GUEST POST: 5 Tips to Get Organized on a Budget

January is Get Organized month, created by the NAPO, which calls it GO Month. GO Month is designed to help people who have made a New Year’s resolution to, well, get more organized.

Since many people may be interested in getting information on getting organized this month, I turned to my friend Janine Adams, a Certified Professional Organizer and owner of Peace of Mind Organizing in St. Louis, Missouri, for today’s guest post on getting organized on a budget.

Getting organized not only makes your life easier, it can save you money. When you get your act together, you can shop wisely, easily use coupons, avoid late fees and avoid buying duplicates of items you already own but can’t find.

If you’re on a budget, you may not be in a position to hire a professional organizer like me to help you. But there are lots of ways to save money going the DIY route. Here are 5 tips to get organized on a budget:

1. Don’t buy containers until after you’ve weeded out your things. Buying organizing products is one of the most fun parts of the organizing process. But if you buy before you weed, you might buy stuff you don’t need or can’t use well. Wait until after you see what you need to store before shopping for storage solutions.
2. Repurpose what you already have. You don’t have to drop a load of money at the Container Store (though I’ll admit it’s my favorite store). You can use everyday items you might already have in your home. For example, checkbook boxes make great drawer dividers. Stadium cups inside a shoe (or other) box can make a great divided container. You can cut manila file folders so that they’re just wider than the tab and use them to divide categories of greeting cards you might buy in advance (on sale). No need for a fancy card organizer.
3. Get a clutter buddy. It can be much easier to go through the decluttering and organizing process if you have someone’s help rather than going it alone. Perhaps you can swap services with your clutter buddy and help with his or her organizing challenges. Just be careful who you pick: make sure your clutter buddy is nonjudgmental, empathetic and not bossy. Warning: family members are often tricky clutter buddies because of all the emotional baggage that comes with the relationship.
4. Understand that being organized is all about creating habits and routines–and that’s free. Once you’ve decluttered and set up organizing systems, staying organized is a matter of creating great habits. The free websites, Don’t Break the Chain and Habitforge both provide a great way for you to track and get accountability for the habits you’re trying to create.
5. Itemize your donations. If you itemize your taxes, keep track of what goes into your donation box, including the fair market value of the item. A simple way to do that is just to keep a clipboard and pad in the box. You might be surprised how your donations can add up. Goodwill offers a Donation Value Guide to help you determine the fair market value of donated items.

For more information on Janine’s unique take on organizing, please visit her site Peace of Mind Organizing.

Photo Credit: Worakit Sirijinda / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Tags: getting organized, GO Month, NAPO, National Association of Professional Organizers