Get ORGanized Week is the best week of the year to streamline your life, create more time and lower your stress. And, who couldn’t benefit from one of those? Americans are becoming busier than ever and the stress of today’s lifestyle is leaving a permanent mark on our families. How can we loosen our tight shoulder muscles, take a deep breath and make a difference in our day?

Although experts in the organizing industry agree: there are no simple solutions, adding a dollop of organization to peoples’ lives has been shown to relieve much of this stress.

First, determine an area in which you want to improve. Maybe you would like to clear a spot in your garage to park your car - a good thing to do this time of year, or maximize the storage space in your closet. (Is that really a barbell in the back of your closet?) Once you have decided on an area to organize, be sure to set aside a segment of time – maybe just a long morning at first, to take a look at your project and determine a plan.

When an area of your life or home needs to be organized, usually it can be accomplished one bite at a time. But where do I start? Here are a few tips from your local ORG™ dealer, Kitchen and Closet Design, to get you started on winning back your garage storage space:

1.    Completely empty out the garage. Plan for a Saturday that you are expecting good weather and bring together as many helping hands as you can to lift and tote your belongings around. Have several garbage cans, lined and ready to go for step 2.

2.    Sort your Stuff. Sort your things into three categories: keep and restore; give away or sell; throw away. Contact a local charity to arrange for pickup of your give away items on Monday morning. Use the lined garbage cans for the throw away items.

3.    Organize similar items into groups. Move all the “keep and restore” items into groups, placing all sports equipment, tools, gardening equipment, auto supplies and painting supplies together in groups. If you are placing them in boxes, use clear plastic boxes or use stick-on labels and a permanent black marker. Make sure that wherever you store them, you know what is in each container.
4.    Install a new organizing storage system that will allow you to take advantage of every bit of space. Don’t forget the walls. They can do more than hold up the roof. Plan to use your garage walls to hold the tools that you use most often or the tools that are oversized and awkward to store such as garden hoses, shovels, rakes and even your wheelbarrow.

Founded in 1987, ORG™ dealers provide custom storage organizing systems for closets, garage, home office, pantry and wallbed systems. ORG™ is sold through and installed by custom storage dealers, utilizing the patented Easy Track system. Contact, Kitchen and Closet Design, 7 South Main Street, Burnsville, North Carolina, 828-678-9641.