Taking advantage of every inch of space in your garage is a wise move. When organizing your seasonal items and storing sports equipment, don’t forget the overhead space. Yes, you can store items on mounted ceiling racks! Fortunately, most garages have ceiling heights high enough for storage on an overhead shelf or rack.

A garage overhead storage shelf may be the solution to storing all of those heavy boxes or outdoor equipment that you’ve had trouble finding space for inside your garage. It’s convenient, yet out of the way, for items you don’t need to use daily. However, if you select a ceiling mounted lift with an easy pulley system, it will be no trouble to quickly access the items you need. Just back out the car, lower the storage shelf with ease and take what you need. Then, simply raise the storage shelf back into place. A good quality heavy duty overhead shelf will hold lawn movers, large tools, snowboards, outdoor furniture, ladders and more.

There are also ceiling mounted lifts for your bicycles. Bicycle hoists are the perfect storage solution, especially when you have two or more. The bikes are mounted with a pulley system that allows you to easily lower and raise your bike as needed.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations. Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com and register for an organizing workshop.

Tired of tripping over bikes, baseballs, golf clubs, tennis balls and other sports equipment?  Your garage can quickly become a walking hazard when trying to store all of your sporting goods on the floor.  What’s worse is when family members use the equipment and have no proper place to return it to, so it ends up in a cluttered mess with everything else that doesn’t have a home.  To solve this problem, you could go to your local hardware store to pick up some freestanding shelves, but for narrow garages these may take up valuable floor space leaving no room to get into your car.

Fortunately, most garages have plenty of available wall space where you can install wall racks, peg boards and sports organizers, enabling you to get everything onto the wall and off the floor.  In fact there a sports organizing rack for almost any sport.  Declutter with ease with garage wall organizers.  Check out a few of them here.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops and group presentations.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com and register for an organizing workshop.

Here in the mid-Atlantic area, it’s about that time of year when the weather begins to warm up and time to pack away the sweaters and lighten up.  I’m a bit of a wimp where cooler weather is concerned, so I tend to keep my cardigan sweaters out year-round!  However, for the warm blooded, simply thinking about a sweater may make you sweat!  Anyway, I digress.  Switching the closet from winter to spring/summer is an event in my home.  I love rediscovering clothes that I had forgotten about and creating new outfits that I hadn’t thought of.  For me, I always feel as though I have a new wardrobe again, especially if I had purchased a few items on clearance at the end of the season.  

This is also a great time to purge items and to really think about whether or not you will wear something again.  I use this time to be honest about whether I love an item, or if I’m keeping it just because I’ve spent X amount of dollars on it. 

Taking the time to review your clothing from last year will also save you money.  Try some items on and mix and match separates that you hadn’t thought to put together before. You’ll find that you needn’t rush out to stock up on new summer clothes after all!

What if you live in a year round warm state, like Florida or Southern California?  It’s still a good idea to take the time to switch your closet.  Even if you don’t have dramatically changing seasons, it’s simply a good habit to go through your closet once or twice a year. 

So, schedule a weekend morning or afternoon, put on some music and dance your way from winter to summer!

Are you sometimes frustrated with always having to pick up your clothing  accessories off the floor due to not having a proper accessory organizer to house them? Getting dressed in the mornings can become quite stressful if you can’t find the right shoes, tie, belt or scarf due to a lack of organization.  When your accessories are hung on random hangers or folded on a shelf, you may find yourself constantly tripping over them when they fall on the floor, leaving your closet in a big mess.

With new organizational products appearing on the marketplace, it’s easier than ever to find suitable organizers made specifically to organize your clothing accessories.  Belt hangers, swivel tie racks and scarf hangers come in a variety of styles, sizes and price points. 

As for your shoes, depending on the amount of space you have, you can purchase a shoe stand, over-the-door shoe organizer or hanging shoe pockets that hang on the same clothing rod as the rest of your clothes.  Get those accessories off the floor and on organizers today!

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), NAPO-Baltimore Chapter, and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she shows homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers organizing and time management workshops.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com and register for an organizing workshop.

Getting organized is a process that can be frustrating or fun. The key to enjoying the process is to plan to make it fun and include a friend or professional organizer to help and cheer you on. Living amongst clutter everyday can be very stressful, but sometimes the thought of clearing the clutter can feel overwhelming and may bring on feelings on apprehension, preventing you from taking the action you need to get started. 

So, how do you make it fun and less overwhelming? You could do any or all of the following:

• Ask a trusted friend or professional organizer to help;

• Play your favorite music during the organizing session;

• Take frequent short breaks and congratulate yourself on what you’ve accomplished so far;

• Have some of your favorite light snacks & beverages available to consume during the breaks;

• Have something fun to look forward to. For instance, schedule something you really enjoy doing right after your session, e.g. trip to the movies, dinner with friends or family, a relaxing bubble bath or even a guilty pleasure like a hot fudge sundae!

• Give yourself permission to place an online order of organizing products that you know you will need to complete your project. 

Also, don’t forget to take a “before” photo to remind yourself exactly how much you’ve accomplished. This can be extremely helpful and will motivate you to schedule your next organizing session sooner, rather than later!

