Everything In Its Place
Below are some creative tools and local resources to assist you
in getting those long-awaited spring cleaning and organizing projects
done that you might have had on your to-do list, all year long!
Everything in its Place will give you creative ideas for organizing
your home, office, or garage. Included is a list of local organizations
and resources that can assist you in your efforts.
For Boston residents and those with access to Boston, the Building
Materials Resource Center (part of the Boston Building Materials
Co-op) is a place where you can recycle all those excess or older
housing materials you may have accumulated in renovating your home!
Donating to the BMRC respects the environment and helps low-income
homeowners maintain their homes affordably.
Disposing of hazardous waste is always a challenge. Most communities
recycle hazardous wastes one or more times per year. http://enviro.blr.com/
There is a website that has a list of professional organizers — New
England Professional Organizers — in case you're not up to the
task yourself!
Everything In Its Place
- Call a friend who loves to organize, if it’s not your forte.
Rest assured an organizer loves to help and “has been secretly
hoping you would call.” Be prepared to observe how an organized
person thinks, but be able to say no to anything that doesn’t
work for you. It must make sense to you, too, or it won’t
stick.
- Work in one room at a time. Some people start with a closet.
Don’t tear up the whole house at once!
- Be stocked with large heavy trash bags for all the stuff you
will give away, throw away or sell.
- Pull out everything you haven’t worn, used, seen, thought
of, or even remembered you had or needed in the past two years
and put them in one of the above bags for proper disposal.
- Consider color-coding each family member’s hangers, linens,
toy boxes, school supplies, etc., as needed for identification
and cleanup.
- Get clear, stackable storage boxes of various sizes to sort
like items throughout the home (e.g. photos/cameras/film, tax
records, car stuff, sporting goods, manicure supplies, medical).
- Create labels for storage boxes, pantries, shelves, closets,
drawers and cabinets as needed.
- Have a large basket available in any room that gets cluttered
for easy pick up at the end of the day. Distribute as needed.
- Assign each family member their own canvas bag, box or basket
for gathering and putting away their “stuff” 30 minutes
before bedtime. Or just do a “family sweep” each evening.
- Organize clothes by color or likeness in the closets for easy
access.
- Stack shoes in clear shoeboxes for easy identification and preservation.
- Have a couple of boxes available for storing seasonal clothes
and rotate them as needed.
- Put magazines in baskets, books on bookshelves, linens in closets
with order and labels, etc.
- Put all your gift wrapping papers, ribbons, scissors, tape,
labels, bags and decor in a clear wrap box. Find the best spot
to store it all (perhaps under the bed) and move on.
- Make use of iron, board and spray holders, mop, pan and broom
holders, and cleaning caddies, as needed, in a utility, storage,
or laundry room.
- Use your kitchen as it is designed: with pots, pans, cookware,
cooking utensils, bakeware, potholders and knives nearest the
stove, while making sure dishes, glassware, serving dishes, silverware
and table linens are nearer the dining areas.
- Sort every drawer or shelf so they contain like items whenever
possible.
- Use a file cabinet to store all important bills, receipts, warranties,
etc., in file folders. Keep copies of critical data at another
site like an office or family member’s house, or in a fireproof
box. Be sure all documents are up-to-date, relevant, etc. If old,
sort them by year and put them in big envelopes with appropriate
tax documents in storage spaces.
- Create a place for “record storage” now, if needed.
If you are short on storage or closet space, make use of every
piece of furniture you own that can store something. Buffets,
cabinets, chests, china cabinets, armoires and shelves can be
very helpful.
- If you have two or more stories to your house, try to keep a
vacuum and cleaning caddy on each floor. It helps.
- Finally, build the habit of putting everything in its new home
before you finish your day. If necessary, create a chart or database
— in alphabetical order by item — that reminds you where you’ve
put everything. Forgetting where you’ve moved things is not
uncommon!
A PDF version of this list is available here.
Local List of Organizations and Resources
Clothing and Household item donations:
• Boomerangs at 716 Centre Street, Jamaica Plain 617.524.5120
• First Baptist Church Thrift Shop, 633 Centre Street, Jamaica
Plain 617.52.2420
• Goodwill at 1010 Harrison Ave., Roxbury, 617.541.1270
TV and Computer Monitor disposal:
City of Boston: 617.635.7574
New England organizers web site:
http://www.nepo-organizers.com/massachusetts.htm
To purchase storage containers/items:
• Home Depot,
1213 VFW Parkway, West Roxbury 617.327.5000
• Staples,
Landmark Center, 401 Park Drive, Boston 617.638.3292
• Hold
Everything, 351 Newbury Street, Boston 617.450.9846
• The Container
Store, 27 Boylston Street, Chestnut Hill, MA 617.566.7400
Hazardous waste drop-off:
Boston Recycling Hotline, 617.635.4959
Download a PDF of what hazardous
waste the City of Boston accepts. (as of 2004)
Building Materials Resource Center
kitchen, windows, doors, bathroom, lumber, flooring, electrical
617.552.8917
www.bostonbmrc.org
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