Though it may seem like a chore to clean and organize your home, it is ultimately a form of self-care. Knowing where everything is will make you less stressed and more able to enjoy your home. Need someplace to start? Here are five things that organized women should never have lying around.
Old makeup
Makeup hoarding is very common and mostly innocuous. We’ve all gotten those free sample products with purchase, but it’s time to take a real look at your makeup bag. Are you holding onto an expired mascara, just in case? Are you ever actually going to wear that lipstick? Throwing out old, unused and expired products is both good for your health and your organization. Want bonus points? Divide your makeup into two bags: one for everyday makeup and one for special occasion makeup.
Unmatched Tupperware
Where do the lids go? Unevenly sized and miscellaneous Tupperware can take up a lot of space in a kitchen cabinet, and nothing is more frustrating than putting leftovers into a
Tupperware container only to find that you don’t have a lid to cover it. Recycle any Tupperware that don’t have a matching lid. Extra credit? Most Tupperware nowadays come in a variety of sizes that can be nestled into one another, thereby saving you valuable space. Trying to avoid plastic? There are collapsible silicone containers and lids that you can place over bowls that take up very little space.
Multiple bottles of the same spice
Another way to streamline your kitchen is to take a look at your spices. It’s very easy to buy another dried oregano, forgetting that you already one hiding in the back of your spice cabinet. Invest in a tiered lazy susan; none of your spices will get lost because you can easily swivel it around to see what you already have. Next level? Divide your spices into categories: Italian seasonings, Cajun seasonings, sweet seasonings, etc. It will save you time in the cooking process if your spices are grouped together in an easily accessible way.
Piles of paper
Having a lot of loose paper around is a good way to lose important documents and information. Bills, phone numbers, magazines, notes can all pile up and intermingle. The first thing to do is to sort your mail immediately rather than leaving it on the counter. Second, impose a simple filing system and invest in a desktop file holder. Group papers into categories such as bills, reading material, notes, etc. Feeling ambitious? Go as digital as possible. Paperless billing is available in most cases, and having it in your inbox makes it easier to track (bonus points for the environment!). Through an Excel spreadsheet or Google Document, you can also enter a lot of information into your computer to stay on top of them.
Lots of miscellaneous apps
Maybe you downloaded a game you were obsessed with and now no longer play (*cough Angry Birds cough*). Perhaps the app doesn’t do what you thought it was going to. In any case, the icon is still there taking up space on your screen and quite possibly draining your battery more quickly if you accidentally left it open. It’s really simple to go through and delete unused or outdated apps on your phone. A less cluttered screen will make it much more efficient to get to the apps that you do need. Want more? Group your apps into categories like news, tools, music and travel. Personalize and shape to your needs and interests.
