Blog

17 Reasons to Organize Your Bonus Room

Published: July 24, 2019

Bonus rooms can serve a variety of purposes. Decluttering, setting up organizational systems, and using the right storage products can really improve the look and functionality of a bonus room.

Here are some of reasons to organize your bonus room:

1. To make it easier to clean

2. To save time looking for things

3. To save money by not re-buying things you know you own but cannot find

4. To have space for regular visitors and overnight guests in your home

5. To have a great place to host parties

6. To watch movies

7. To play video games

8. To play board games and card games

9. To have a place to exercise

10. To have a place to read

11. To be able to find the things you need for your family’s activities

12. To have a peaceful place to relax

13. To have a place for kids to play with toys

14. To be able to host sleepovers for your children’s friends

15. To have an area to do homework

16. To have a place to work from home

17. To use the room as originally intended

The main benefit of organizing any area is that you and your family will save time searching for items resulting in less stress and chaos. If you live in the Raleigh, North Carolina area and need hands-on organizing assistance or want a do-it-yourself plan, I’d love to help you. If you live elsewhere, I offer virtual organizing services via FaceTime and Skype to help you with any size organizing project. Please contact me for a free phone consultation to get started.

My Favorite Products for Organizing Toys

Published: July 17, 2019

Keeping toys organized can often be a challenge. The right organizational systems combined with the right storage products can make it easier to maintain an organized playroom or toy area. Here are some of my favorite products for organizing toys.

Life Made Better Doll Toy Box

Fashionista Barbie Doll Storage Case

mDesign Plastic Portable Craft Storage Organizer Caddy

SnapCube Stackable Arts & Crafts Case

Swoop Bags

Sorbus Toy Chest

KidKraft Austin Toy Box

Tot Tutors Kids’ Toy Storage Organizer with 12 Plastic Bins

Titan Mall Stackable Storage Bins

Sterilite Stacking Drawers

MiniOwls Toy Storage Hammock

ECR4Kids Birch 5-Section School Classroom Storage Cabinet

Cube shelving

Fabric bins

Choosing the right storage product for you often depends on the layout of the room, the amount of toys you want to contain, and the age of the child playing with the toys. If you’d like assistance and guidance in organizing your family’s toys, please contact me for information on my in-person or virtual organizing services.

On Task Organizing, LLC is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to amazon.com

7 Ways to Stay Motivated While Decluttering and Organizing

Published: July 10, 2019

7 Ways to Stay Movitated While Decluttering and Organizing

Taking on the task of decluttering and organizing any space in your home or office can be a challenge. It can be even more overwhelming if you’re trying to declutter and organize an entire home in a short timeframe. Whatever your situation, you may lose motivation during this sometimes lengthy process. Here are some tips to help you stay motivated.

Motivate with music

Listen to music while you work on decluttering. If you like music in the background, this will help keep a rhythm and keep you going.

Take breaks

Decluttering and organizing involves a lot of decision making. To avoid decision fatigue, take a break regularly.

Remember your priorities

For example, if you priority is to declutter the guest room so your grandchildren can visit, keep a photo of your grandchildren nearby, and think about the fun things you’ll do when they visit. Remind yourself why you’re doing this.

Realize it will take time, but you’ll get there

Know that it probably took months or years for your space to get this way, and you’re doing great! Unlike reality TV, you may not see big changes in an hour, but keep chipping away at it, and you’ll get there!

Treat it as an archeological dig

Did you find a pile of Christmas cards from 2012 or a hotel brochure from 2009? What parts of your life history are you digging up? What good memories do you want to hold onto? Recognize that you are digging into your past as you declutter.

Tell a friend for accountability

Going through this can be a personal process, so you may not want a friend to help, but you can ask them to hold you accountable. For example, tell them, “I am decluttering my pantry on Saturday, please check in with me on Sunday so I can tell you how it went.” Just knowing someone is checking in may help.

Hire a professional organizer

For expert advice, assistance and help, you can hire a professional organizer like myself to work with you in-person or virtually. Please make sure the organizer is trained, experienced, insured, and part of NAPO (The National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals).

Drawer Organization Tips

Published: July 3, 2019

Drawers can frequently become a disorganized catch-all for a variety of household items. A drawer organization project usually doesn’t take long, but it can really improve functionality in your home. Here are my drawer organization tips:

Determine the purpose of each drawer

Before decluttering and organizing, decide WHAT you want to hold in each drawer, for example: silverware, cooking utensils, socks, office supplies, make-up, etc.

