By Lori Martin, Owner of The Art of Order

There’s a reason why we view spring as a time of rebirth ─ it’s when we crawl out of our winter cocoons to see flowers blooming, grass growing, and baseball playing ─ but it also can be a time when we realize we haven’t organized our kitchens and closets for a long time, and they’ve started to look like an episode of “Hoarders.”

I know that it’s tempting to want to go out and enjoy the great weather and forget about getting your closets and kitchens organized. After all, it probably seems like a daunting task, and if you’re like most people, you’ll say you’ll get to it eventually. But, you know that the days and weeks will drag on, and pretty soon, summer will come, and then you really won’t want to stay indoors to organize your kitchen or closets. But what if I told you that there are cost-effective, quick ways to get your kitchen or closet organized and set up just the way you want? I’d bet you’d do it immediately.

Let’s Start With Your Kitchen

The most important thing to remember when you’re organizing your kitchen is that you should set things up to fit your daily needs. You don’t want to have to search through drawers and cabinets for pots, pans, and utensils.
If you follow these simple tips, you’ll get rid of the clutter and keep your kitchen organized.

• Empty your kitchen cabinets and get rid of items you don’t even remember owning and never use. Put them aside to give away or donate.
• Organize your kitchen items by how often you use them. Put the dishes you use every day on a lower shelf and your “good” dishes on a higher shelf.

• Place your cooking items near the stove. Store pots and pans within easy reach of your range.
• Try to hang your pots and pans. Make them easily accessible and conserve space at the same time.
• Install sliding shelf organizers. You’ll be able to find kitchen items you frequently use more quickly.

Now Let’s Organize Your Closets

If you follow these tips, you’ll be able to quickly and easily organize your closets in just a few easy steps.

• Purge your clothes. Go through your wardrobe and figure out what you wear and want to keep. If you haven’t worn an item in a year, if it’s in bad condition, or if it doesn’t fit anymore, consider donating it. Be ruthless!
• Hang your clothes in a natural order. Hang blouses together, pants, and jackets together, so you can easily find them.
• Place your folded sweaters on shelves. Try not to hang sweaters on hangers because they’ll stretch out of shape. Put lighter sweaters on top of heavier items. Arrange sweaters by use and color.
• Hang your accessories on the inside of the closet door. Use hooks or racks to store your ties, belts, scarves, and bags.
• Store your shoes so you can find them. Put shoes you use frequently in a floor shoe rack, see-through plastic boxes, or a hanging shoe organizer. Place other shoes in another closet or on a high shelf.

Now, that was easy, wasn’t it? If you follow my simple tips, you’re sure to have your kitchen and closets organized quickly ─ and you’ll be out enjoying the Spring weather in no time at all.