Going Against the Grain

Welcome 2010! Its a new year, the holidays are officially packed up and put away, and the house is...a mess. Hideous actually. Life has kept us busy and away from the house too often and now it needs lots of love to get it looking great and feeling peaceful! Time to get down to work and get organized! I will bet that many others feel the same way, and that searches and readership for information on organizing has gone way up. I have been addicted to anything that has to do with organizing lately and I wanted to throw my two cents into the ring...so here's my advice for organizing...don't take any advice!
Often, the first thing people will tell you is to deal with the surface clutter first so that your home looks good and you get a sense of accomplishment, but I say if your closets, drawers, and files are a mess, there is no way you can clear surface clutter. Start with the closets and drawers first. Pull everything out, clean, sort, and organize. Get rid of all that you can. Then you have a place to put all those things lying around away. Warning: Your house will get very messy doing things this way, but trying to stuff twenty pieces of paper into a full file drawer stinks!
Also, stop listening to what other people tell you about what to do with your stuff! Tie hangers can be used for ties, or scarfs, or necklaces, or yarn, or ribbon, or gift bags, or whatever! Kitchen organizers can be used in the kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, kids rooms, or garage. You can store your shoes in the closet if you want, or under the bed, or down the hall, or in the garage or mud room even. Think about how you live and where you want to use your stuff and be open to anything. There is no right way to organize, just so long as you can get your stuff without causing a concussion, its all good!
Now go and get to work!!!