Could you function without your favorite....(insert favorite item here)?
I have two favorite cups that I use everyday. I use a cup at night and another cup in the morning. Everyday its the same 2 cups. The cup I use at night is a tacky souvenir cup. Its so ugly! But it has a giant handle making it easy to handle in the middle of the night, its the right size holding 4 cups of water and is very lightweight. Its just enough water to get me through the night and I don't have to refill.
My morning cup holds hot tea. Its bigger than most coffee cups and holds the exact amount of tea that I want to drink in the morning. It to is the perfect size, weight, has a nice design and keeps my tea hot.
Since I use these 2 cups I don't need to use so many other glasses, cups or mugs. I have a preference. Knowing what you really like helps you make decisions about what you want to keep and what you want to get rid of when organizing. Remind yourself about your favorite things when you are being enticed by shopping for the latest and greatest.

Kitchen appliances and equipment can take over your kitchen! It is a challenge to keep it all organized. Some items you use everyday, once a week, once a month or even once a year. They can be big and bulky or small with a million parts and pieces.
We purchase items sometimes thinking we are going make fresh pasta everyday, dried fruit, soy milk or even yogurt. If you do this everyday...great! You are getting your moneys worth, and making these items work for you in your space. But if you don't use these items its better to store them elsewhere.
Store these items in lower cabinets, or on shelves away from your immediate cooking area. Some kitchens have a few oddly huge lower corner cabinets that are a little harder to get to. These spaces are great for storing the "not so often" used items.
Appliances, entertaining pieces, and specialty cooking items fall into this category.
It is important to keep your services clear so you can prepare a meal and clean up easily.

Who loves a good barbecue? How about one with easy clean up? Grilling is lot of fun but it can get a little messy. An easy organizing trick for prepping and transporting your food to the grill is using Ziploc Gallon sized storage bags. We marinate chicken and veggies all in separate bags then put on the grill and toss the bags. Easy cleanup and no extra dishes to wash!

Not all home organization gets custom closets, sturdy plastic storage bins and shelving. In a perfect world your items would be organized and stored perfectly in bins and stacked neatly. But in this economy its not always possible. So you have to make do with what is readily available and what is affordable. In some areas like garages, attics and basements areas can be affected by water, dust and dirt. So your items do need to be protected. I recommend organizing your home using white trash bags for storage. They are cheap and easy to protect your items. You can sort items into categories and label the outside with black magic marker. I see this is a temporary solution until you can get plastic storage bins. They will keep your belongings dry, free of dust and dirt until you can transfer to a plastic storage bin.

Its possible to organize your life with bags! Ziploc has come out with giant Ziploc bags to help you get organized in your home, office or car. The Big Bags can hold everything from clothes, electronics and toiletries. The Ziploc Flexible tote is cube shaped with zippers on the side which are great for stacking and storing seasonal items in the top of your closet, under the bed and even in the car. Sturdy paper bags such as gift bags or shopping bags are great for storing items on shelves. They can also add a pop of color.

Do you really want people to see your trash when selling your home? It's important to stay organized and continually empty your trash cans wherever they are visible. Don't let a trash can full of Kleenex spoil the home buyers vision. A quick way to keep your trash cans empty is to use small grocery bags as liners. Each day when you are heading out the door be sure to toss the bags. Drop the small bag into your kitchen trash, garbage chute or outdoor trash cans.

What do you do with 15 years of boxes? A friend of mine recently moved from a condo where she lived for 15 years. Shes living in an apartment temporarily and will soon be moving to a 4 bedroom home. A lot clothing and other household items were sent to storage because the apartment is smaller than her last place. She spent many hours organizing everything for the move and lives with essentials and cherished memorabilia. Realizing that she has not missed anything from the boxes in storage is now happy to report that nothing will not be coming to the new home unless it can prove itself worthy enough to come inside.