30 ways to get organised at home

1. If it’s broken, fix it. If it’s open, close it. If it’s rubbish, throw it out.
2. Don’t put it down – put it away. ‘It’s not about being a neat freak, it’s just about finishing the job,’ says Lissanne Oliver, a professional organiser and owner of Sorted!.
3. Have a box where you can instantly deposit items to donate to charity.
4. Create a ‘landing strip’ – a place to keep your keys, purse or wallet. Put them in that spot every time so you don’t waste time trying to find them.
5. Start small when it comes to tidying up – so you don’t feel overwhelmed and put off the job. Focus on one room or a corner of a room at a time.
6. If your children have a birthday and are getting new toys, cull some of their existing toys to make room for new ones.
7. Draw up a family roster to share the care of pets – think dog walking, grooming and feeding.
8. Create a roster for cooking meals, which includes older kids making their own lunches a few times a week. Get little kids to stack the dishwasher or set the table.

9. Have a roster for jobs such as putting out the rubbish, recycling newspapers, emptying the dishwasher and ironing. Break chores into smaller tasks so everyone can help.

10. Allocate 15 minutes a day to tidying and decluttering. Over a week or two,
you’ll start to see big results.
11. Make your bed. ‘It creates a place for your eyes to rest and tells you at least one area of the home is under control,’ says Lissanne.
12. Let the dishwasher run overnight and while you wait for the kettle to boil in the morning, empty the dishwasher.
13. Don’t transfer clutter from one room to another. Put away things you really need – and throw away the rest.
14. When you return home from a trip, make sure everyone helps empty the car to avoid a build-up of clutter.
15. Be strong and say no if you’re offered items you don’t want or need.

16. Store linen according to the room it’s needed for so you can easily grab what you need from the linen cupboard without having to sort through a pile.

17. Schedule a ‘finish it’ weekend every few months when everyone helps finish a project. It might be painting, sewing, or completing that sort-out of the kitchen cupboards you started last month.
18. Decide what is important and prioritise. You’ll never have enough time for everything. Are you folding your undies? Is that really necessary?
19. Stop procrastinating and get it done. Do it now, not later.
20. Guests dropping in? Do a 10-minute speed clean, say Shannon Lush and Jennifer Fleming, authors of Speed Cleaning (ABC Books, $19.99). How? Grab a clutter bucket, pop in stray items and put the bucket out of sight. Put papers into a neat pile, grab a damp cloth and wipe over surfaces, throw a tablecloth over the table, clean the toilet and sweep outside the front door.
21. Open your mail when you collect it from the letterbox. And make sure you open it over the recycle bin to throw away rubbish immediately.
22. Cut back on TV and computer time by three hours a week. Imagine what you could get done in that time.
23. Do small projects while you watch telly such as sorting receipts, sewing on buttons, folding washing etc.
24. Shop in bulk for groceries, but only buy what you need. It saves money and you won’t waste time rushing to buy basics you’ve run out of.
25. Label medication in a blister pack to keep track of what you’ve taken. So if you’re taking two tablets a day, label the back MM, TT, WW and so on.
26. If you’re putting out-of-season clothes away, label them. Or label the bag with the ski gear or the kids’ blow-up pool.
27. Organise your wardrobe. Create a section for favourites and basics you wear most days and that mix and match. Store items you don’t wear as often.
28. Have a troubleshooting manual for your home. Where are the torches or fuse wires? How do you connect the TV or DVD player? If there is a fire, what do you do?
29. Back-up the information and photos on your computer – just in case.
30. Stick your grocery list on the fridge so people can add items that need replacing. It cancels out cluttering cupboards with items you already have.