The Best Organization Tips & Containers for Junk

Cut the Clutter

• The first thing you'll need to do to get organized is decide what to get rid of and what to keep. To decide if an item is worth keeping, determine how often you use it and if you can imagine an important future use for it. If you don't use an item often, you probably don't need it in your home. Move through each room with a bag and place unwanted and unneeded items in it until you have cut out clutter from every room in the house. Recycle, donate or throw away old items.

Item Storage

• After clearing unnecessary items out of the home, the next thing you'll want to do is find appropriate locations for items that you want to keep. This can be in drawers or closets or on shelves. Approach this task logically so items will be easy to find when needed. If you've found a home for everything you can but still have leftover items to organize, it is time to make considerations for container shopping.

Container Buying Tips

• A very important attribute for containers is see-through material. Being able to see what's inside a container is critical to finding things easily and staying organized. Make this a priority when shopping for containers. Another thing to consider is that square or rectangle-shaped containers make more efficient use of space and are more easily stackable than round containers. Only buy round-shaped containers or baskets sparingly or for specialty uses. Also decide whether you need open or closed containers.

How to Use Containers Effectively

• Once you have your containers, logically place items into them in an organized way. For example, office supply tools such tape dispensers, staplers and staple-removal teeth all go together in one container. Don't overfill containers; this makes it harder to keep things organized. Ideally you want to keep containers no more than 75-80% full. Label all containers with a permanent marker or labeling system to identify the contents at a glance without having to open it.