Get Organized in October

It's October!  I love October - the crisp air, falling leaves and Halloween! 

This past month, I organized my garage with pegboard, started decorating for fall, and updated the storage in our bathroom. 

Here are the tasks I am still working on from prior months:

May 8 - Shoe Parking! Many families take shoes off at the door to avoid tracking outside dirt into the house and onto carpets. A bench with a handy shoe rack makes it easy for family and guests to stop and remove shoes before going further into the house. (Still working on this one - I'm really having a hard time finding the right space and storage solution.)

May 17 - Open that mail right over the recycle bin. Handling mail sometimes leads to stacks here and stacks there. So when you bring it into the house, sort it immediately. Shred anything that has personal information on it and recycle the rest. Keep any bills or important mail in a separate file. (Still working on this one - Patrick & I bought a new desk for the office so I need to find a mail organizer.)

June 17 - Create a kitchen annex. Store seldom used appliances and serving pieces together in a closet. If you don't use it regularly, it shouldn't be taking up valuable real estate in the kitchen. (Working on this one - Patrick's brother Eric built us some shelving units for the basement so I have been slowly moving some kitchen items downstairs.  I still have a few cabinets to clear out.)

June 26 - Clean out your old makeup in your cosmetic drawer. There are items that should be replaced frequently, such as mascara. It should be replaced every 3 months for safety sake. (Done!  I need to write a post about some new makeup finds.)

July 8 - Straighten up your garage as much as possible. Then sweep it. (Working on this one - I put up the pegboard but still need to straighten up and sweep.)

July 17 - Thoroughly clean the kitchen sink. Clean in and around the drains. Use a brush to scrub around the faucet and sprayer. (Any good tips on this?)

Aug 11 - Wash down outside patio, driveway or decks after sweeping. (Will do in conjunction with the garage cleaning.)

Aug 18 - After clearing off the top of your refrigerator, dust and clean the top. Consider finding other locations for items or discard everything!  (Done!  Cleared off and put up some fall decor.)

Sept 4 - Wipe your kitchen cabinets clean. Start from the top of each cabinet and work down.

Sept 15 - The days are getting shorter and soon much colder. Time to assemble your shoes deciding what shoes or sandals are good to keep or let go.

Sept 20 - Organize your baking supplies. Keep all your food products used for baking together. Give them a spot in your kitchen that is close to where you prepare such foods. Clean and dry your canisters before replacing with flour, sugar, etc.

Sept 25 - Make a list of all food/household items you normally use on a regular basis. Post this list on the inside of a kitchen cupboard. When you are making your shopping list, you can reference this list of necessities.



Here is what I have on my list for October:

 

 

Oct 10 - Do a quick scan of your refrigerator.  Remove any containers of unused food and recycle/wash the container.  Open your vegetable and fruit refrigerator drawers and remove any old, unusable food

Oct 17 - Start decorating the inside of your house with fall decorations.

Oct 25 - Start preparing a 20-day meal rotation plan.  Gather ideas from each family member and come up with 20 different dinner time meals that can be used on a rotating basis.  Then make a grocery list based on the first 5 meals.

As always, the full list of tasks can be found on the Get Organized Now website. 

Wish me luck!  This will be a busy month with Halloween - Patrick & I already have big costume and decoration plans.  Eeek!



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