Tips to Organizing a Home

Debbie Stanley and Betty Huotari serve as the president and vice president, respectively, of the Michigan chapter of the National Association of Professional Organizers. They offer these tips for organizing a home:

+When sorting items to throw away or keep, set a deadline, such as an upcoming yard sale. This concrete goal will keep the project on track.

+Avoid the common pitfall of saving too many paper items or buying too many plastic containers.

"Paper and plastic containers are a huge thing for most people," Ms. Huotari said. "You can get rid of a lot of it."

+Use clear plastic, lidded containers to store household items, rather than colored containers or decorative tins.

"When you're using tins to store things, yes, you are reusing something and yes, they are pretty, but soon you can't remember what is in them. You'll tend to not use those items," said Ms. Stanley.

+Watch for "dead space" at the back of kitchen cupboards, and block it off if necessary. "Stuff gets moved to the back and you forget what's in there," Ms. Huotari explained.

+Store items near where they are used.

+Group like items together. Put breakfast supplies near the toaster and teapot. Make a snack area for popcorn, popcorn maker, bowls, and paper cups. Put dishes and silverware near the dishwasher.

+Put the items used most often in prime cupboard space, where they are easy to reach.

+When reorganizing, tackle one small area at a time. Start with what bothers you the most, whether it's the garage, toys on the floor, or kitchen cabinets.

+When storing boxes on a shelf, write identification labels on all four sides of each box.

+Reorganize periodically, as the household changes. As years go by, many people fail to adjust their organization style as their lifestyle changes, Ms. Huotari said. The storage solutions that work for a young family with babies may not be what works as people get older and families grow.

+To motivate children to keep rooms clean, use chore lists, deadlines, and small rewards.

+After storing seasonal items, write notes in two places, such as the back of an address book or date book, to record where you've put them.

Both Ms. Stanley and Ms. Huotari teach classes for other professional organizers. Some organizers specialize in residential work, and some in corporate environments, Ms. Huotari said.

Professional organizers in Michigan can be found on the Web sites www.napo.net or www.napomichigan.com.