are leaving your home and it will be shown vacant, here are a couple of ideas to help make it show better.

Take a few small terra cotta pots and fill with 2 or 3 stems of silk geraniums. (Geraniums aren’t necessarily my favorite flower but the bright red color works great for this purpose). Place them in several different corners of the house. A couple on the kitchen counter, one on the back of the toilet, or counter in the bathroom, a corner of the living room or on the mantle of the fireplace.

Place a bouquet of real looking silk flowers and small bowl of potpourri in your entryway for people to see when they first walk in. First impressions are very important.

Don’t get carried away by making the house look like a florist shop. It takes just a couple of splashes of color here and there to really warm up an empty house.

From Dig Out Of Debt

 

photo by: the truth about