Organizing strategies

As I have been prepping for my organizing workshop tomorrow, I've come up with some basic organizing strategies that I use to get people organized.

1. Keep like things together. Think peanut butter and jelly, toothpaste and toothbrushes, and hammers and nails.

2. New things in, old things out. Whenever you find your self at the check out counter, be asking yourself - where will this go and what things will leave to make room for these?

3. Limit room functions. A bedroom is a place of rest and relaxation. It also can be the place you dress, but adding a TV, a library and an office is just too much for one room to handle.

4. Label it. Putting labels on boxes, bins, shelves or cabinets gives everyone in the family the opportunity to know where things live. The bread goes in this box - BREAD.

5. Zone it. Create areas where like things are kept together. Kitchens are a natural for creating zones - the baking zone, the pantry/food zone, the pet zone, etc.