Sometimes, it is hard to keep a clean, organized home in this busy and hectic day and age. But, we’re here to offer some housekeeping and organizational tips to minimize clutter and maximize space in your new custom built Paragon home.
Some tricks and ideas for organizing your house:
- Footwear in the foyer can get messy. Shoes can be kept on a mat or better yet, on a movable rack, so that you can clean underneath on a regular basis. Shelving or a space inside the coat closet would be an even better option.
- With another Pittsburgh winter coming up getting the coats out of the way can be tricky. If your home doesn’t have a coat closet, have a standing wardrobe specifically for coats, or, a coat and hat rack.
- Keep your keys from getting lost by giving them a specific place where they go the minute you walk in the door.
- Create focal points to distract from clutter. For example, Good Housekeeping suggests using a flat surface as a showcase area, with one central display like a vase of flowers or a bowl of potpourri.
- Home office? Organize your desk space. You should have enough room to work comfortably without knocking things over or bumping into your computer monitor. There are so many office space storage options available to aid in your office organization.
- Bundle cords together or use a cord organizer.
- Have a special spot where mail goes immediately. Sort and open it daily instead of letting it pile up. If your builder included a mail shelf in your home design you are ahead of the game, but if not these recessed shelves can easily be added to existing homes. Just be sure to check for any plumbing or other systems behind the walls.
- Throw pillows are pretty, but keep them to a minimum to avoid your living space looking too cluttered.
- Ideally, the top of the nightstand should hold a book, a light, and an alarm clock, but it should not become another catchall space of clutter within your home.
- Store items under the bed in marked bins.
- Hang seasonal clothing in your closet, and store out-of-season items in bins that are put away elsewhere.
- All the clothes you keep in the dresser should be neatly grouped by type.
- Keep jewelry in a jewelry box, and makeup in a cosmetics case. Don’t just leave things laying around.
- Have a hat rack or a large pull-out drawer devoted to hats.
- If you have children, store toys in a toy box instead of having them laying all over the house.
- If you share your home with pets, keep their toys in a basket where they can access it, but where it is out of the way.
Good Housekeeping suggests having a workstation for cooking “Clustering basic implements and ingredients you regularly use in cooking can make meal preparation quicker. Self-contained units do the trick here. Keep often-used utensils on a lazy Susan, with compartments for cooking oil, salt and pepper, and basic condiments. Position commonly used staples such as garlic and onions next to the food-prep work station. Be sure to leave plenty of surface area for chopping, cutting, and other types of recipe preparation.”
- Have distinctive areas for certain types of food in your refrigerator.
- Don’t clutter up the outside of your refrigerator too much, as tempting as it can be.
- Even if you have a “junk drawer,” try to keep it organized by cleaning it out frequently and/or using dividers.
- The garage is a space that many people may not see, but there are lots of options for keeping it tidy – consider building shelves or adding hooks, containers, tool boxes, and so forth.
- The laundry room also has lots of options for better organization. Southern Living suggests hiding infrequently-used supplies, and designating spaces for sorting, folding, ironing, etc.
- Keep your bathroom organized by utilizing the space to the maximum capacity without overcrowding. There are many options available for hanging and storing health and beauty items in the home.
- Your pantry items should be grouped by type, neatly, on shelves. Every so often, clear it out and get rid of expired goods, or de-clutter by finding items to donate to a local food back.
So, do you have any other home organization tips to share? De-cluttering and organizing your home can actually minimize stress, so it’s worth a try, don’t you think? At Paragon Homes we want our home owner’s lives to be as stress free as possible whether it’s something we can to or something long after we build their new home!
~~ Ashley Boynes-Shuck
Paragon Homes has been building custom homes in the Pittsburgh area for nearly 25 years. In that time they have come to be recognized as one of the premier custom home builders in Western Pa. In fact they have been honored to receive over 25 Housing Excellence Awards from the Builders and Realtors Associations of Metropolitan Pittsburgh and the Washington County Builders Association including several for New Custom Home of the Year designations. You can reach Paragon Homes at 412-787-8807, or visit us online at http://www.visitparagonhomes.com
Ashley Boynes-Shuck is a well-known blogger, author, and social media pro from Pittsburgh, PA. She was voted Best Blogger in Pittsburgh and Who to Follow on Twitter 2010, one of Pittsburgh’s Top 40 Under 40 for 2011, a 2012 Woman of the Year and Athena Young Professional awards candidate, and happily lives in a suburb of Pittsburgh with her husband, pug, frogs, and kitten! In her free time she focuses on advocacy and volunteer work, as well as rooting on the Pittsburgh Steelers!