inside: Carolyn Lamour ... - Floridawise Magazine
inside: Carolyn Lamour ... - Floridawise Magazine
inside: Carolyn Lamour ... - Floridawise Magazine
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DecoratingWise<br />
AAccording to<br />
Harris Interactive,<br />
50 percent of<br />
homeowners rate<br />
their garage as the<br />
most disorganized<br />
place in their home.<br />
For most families,<br />
every member<br />
contributes to their<br />
garage’s clutter and<br />
disarray. You may<br />
have made many<br />
attempts at<br />
organizing your<br />
garage. However, because Florida homes do not have<br />
basements, most families use their garage to store out-of-season<br />
items that would typically be stored in a basement. Without<br />
that option, it becomes even more imperative for Florida<br />
families to maintain a neat, organized garage. Instead of<br />
haphazardly tackling the overwhelming task of once-and-for-all<br />
getting that garage organized, here is a step-by-step process<br />
that will help you navigate your way to neatness:<br />
1. Do an initial assessment of all items, including things on<br />
shelves, on the floor, in corners or hanging on the walls. Use<br />
bright sticky dots to place on items you know you should get<br />
rid of. The rule of thumb is that if you have not used the item in<br />
over a year, chances are you will never use it. Remove those<br />
items immediately and place them in one of four piles. This will<br />
make room for your continued organizational work.<br />
2. Assign all items to one of four piles: a) things that need<br />
to be thrown away which would not be of use to anyone who<br />
currently lives on this planet; b) things that could be donated to<br />
your favorite non-profit organization such as The Vietnam<br />
Veterans, Hadassah or Good Will; c) things that could be sold<br />
in a yard sale – even those $1 items could add up to pay for<br />
some new shelving, a new outfit or a night out; d) things you<br />
know you will want to keep.<br />
10 October 2006<br />
How to Organize What is Probably the Most<br />
Disorganized Place in Your Home:<br />
By Cindy Reavis<br />
“We can achieve order and harmony in every aspect of our lives<br />
with a habit of neatness . . . We can never feel we’re at our best<br />
when we’re surrounded by a mess.” — Edwene Gaines<br />
3. Take everything off shelves, hooks,<br />
in corners or on the floor, and place all<br />
items in a spacious area or set up folding<br />
tables if you need more space. Organize<br />
all items into categories, such as games,<br />
sports equipment, tools, seasonal<br />
decorations, etc.<br />
4. Evaluate these separate piles and<br />
assess how often each item will be used.<br />
Some items, such as seasonal decorations<br />
used once a year, may be placed in colorcoded<br />
storage bins and stored in your attic.<br />
You could purchase black bins for Halloween, gold bins for<br />
Thanksgiving, green bins for Christmas, etc.<br />
5. Use your four pile strategy again: a) items that should<br />
be thrown away or given away; b) items that could be<br />
donated; c) items you want to keep and store; d) items that<br />
could be sold in a yard sale. If you are not up for the task of<br />
organizing a yard sale yourself, see if a friend or neighbor<br />
wants to collaborate and plan one together. You could share in<br />
the cost of advertising, too.<br />
6. Store all items in plastic bins with lids. You may use<br />
different sizes to accommodate the size and shape of your