Begin by emptying the drawer

After you’ve emptied the drawer, declutter it, and remove anything that is not part of that drawer’s intended category.

Measure the dimensions of the drawer

This will help you with buying the right size drawer dividers and help you assess how much can fit inside.

Consider the drawer depth

Determine if the drawer is too deep or shallow for the intended contents. For example, underwear in a deep drawer or sweaters in a shallow drawer usually do not work well.

Decide what will reasonably fit inside the drawer. Do not over stuff!

Over stuffing drawers makes them difficult to open and close. When you’re reorganizing a drawer, leave space for new items, and declutter whenever you find it is becoming too full.

Layout the items you’re keeping inside the drawer

This will help you determine if you need dividers. Not all drawers need to be divided, but it does help to categorize and contain things, especially when storing smaller items.

Decide which type of items should go into each section of the drawer

This will help you to decide what size drawer dividers are needed.

For non-clothing items, consider these products:

Expandable drawer dividers

Acrylic drawer organizers

For clothing, consider these products:

Adjustable drawer dividers

Shallow fabric drawer bins

Honeycomb dividers

Decide how you’d like to fold:

Folding is a personal choice, depending on how much time and energy you put into putting away your things, decide if you’d like to do file folding, flat folding, or rolling of clothing in your drawers. Some of this depends on the size and type of clothing you’re storing.

Keep drawer organizers in place:

Use double-sided adhesive dots or Velcro to keep dividers in place, so they do not slide.

Once your drawers are organized how you’d like, be sure to declutter regularly to maintain that organization. If you’d like assistance or guidance in organizing your drawers, please contact me for information on my in-person or virtual organizing services.

12 Reasons to Organize Your Children’s Bedrooms

Published: June 26, 2019

Organizing your children’s bedrooms will help both you and your children in many ways. Take a look at some of the benefits of organizing your children’s bedrooms.

1.To get ready faster in the mornings

With your child’s bedroom organized, you will all be able to quickly retrieve items from dressers and closets, which will result in getting dressed faster.

2. To find things quickly

Your child will be able to find clothing, shoes, toys and games faster with everything organized.

3. To save money

Organized dressers and closets mean no more buying items you already have but cannot find. You may save money by not repurchasing items you already own.

4. For a cleaner room

Better organization and less clutter means less to pick up, clean and dust. Creating a place for everything clears the floors, making chores such as sweeping and vacuuming easier.

5. For a calmer bed time

Cluttered spaces often cause anxiety. A decluttered bedroom will help to create a more calm and peaceful feeling, possibly making it easier for your child to sleep.

6. For a healthier sleeping space

When a space is decluttered, it is easier to clean, and will result is less dust and bacteria in the sleeping space. This can relieve allergies and give your child a healthier sleeping environment.

7. To improve study habits

If your child has a desk space set up in the bedroom, they have an area where they can focus on doing homework, which can improve study habits.

8. To streamline swapping out clothing sizes as your child grows

If you have a method to deal with changing sizes, such as storage for clothing that will be hand-me-downs or is to be grown into, the process of switching clothing sizes will be much easier.

9. To encourage reading

Organized book shelves will make books more accessible and encourage reading.

10. To teach them organizing methods

By working with your child to get their bedroom organized and maintain that organization, you’ll be teaching your child organizing methods that can be used for a lifetime.

11. To reduce arguments between siblings

If your children share a bedroom, setting up separate and organized storage areas for each person’s belongings can help prevent disagreements.

12. To give your child ownership of his or her belongings

If your child is involved in organizing his or her bedroom, it will help teach them to better care for their belongings and give them ownership and pride in their space.

My Favorite Bags for Organized Summer Travel

Published: June 19, 2019

When traveling for the summer, there are many organizing products that can help you to easily carry, store and organize your things. Here’s a look at some of my favorite bags for organized summer travel.

A Mesh Beach Bag

Rolling Luggage

A Lightweight Rolling Duffel Bag

Pack It Compression Cubes

A Hanging Travel Toiletry Bag

Waterproof Wet Dry Bags for Swimsuits

A Foldable Travel Duffel Bag

Foldable Tote Bags

Laundry Bags

As you can see, there are many great choices on how to pack and carry your items while traveling. Bags like these make wonderful and useful gifts for frequent travelers. If you’d like assistance in organizing your things for easier travel, please contact me for information on my in-person or virtual organizing services.