Organizing Your Home For the Holidays!

A good friend and professional organizer extraordinaire, Susan Fleishman www.clutterfreeme.biz has some great tips for getting your home - and your life - ready to make room (literally and emotionally!) for the holidays. And with only 14 days until Thanksgiving and the first day of Hanukkah, it's not too late to get started! These tips also work for any other time of year, including post holiday de-cluttering or if you are selling your home and want to make  sure it is "show ready" for prospective buyers.

• Stockpile your supplies. Make sure you've got the right trash bins, shredders, file folders and markers at your fingertips before you start sorting and tossing.
  • Take it a zone at a time. Your office, home and car didn't become a mess overnight, so de-clutter in increments. Start with desktops, then floors, then move on to file cabinets and bookcases.
  • Go from horizontal to vertical piles. If you're purging papers, clear those piles from your desk and the floor by placing newly sorted files in a cabinet or an upright vertical file. This way, your eyes can quickly scan and identify what you need at a glance.
  • Nab tax deductions by donating cleared-out items to nonprofit organizations. De-clutterers can send usable books, DVDs, video games and music to third-party merchants.