Home Organization Archives - SOS: Simple Organized Solutions LLC

Miscellaneous – Not a Good Category For Organization

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2023-03-13T12:29:42-05:00March 15th, 2023|Categories: Home Organization|Tags: categories, labels, organizing process, professional organizers|

Professional organizers do not like the word miscellaneous. According to the Merriam Webster dictionary definition, it means, ‘consisting of diverse things or members’. This concept is the opposite of what organizers do. Organizers work with clients to categorize and assign homes to every item in their spaces, so that they can find specific items quickly and easily. When you have shelves, bins, drawers, etc., labeled with specific categories, there is no question what item is contained in that space. Categories are groups of like items. When you’re trying to find something specific, do you go to a bin labeled miscellaneous, [...]

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Stock Up To Save Time & Money

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2022-08-26T16:39:26-05:00August 31st, 2022|Categories: Home Organization|Tags: consolidate, inventory, mindful, products, save money, save time, storage|

When you stock up on products that you always use, you can save time and money. Time is saved when you can quickly replace the product you used up. Stocking up when a product goes on sale saves you money by not having to pay full price. Stock up on products you always use so you have an ample supply of consumable, non-perishable items such as paper goods, cleaning products, personal care items, office supplies, etc. These items won’t expire, and you will continuously have a need for them. Be mindful of available storage for the amount of inventory you [...]

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How to Efficiently Organize Tools

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2022-02-14T10:33:09-06:00February 16th, 2022|Categories: Home Organization|Tags: easy access, efficiency, organized, solutions, storage, tools|

It’s been my experience that the best organized solutions work in tandem with your natural routines. Having said that, when you organize tools used in routines, the whole process just flows. I wrote a blog post many years ago called, Behavior Based Organizing. The gist of the article states that ‘the key is the efficiency of the steps in the routine, in terms of behavior’. Part of behavior-based organizing is the way we organize tools for each routine. In the article mentioned above, it states that you need to be able to access the required tools quickly. The time it [...]

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How to Know if You Own Your Stuff or if Your Stuff Owns You

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-10-09T14:17:46-05:00October 11th, 2021|Categories: Home Organization|Tags: cluttered, decisions, free up space, mindset|

How do you know if you own your stuff or if your stuff owns you? What a thought-provoking question. It’s really just your mindset at play here. How you think and feel about your things will determine what you do with them. Your things need to be proportionate to your living spaces. Everyone has a finite amount of space and when it gets filled up, you’re left with making decisions about all these things that are taking up valuable real estate. When you can’t let go of things, it may mean that your stuff owns you. Some things to consider [...]

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There is a Consequence to Every Action

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-07-17T12:57:56-05:00July 21st, 2021|Categories: Home Organization|Tags: appointments, assign homes, choices, decisions, organizing, results|

Every decision we make causes an action that results in a consequence. An inaction is also a decision, a decision not to act. A consequence is a result of the decision, or choice that you make depending on the situation or circumstance you are in at the time. We all make many decisions every day in the course of our lives. Some may be mundane, or not particularly life impacting, others can be detrimental to our health and wellbeing. They all have one thing in common, they all have a consequence. Some good, others not so good. So, what does [...]

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Linen Closet Storage Best Practices

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-07-05T12:41:36-05:00July 7th, 2021|Categories: Home Organization, Storage|Tags: bathroom, categories, containers, inventory, labels, personal care items, storage, supplies|

Not every home has a linen closet. If your home has one, there are a couple of places where they may be located. Either in the bathroom, or they may be found in the hall outside the bathroom. Typically, they are not just used to store linens. Most likely, they are used to store towels, bed linens, personal care items and more. The location may determine what type of items you store in your linen closet. If it’s in the bathroom, consider the humidity that accumulates due to lack of air circulation, even with an exhaust fan, so you don’t [...]

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Put it on The List of Needed Supplies

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-06-29T14:40:48-05:00June 30th, 2021|Categories: Home Organization|Tags: inventory, remember, storage, supplies, visual cues|

Whenever I discover that I need something, I put it on the list. I wrote an article some years ago titled ‘How do you remember everything?’, it talks about lists in terms of to-do lists. This article is related to remembering, but in terms of needed supplies, not things to do. With everything going on in our busy lives, it’s nearly impossible to remember everything we need to do, much less everything we need to buy to keep us going on a daily basis. When you discover that you need something, a list in a central location where you can [...]

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Don’t Buy Storage Products Until After Assessment

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-06-21T17:42:22-05:00June 23rd, 2021|Categories: Home Organization, Storage|Tags: assessment, clutter, containers, easy access, labels, organizing process, recycle, storage|

New clients always want to know what storage products to buy before we meet. My recommendation is not to buy anything until after assessment of their needs. Needs assessment in terms of acquiring additional storage comes later in the organizing process. During the first step of the organizing process, which is the sorting step where we put like items together, we will empty all sorts of storage products. They come in all forms, such as baskets, plastic or glass containers, boxes of every size and shape, shelves, bookcases, etc. All of these containers can be repurposed for organizing systems. I’ve [...]

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How to Manage Medications From Start to Finish

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-06-14T19:17:54-05:00June 16th, 2021|Categories: Home Organization|Tags: assign homes, disposal, labels, medicine cabinet, pill organizer, prescriptions, recycle, storage|

No matter what your age, at some point in your life you will take medications in some form. Over the counter and prescription medications both fall into this category. Like anything else, they have a lifecycle; from the need, to the purchase, to storage, to use, to refill, to proper disposal. This article focuses on how to manage medications from start to finish as described in the title. Need This is the first step in the lifecycle to manage medications. Your body is signaling that you have an issue that needs attention. It may be something as simple as a [...]

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Organizing User’s Manuals

By SOS Simple Organized Solutions|2021-04-03T13:39:07-05:00April 7th, 2021|Categories: Home Organization, Storage|Tags: digital, filing cabinet, hanging folders, organizing process, paper, recycle|

When you purchase items such as vehicles, appliances, garden equipment or any type of electronics, they come with user’s manuals. Some come in paper form, while others can be accessed online. These manuals are very important to understand the operation and maintenance associated with the purchased product. Quick and easy access is a must when you need information about the item. There are different schools of thought on how to organize user’s manuals. As with anything in life, what works for one doesn’t necessarily mean it will work for everyone. Think about the different options listed here, and decide which [...]

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