Table of Contents

-Introduction
-Monthly Mission – Bathrooms
-Check Out These Pages! – Relevant pages and new site additions
-Unpacking and Reorganizing from Scratch

Introduction

I am here, in my new house! Along with a lot of boxes and the chaos that comes with unpacking. We’ve been here three weeks now and it’s coming along pretty well. We had to spend some time repairing a few things which took time away from unpacking.

As for the unpacking… I’m really looking forward to being done and mostly to have a routine back in place. I’m talking about the daily stuff of bills, mail, groceries, laundry and the such. Most of our routines have been interrupted or need adjusting. I’m also trying to be more thoughtful unpacking this time around and it takes some thought into what goes where and why. I don’t want some things to just be unloaded and forgotten about. Below are some particular things I’m re-doing that might also be a good idea for anyone to do if they want to reorganize their current home.

Click the logo above to learn more!

We now have one more bathroom in our new house. That’s one more bathroom to clean and keep tidy! There are no medicine cabinets in any of the bathrooms here, so I’m figuring out how we want to organize all our stuff in the bathrooms. Check out this month’s mission to help organize your own bathroom. To read the October monthly mission, click here.

If you’re in a hurry to put some order back into your home, perhaps Mimi Tanner's unique method will give you that jumpstart. Check out her method at Declutter Fast: How To Get Your Home In Order Almost Immediately.

Here are some pertinent pages on the website you may have missed along with any new pages.

Home Filing System - Keep all your paperwork in order so you can find what you need at a moments notice, and learn what to keep and what to toss.

Declutter Home and Life - Getting organized involves a lot more than just tossing some extra possessions. Read more about organizing beyond just your home.

Closet Organizing Ideas - If you're looking for some ideas to help organize your closets, check out this page.

Travel Planning Tips - Are you taking a vacation this summer? Here are some helpful tips to organize and plan that trip.

Organizing Kids Rooms Stuff - If you have kids, they have a lot of stuff. Here are some helpful ideas to get them better organized.

Time Savers - To help streamline your life, here are some daily time savers.

Unpacking and Reorganizing from Scratch

Unpacking is kind of fun, because you get to settle into your new place and envision how you plan to use the space. It can also be a little mentally exhausting, trying to decide where everything is going to go, fit, be used, and be most functional. The kitchen for me has been the hardest. I am starting over and nothing is where it used to be and the layout is completely different. As with anyone decluttering and organizing their kitchen, one of the main things you should be thinking about is where do you plan to use various items. You want dish towels near the sink, you want cooking utensils near the stove, and you want your hot mitts near the oven and microwave. You don’t want to be going around the kitchen gathering things as you need them.

Another thing I had to do after moving in was redo my grocery list. I have been going to my Safeway for the last 10 years, but now, it only makes sense to go to the one closer to my new home. But of course, this store is laid out completely and totally different! My first time in there I had a hard time finding some things. So, on my next trip, I went with paper and pen in hand and mapped out the aisles. I don’t get as detailed as the signs hanging in the aisles, but it’s good for me to know where the cereal is, canned goods, beverages, etc. (Here is more about how and why I do this: Grocery Shopping Tips).

I then went home and modified my grocery list. So this way, I put items on my grocery list in the general areas of the store sections I mapped out. When I go to the store, I follow my list and it takes me on the best path through the store so I can get in and get out!

One other very important thing I am getting situated is my family calendar and my work area. At least for now, I will no longer have an actual desk, but I will have a spot in the kitchen to station my stuff. I have a laptop, so I have the freedom to work around the house, but I need to keep the calendar and the bills and all the school stuff, etc. located in one central area to make sure things stay organized. (Here is my page about calendars.)

Hopefully, once I have the kitchen completely figured out, and grocery shopping is quicker, and I am able to know who’s where and when with the calendar, and be able to find papers and bills as needed, I will feel more relaxed and “at home”.

What are your key areas of organization, that without them, you feel a little crazy? What routines do you have in place to keep your life organized?


Until next time, happy organizing!

Tracy Greene
Plan-and-Organize-Life.com