Clothing protruding from each and every closet? Scarves, hats and mitts decorating hallway corners? Boots and shoes completely mixed up, each one dripping on someone else’s? Pots and pans stored in your oven? Sheets and towels perpetually piled atop the washing machine? If any of this sounds familiar, you probably live in a downtown home where space is at a premium. Or maybe your family has grown but your home hasn’t. Regardless where you live, don’t hire that professional organizer just yet.  There are some simple solutions to try first.

Purging is the first step. Pack up all those old, unworn clothes and donate them to someone who will actually wear them. Same goes for your linens. Still have those king size sheets but only own a queen size bed? No dog for those threadbare, puke-coloured towels? Get rid of them. Once you are down to the bare essentials, it’s time to get organized. Separate your summer and winter clothing and if a basement closet isn’t available, buy a clothing rack to set up in your storage space. Invest in a basket or two for those hats and mitts. Same for your linens. Store those nice baskets in your bathroom or on the floor of a closet. IKEA sells a cheap shoe rack that works like a charm for lining up shoes and boots. Place a drip tray underneath and train everyone in the house to use it! Better yet, erect some shelving above your washing machine. Now for the kitchen. Sometimes a whole reno just isn’t in the budget. Until it is, try hanging a pot rack from the ceiling over a counter or buy a separate cabinet to place elsewhere as a pantry and free up some cupboard space inside the kitchen.

It takes some training and commitment, but keeping your home organized is the first step to making the most of small spaces. And if you Google “getting organized at home”, there are many great websites with valuable tips, too.

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Tracy Martin

Posted by in Blog, Buying & Selling, Selling Your Home.

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