Clutterbug - Real-Life Hacks and Tips to Declutter, Organize and Clean your Home Fast - The Secret to Staying Organized for Good! | Clutterbug Podcast # 8

Episode Date: April 19, 2016

Have you tried to get organized over and over without long term success? Let me share with you my top two secrets for getting organized and staying organized for life!! Get your and your family organized for good with one trip to the dollar store!!  Check out my website at: http://clutterbug.me Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Hi you guys, welcome back to the Clutterbug Tip Organizing Tips podcast. Today I wanted to talk about some of my favorite things from the dollar store. When I first started my transition from cluttered to clean, I didn't really get at first the importance of containers, but it quickly became apparent. Without containers, I would organize the pantry or I would organize, you know, I'd make everything really need and I'd do some purging in my linen closet, but then a month later, it would be a total design. again. It wasn't until I started containing things, like sorting things and containing them in containers that I saw long term, like that it was staying clean long term. And for me, it had to be open lidded containers. So if I was to put everything in these like nice totes with lids on them

and stack them, I would just set the things back when I use them in front of the totes because I was too lazy to unstack things and take the lids off and put things away. So for me, me because I'm super duper lazy, I needed to have bins without lids that I could literally toss stuff in. So an example would be in my linen closet, I have an open bin for extra products. So this would be, you know, I'm at the store in my favorite deodorants on sale and I buy four of them because it's an amazing deal. You come home, it goes in the extra products bin. Or at Christmas time when everybody buys you, you know, a million different smelly lotions,

but you don't want to get rid of them. You put them in the extra product bins. Tooth based on sales, shampoo on sales. You're getting the point, right? Extra soaps that you're not using. All of that goes in the extra products bin. And it's literally just a bin that says extra products on it that's open and I can toss things in. But when I need something, I can just find it in a pinch really quickly.

I also have an open bin for first aid. So this would be, you know, band aids and, you know, rubbing peroxide and just medicine like Advil and things like that go in my open-litted first-aid bin. Now, I could really get really organized and break it down into smaller groups, but I don't. It works for me like this, though. I also have a kid's first-aid bin. So this has their Tylenol, their band-aids, and things like that. And finally, I have a bin for, you know, sunscreen and bug spray and the little rub on, you know,

if you get bit by a bug, but they have this poly, your polysporin, like, ouch remover thing, all that type of stuff that we use on a more regular basis. I have in an open bin as well. And then I have towels and sheets and all that type of stuff. So the point is, my rambling point, is that it's the open lidded bins that are labeled that have really been a success for me. And almost every single bin in my house is from the dollar store. I live here in Canada, so the dollarrama has really great, inexpensive bins, and the dollar tree does as well. I like the canvas bins that they have for closets. So in my son's closet, for an example, I, instead of using a dress or drawers because I'm just so lazy folding and putting in a drawer,

seems like so much work to me, I use these canvas, you know, this canvas fold up bins. They're $1.25 from the dollar tree or $2.00 from dollarrama. And they hold things like pajamas and, you know, pants and extra sheets for his bed and towels that he uses and all that type of stuff. And I just toss them in the closet in these sorted bins. It works so, so well. To keep everything really, really organized, the closet looks beautiful. I have all these, you know, the same colored labeled bins all in a row, but I don't have to be. You know, that mom that's folding all those PJs in little cute little squares.

No one is even going to see. And I just, who has time for that? Honestly, not me. I don't have time for that. So let's talk about labels and some of my favorite, favorite, favorite labels. The dollar tree has these sheets of labels. I think you get six or eight to a sheet of chalkboard labels. And they peel and stick to plastic.

And I love them. I love them for plastic containers in the pantry, so flour, sugar, things like that. And I love them on plastic bins where they can stick right to the front. But there is a trick for these. You have to use a chalkboard pen. You can't just use a piece of chalk. The reason is, as you use the bin, it would just rub off. A chalkboard pen, you can find these at Michaels or any craft store.

It will dry and then not wipe off on your hand. Only using wet water will you be able to. to wipe that off. So invest in a chalkboard pen. You can really get these chalkboard labels so inexpensively. They have so many different kinds. And get to labeling now. These are really only going to work on plastic bins though. It's not going to stick on the fabric canvas. So some really cute things you can do for the fabric canvas or you can get some pretty, you know, scrapbooking paper and use a little clothes pin to attach a label onto there or you can print something off on cardstock. I like to laminate it and hot glue it onto the front of the bin or you can use these tag labels. So a lot of the

canvas bins have these little, you know, handles on the front and you can get chalkboard tag labels or even little, you know, heavy-duty paper tag labels and you can just tie them on either with pretty ribbon or the string that they already come with and tie them right on. that handle. And it's a great way to label. It looks really great, but it's really, really inexpensive. Labeling is totally a secret. I mean, there's two real secrets to staying organized, and that is containing. We talked about that, having containers for sorted things. I mean, I'm just not talking about having a container with all your junk thrown in. That's not organization, but having different containers for like items, that that's their home.

So a container for, you know, all the, I actually have a container, a bin for labels. And it's filled with my label maker and all the different sorts of labels that I have in my home. And my chalkboard pen, of course. But having different containers is just a real key. But labeling those containers is also just as important. So not only because it's hard for you to remember where everything goes, your house, but the rest of your family. They actually have done studies. I read a study that said you're like 80% more likely to put something away if it has a labeled home. And you've probably heard about this

in different factories and business places, you know, where they draw the outline of the hammer on the wall and people are more likely to put it back because it has the outline of where it goes. Basically, you're just, you know, doing that for your entire home by labeling where it. things go. You're making it more efficient. You're making it so everyone is going to be putting things back where it goes, not just you. You're going to make it easier for everyone to find things, including like guests who come over or friends and family that are coming to visit. And you're more likely just to stay organized. So those are really the two secrets. They're not really secrets, but I guess they are. Yeah, they're the keys to staying organized. Obviously,

have to declutter and purge on a regular basis. You have to sort your items and to like things. And you have to find homes for all of these things, you know, a special home for the scissors to go and a home for your labels to go. They can't just stay out on the kitchen counter. But the key to staying organized is containers and labeling. Labeled containers is really what sets a home that easily stays organized from the home where people struggle to stay on top of things. So get, you know, to the dollar store, get yourself some bins and pick up some of those great chalkboard labels or different type of labels and get organizing a small area. You know, choose your closet today.

Maybe you want to stick with your linen closet. You want to start with your linen closet. Sort all of those things into like items. You don't have to get really too particular. You don't have to have a bin just for shampoo or a bin just for lotions. Like I said, you can have a bin for extra products or something like that or a bin for each family member maybe. And you'll be surprised.

You'll be surprised how fun it is, first of all, and how much more beautiful your linen closet or your space that you choose to organize will look, but also how easy it is to keep it organized for good. So happy organizing you guys. Thank you so much for. listening and stay tuned for tomorrow. We'll do another organizing tip. I look forward to it and I hope you do too. Thanks and we'll see you again.