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Sort, toss and donate

Before attempting to organize your food, go through everything in the pantry and toss out expired products, said Vernestine Laughinghouse, founder of Absoulute Organizing Solutions in the District. After that, think about what foods and supplies you’ll really eat and use. Keep those things and donate or compost the rest, she said. Research your local food donation and compost options; when Kacy Paide, founder of the Inspired Office firm in Silver Spring, reorganized her own pantry, she learned that her neighbors had helped establish a community composting initiative in her condominium complex. Local grocery stores and farmers markets often have composting stations, too.

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A lot of people misunderstand what it means to be organized, so I thought that I would write about what it means to me.

WHAT DOES BEING ORGANIZED MEAN?
Never straighten-up again!

Many people misconstrue what being organized means … in fact, most people think of it as part of the “straightening up” process.

From our perspective, being organized means much more than just making things appear to be organized once in a while. It means having a system in place so that you never need to “straighten up.”

A well-thought-out system means that every piece of paper and every item on your desk, in your drawers, and in all of your living and working spaces has an assigned home. If you apply your organizing system to your everyday routine, then you will find that […]

Now that you know what organizing means, let me tell you why organizing ain’t cleaning.

It’s that time of the year when we think about organizing and cleaning, refreshing and reviving.

Many of my clients think that organizing and cleaning are the same and that we’re going to clean their space. Your space will look much cleaner when we’re done, but that is because it is organized and there is a home for everything. This list will show some of the differences between organizing and cleaning.

ORGANIZING

• De-clutter
• Decide what to keep, donate/recycle or toss
• Create systems, processes and order
• Create a sensible home for items either where they are going to be used or can be easily located
• Store like or similar items together
• May involve mopping, scrubbing, sweeping, dusting, etc. when […]