There’s nothing quite so satisfying as harmony in your cupboards, and bits and pieces stored away exactly where you know you will find them.  Save yourself time and headaches searching high and low by having everything exactly where it should be!  Here are 10 simple organisation projects which you can handle any day of the week.

1. Your kitchen cupboards (one a day!)

   One cupboard will not take you more than 10 minutes to organise!  Take everything out and give the inside a good wipe down with some disinfectant.  Organise the contents by type, and if there are foodstuffs involved check the expiry dates as you go along.  Toss or donate anything you are or will not be using.  Out with the old, in with the new.

2. Your shoe closet
   

   Lay some newspaper on the floor beside the closet and take out the shoes from the shelves one shelf at a time.  Wipe down the shelves as you go.  Keep one damp cloth and one dry one by your side to give the shoes a quick wipe before you put them back in their place.  Once done, throw out the newspaper and admire (wink, wink).

3.  The cutlery drawer

   
   Take out all of the cutlery and load into the dishwasher.  If you have anything which needs to go, discard.
   Remove the cutlery tray and clean with warm soapy water. Once it dries, replace in the drawer and put the cutlery back in it’s place when your dishwasher is ready.
   If you do not have a dishwasher, fill the sink with warm soapy water and let the cutlery sit in it while you continue. Remove the cutlery tray and clean with warm soapy water from your second sink or a plastic basin.  Dry and replace.  Place a dry towel on top of your draining area and a few long glasses next this.  Go back to your cutlery and wash and rinse, then proceed to place the cutlery onto the towel.  Place all of the cutlery into the long glasses to dry.  Once completely dry, put the cutlery back in their place.  Organisation success!

4. Your underwear & sock drawer
   

   Empty your drawer completely and clean the inside with a damp cloth.  Use some empty shoe boxes to separate undies, trainer socks, bed socks, tights (pantyhose), and whatever else you might have in there.  If you have a lot of something, use as many boxes as you need and separate into different colours.  To store tights, fold them in half and tie into a loose-ish knot.

5. The fridge
   

   Clear it all out, shelf by shelf.  Wipe down with a damp cloth and some disinfectant as you move from shelf to shelf. Discard any expired or unused goods and rearrange food items nicely back on each shelf.

6. Your car
   

   Take two plastic bags with you, one for rubbish, and one for items you wish to keep but need to move out of your car.  Move from the luggage booth, to the backseat area, and to the front seat area.  Open up all of the compartments.  Clean the insides with a damp cloth.  Give the car a quick vacuum if required.

7. Your junk drawer
   

   Probably one of the most needed, most dreaded, but one of the most satisfying organisation projects! Before you embark on this one, collect a few handy sized small boxes (think costume jewellery or tea tins) , containers, or drawer dividers.
   Take everything out and decide what stays and what goes.  Do you really need to keep those pink candles you saved, just in case?  If you really think they will not be recycled, do not feel guilty about throwing them away.  Have a look at what’s left and sort them into different piles.  Once they’re sorted, put them back into place neatly using the desired storage.  Aim to be able to clearly see every little thing you put inside the drawer.  Remember, what’s unseen, remains unused!

8. Your recipe collection
   

   Be it digital, or be it a file full of printouts, once in a while we all need to spring clean it!
   Printed:  Check and make sure that all the recipes are neatly filed: i.e., each one in a transparent folder sleeve, or punched and filed in its proper place.  If you’d rather do digital, but have a bunch of magazine recipes, take a photo of the recipe in question and save it in your digital folder.
   Digital:  See that all recipes are correctly named, and filed under the correct category.
   Printed & digital: Sift through the recipes and remove any recipes which you tried but did not like, any recipes which you have no intention of trying, and any recipes which do not make sense keeping anymore.
   TIP:  Keep tried, tested and loved recipes in a different folder/location for easy access.
   A brilliant time-saving organisation project!

9. Your child’s desk area
   

   Remove everything from the top of the desk.  Empty pen holders and discard any pens which do not work any longer and any other stationery which is unusable.  Sharpen pencils needing sharpening.
   Wipe down computer/keyboards/mice/monitors.  Throw away anything you are sure is junk.  Place your child’s belongings which do not belong on the desktop into a little box or bag and pass on to your child so they can go back to where they belong.

10. Tupperware
    

    A nightmare if left too long!  Take out all your Tupperware containers onto the kitchen counter.  Organise into sets, and make sure you have a lid for each container.  Toss any which do not have a lid or vice-versa.  Check each piece for any cracks or discoloured, warped pieces.  Throw away any ones you deem unusable.
    Stack the bottoms into each other by creating stacks for different shaped containers and depending on the space available.  Stack the lids vertically in front of each other, on top of each other or in the largest container, whichever you see fits best for the allocated space.

Organisation projects needn’t be enormous tasks.  Even the smallest ones can leave you feeling relieved and mentally energised!

Nakita xxx