YOU CAN (MARIE) KONDO – HOME ORGANIZATION HACKS

Who says spring cleaning only happens in the spring? The Lakes thinks fall is the perfect time to re-visit those home organization hacks you started earlier this year, and make sure your home stays organized until spring rolls around again. This summer home organization has been trending across every platform including Netflix, Instagram and Pinterest (thanks Marie Kondo). The season of giving is soon approaching and what better way to give than to donate unused items. The Lakes wants to help declutter your house and prepare for the upcoming season, so check out these home organization tips below.

Turn an empty room into effective storage space:

Trying to figure out what to do with a bonus room or loft area? Turn it into a study room, a playroom or an entertainment room for your family; or all three! Utilizing an empty room is a great way to move some of the things you keep in the basement, or shoved in coat closets, to the main floor without adding extra clutter. Simply add built-in storage to your extra room to provide a place to store toys, tv remotes, or study supplies. Bookshelves are also a great way to add extra storage in a room while maintaining a decorative feel.  The Ambrose Model at KB Home does a great job of displaying exactly what this could look like in your own home! This bookcase serves as a focal point of the home office but also a great way to easily store things like books, picture frames, and small trinkets rather than setting them all over the desk.

Marie Kondo your whole house:

If you haven’t seen the Marie Kondo “Tidying up with Marie Kondo” series on Netflix, The Lakes would highly recommend it. Kondo visits homes that have serious organizational issues and fixes them in a few short weeks. Viewers of the show can’t stop talking about her unusual organization tactics, which are detailed below so you can try them out and see for yourself!

• Clean out your closet! Kondo recommends cleaning out your closet and considering what pieces of clothing bring joy into your life. Anything that doesn’t provide joy gets thrown out.
• After folding your clothes Marie Kondo style, put them in your drawer standing up! This creates much more room inside the dresser drawer which allows more capacity for clothes.
• When organizing spaces like a pantry or refrigerator, don’t buy storage containers before evaluating what you can actually store in a bin or box. This reduces the cost of organizing these spaces and ensures that space is being used effectively.
• Give away books you’ve already read. Donating books you’ve already read and enjoyed to friends, family, or community members is a great way to get rid of the extra clutter. The Loveland Public Library is a great place to send used books.

Declutter the messiest of spaces:

Whether it’s your kitchen, your laundry room, or a playroom every homeowner has that one room that never seems to stay clean and organized. The best way to declutter your house is to consider what items your family uses daily, which are used occasionally, and which are not used at all. This will help you easily identify which items should be the first to go. Have your children pick five toys they rarely play with anymore, pick items from the laundry room that you keep washing but never wear or remove items from your kitchen that are rarely utilized. Gather up all of these things and donate them! This declutters your house and allows other community members the opportunity to use the things you don’t. A great local option for donating these items is House of Neighborly Services.

As the fall season and cool weather approaches you’ll likely need to spend more time inside—why not create an organized space that you can enjoy! Visit our ‘Home Organization Tips’ board to learn more about utilizing unused space and adding home organization hacks to every room in your home.