Feeling the urge to shop?  Check out the selection at HomeStorageWarehouse.com

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Organizing & Time Management workshops to groups, small businesses and associations.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

With Get Organized Month(SM) soon to be ending, have you made progress yet with your New Year’s resolution to get organized? It’s not too late to get started, but it is important to start, otherwise procrastination will set in. Most of the time when we begin a task or project that feels overwhelming, we discover that it wasn’t quite as bad as we thought. So break it down into smaller chunks and get started today. 

One of the best parts of getting organized is going shopping for organizing products after you’ve decluttered your space!  If you love to shop, maybe that is just the motivation you need!

Don’t like organizing? Consider hiring a professional organizer to help you to get started. Even if you only work with an organizer for the first 2-6 hours of a project, it can help to save you hours of frustration and stress in the long run. Wasting time looking for things, stepping over clutter and being late for appointments will eventually take its toll.  Don’t you deserve to be more organized?

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Time Management workshops to businesses to maximize productivity.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day!  Is your desk covered in a cluttered mess of papers and miscellaneous items?  Paper can be a challenge to organize, so it’s important to set up systems for your current action files, pending files, future projects and reference materials. A desktop file is perfect for your current and pending files.

For reference papers that are referred to on a daily or weekly basis, consider a Reference Office Organizer. These organizers stand up on your desk and take up minimal space.  There are a couple of different designs to choose from. Click on the picture to learn more.

If you are setting up a brand new home office or home based business, start your year off right with this beautiful 9 piece desk organizer set. This set includes stacking drawers, 3 stacking letter trays, 1 vertical filing system, 1 step up file system, and a hanging file system with files! It also comes in your color choices of black, medium oak, cherry, and mahogany.  This system may be all you need to keep your office organized!

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Time Management workshops to businesses to maximize productivity.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

Goals

Get Organized Month(SM), sponsored by the National Association of Professional Organizers (NAPO), is now in full swing and professional organizers, who are also members of NAPO, have scheduled events and activities around the country to educate the public on the importance of being organized.  If you haven’t done so in the past, consider hiring a NAPO professional organizer who will work with you side by side to achieve your organizational goals, resulting in a clutter-free environment and a less-stressed lifestyle! 

The benefits of getting organized are worth the time, money and effort invested, because living in clutter can be extremely draining to your psyche. Maybe you feel overwhelmed because you have so many rooms to declutter and organize. However, I encourage you to write down your organizing goals for the year, pick one and then begin immediately. Once you begin and are successful in one area, you will feel a huge burden has been lifted and be motivated to continue!

Online organizing stores like www.HomeStorageWarehouse.com can help you to figure out ways to store and contain your belongings. They are fun to browse through and it’s wonderful being able to shop from the comfort of your own home.  Browsing through organizing products online can also help to keep you motivated as you continue working through the organizing process. 

Have a happy and successful “Get Organized Month(SM)”!

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Time Management workshops to businesses to maximize productivity.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

It’s a New Year and time to recharge and set some new goals. Getting organized is on many people’s list of New Year’s resolutions. If getting organized is one of your goals, you need to have a plan. Begin by writing down the rooms or areas you need to organize and decide when you’re going to start. Then figure out the areas you can do yourself and what you need help with.

If you are living in a lot of clutter, enlisting the help of a friend or hiring a professional organizer can move you closer to your goal a lot faster. A professional organizer will also educate you on the principles of organizing and implement systems that fit into your lifestyle. This is an important step in the organizing process because the systems you have in place will help you to maintain order in your home, so that you won’t have to reorganize the same space a few months later.

The general rules of organizing involve sorting, purging and placing items into containers or specialty organizers. Don’t forget to keep similar items together and in a convenient place. After you have sorted and purged, shop for organizers to help you set up your new systems.

Happy New Year!

Shop for organizers for your kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, laundry, kids, office or closet  at Home Storage Warehouse.

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Time Management workshops to businesses to maximize productivity.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.

Do the boxes and containers storing your holiday decorations blend in with everything else in your attic or basement, resulting in confusion as you sort through various unrelated items when it’s time to trim the tree? This year, instead of storing your lights, ornaments, knick-knacks and garland in cardboard boxes, invest in containers especially designed for holiday décor.

What’s great about these specialty containers is that they are usually trimmed with red, green or gold and are specially shaped or sized for most holiday décor. Some even include organized dividers for smaller ornaments and breakables. You can find organizers for almost any holiday décor, including tree ornaments, gift wrap and wreaths.  Here are a few to consider:

Find these and more at http://www.homestoragewarehouse.com/holiday-organizers-c-221_307.html

Jacquie Ross is a Maryland based Professional Organizer, writer and owner of CastAway the Clutter! Jacquie has been writing for Home Storage USA since 2007. A member of the National Association of Professional Organizers and Maryland Association of Professional Organizers, she teaches homeowners how to reclaim their time and space, and offers Time Management workshops to businesses to maximize productivity.  Jacquie can be reached at jacquie@castawaytheclutter.com. Visit CastAway the Clutter to sign up for her free organizing tips at www.castawaytheclutter.com.