Organization Techniques for Your Room

Clearing the Clutter

• Start with dedicated piles of items. Pick up clutter around your room and pile items based on whether they're trash, items you want to donate, other people's items and the actual things that belong within your room for you to organize. This gives you a manageable starting place, where you can then tackle one issue at a time.

Choose Furniture Wisely

• If you're feeling constricted within a small space, downsizing your bed, dresser or desk can save lots of space. Optioning for versatile furniture --- such as sofa beds ---can be a creative way to organize your room effectively. An "armoire" can hold a television, sound system and decorative items, as well as linens. These can be useful, especially if your room lacks a closet. An alternative storage space includes under the bed, which usually has ample room for items.

Use Wasted Space and Make it a Habit

• Using wasted areas is a key to truly being organized. Shelves or cabinets put high on the wall add storage space, while leaving lower living-space open. Hooks behind doors provide added space for clothes. If you maintain an organized room by putting something back into its designated place after each use, it becomes less likely that you will allow your room to be disorganized. Make it a daily habit if possible.

Closets and Drawers

• Areas that lay untouched around the house --- such as closets and drawers --- can often make the biggest difference in organization. Discard any item in your closet you have not used or forgot you had over the past year. Donate, give away, recycle or sell items. Use drawer separators and dividers for extreme organization, which is especially useful for people with tons of small objects or papers. Once you organize items by category, retrieval becomes a simple and easy process.