Tag: declutter office

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Professional-Organizer

Six Simple Steps To Get Organized

office shelf with white metal magazine and paper files acrylic bins from container store Bella Organizing Professional home organizers and residential packing and moving management company serving the San Francisco Bay Area.
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My boy Newton. He owns and loves but a few simple toy, but we have the most fun hiking together in the East Bay Regional Park hills.

Getting organized doesn’t happen overnight. 

It’s a process or a “lifestyle change” that develops and improves over time.  The more action you take toward an organized lifestyle, the more time you will have for family, friends, hobbies, life goals, and yourself. With faithful practice, you will become more organized. Here are six simple steps to get you started:

  1. Pick a zone
  2. Make a list
  3. Sort like items
  4. Give Away/Sell/Donate
  5. Organize
  6. Congratulate yourself

1. Pick a zone. 

Choose a room or area of that room where with a little decluttering and organizing you will get instant gratification. Don’t try to tackle the entire garage or house in one day…stick with a SMALL area of one room, such as one small closet or cabinet. Focus on getting this area completely organized just the way you want it. The positive feeling of SUCCESS helps to keep us moving toward our goals.

2. Make a list.

Prioritize projects to complete within that zone before moving on to another (1., 2., 3., etc.). For example, if decluttering and organizing a pantry:

  1. Pull out and compost old and expired food
  2. Wipe down shelves with a cleaning solution
  3. Arrange food into categories
  4. Make a list of food that needs to be replaced and/or organizing supplies to pick up that will help streamline the pantry.

3. Sort like items.

Do you have multiples of something you prefer to store in this zone in different areas around the house? Bring them together. Don’t stray too far! Stick with organizing this zone. Finding things that don’t belong here? Put them in a pile and find them a home later or drop them off in the general area that *should* be their home and leave them there for now. You’ll fine tune later. Get back to sorting your priority zone. Do a little dusting while here.

4.  Give Away/Sell/Donate. 

Gather paper or plastic grocery or trash bags, cardboard Amazon or moving boxes, and label them accordingly for Give Away, Sell, and Donate. Fill them with things found in this zone that you want to bestow upon someone you know and love (Give Away), things you would like to make money back on (Sell) and things you don’t want that aren’t worth the time to sell but still have a little life in them (Donate). Place a Recycle and Trash bin or bag nearby, in case you come across this stuff in the process. #4 is an optional but very important step to de-cluttering and downsizing. 

5.  Organize. 

Place items where it makes the most sense to you. Should everything in this zone be tidied up and left here or taken somewhere else in the house where it makes more sense to be? Did you find keys that should instead hang on a hook by the door, or go in a specific drawer in the kitchen? Did you happen upon a set of winter gloves that should go into a drawer in your dresser, or into each jacket pocket so they are instantly there when you need them? (I leave mine in my jackets and LOVE always finding them there.)

6.  Congratulate yourself for coming this far.

Great job! You completed organizing a zone. Now set up a date with yourself to tackle another zone and add to the accomplishments.

Isabella Guajardo has provided professional home organizing and residential move management services to hundreds of individuals and families from all walks of life including single parents, school teachers, college professors, lawyers, doctors, Pulitzer Prize winners, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. The thing 90% of them have in common? Too much stuff they were ready to downsize. Bella Organizing helps you to tackle and reach your declutter and organizing goals.

Call (510) 229-7321 to schedule a complimentary telephone consultation.

Categories
Professional-Organizer

Tips to Declutter Before the Move

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Don't take the clutter with you.

Moving soon? Now’s a good time to shed unwanted items…don’t pay to pack and ship them. Start a few weeks to a few months in advance (depending on the size of your home and time off work,) go at it one room at a time, and beat the clutter.

Bella Organizing Downsize Project – When spaces are too challenging for you to tackle alone, we’re here for you.

Start with an easy room. 

This is an area that won’t slow you down to reminisce and in which you are less likely to get overwhelmed. Bookcases and clothing closets are good places to start, the kitchen (old food, dishes, and cooking utensils you never use) or with nic nacs around the house. Leave paperwork and photos for later; they can be a time and energy stealer, better saved for last.

Set up three boxes and label Give Away, Sell, and Donate.

1) The Give Away box is for things you want to give a friend or loved one.

2) The Sell box is for yard sale, consignment shop, or online sale items.

3) The Donate box is for charity. If all you need is a Donate box, more power to you!

Set up Trash, Recycle, and Shred bags.

You are likely to come across plastic, paper, cardboard, and non-recyclables to place in the trash. Have bags ready to declutter these items.

Don’t know what’s junk and what’s worth keeping? Read tips on how to decide.

Having trouble deciding which clothes to purge? Read more here.

Hazardous and e-waste disposal

Paint, light bulbs, used batteries, cell phones, engine oil, broken electronics including anything with cords and wires, refrigeration, televisions, computers and monitors should not be put in the trash. They are considered hazardous or e-waste and need to be disposed of properly. Community organizations commonly hold free e-waste drop-off events on weekends, and many cities have daily drive-through and drop-off options. Visit Earth 911 to find a location near you.

Interested in making cash off your unwanted items? Read more on how to here.

Tip: Don’t take a chance on identity theft. While decluttering the office, set aside paperwork to shred.

Got paper clutter?

Don’t take a chance on identity theft. While sorting through the office, set aside paperwork to shred including documents with names, address & contact information, account numbers, social security numbers, and other information you prefer no one get their hands on in a recycle bin. Shred tons of paper at a time quickly and inexpensively at a local office supply store such as UPS, or with a shredding specialty company such as Berkeley Shreds.

Considering using donations as a tax write off?

Play it safe, take photos and make an itemized list with estimated fair market or appraised value of each item (see Salvation Army Donation Valuation Guide here). Save this and donation receipts for tax records. In the case of an audit, you may need these as proof of donation. A high-value donation write-off can be a red flag for audit at tax time. Refer to the IRS website for the latest rules on tax-deductible donations.

Isabella Guajardo has provided professional home organizing and residential move management services since 2007. She has worked with hundreds of individuals and families from all walks of life including single parents, public school teachers, college professors, lawyers, doctors, Pulitzer Prize winners, and CEOs of Fortune 500 companies. The thing 90% of them had in common? They had too much clutter and needed to downsize and reorganize.

Call (510) 229-7321 to schedule a complimentary telephone consultation.