Decluttering and Organizing When Your Family Is Not on Board

By Patricia Lee, Houzz Article Contributor

A professional organizer shares how to work toward a tidy home as the sole enthusiast in your home

If you’ve caught the urge to declutter and organize, it can be challenging if your family members aren’t on board. After all, how can you declutter a whole house when your partner or children won’t participate and their belongings are part of the clutter? Actually, there are plenty of steps that you can take even as the sole member of your household interested in decluttering and organizing. Here are my five tips for creating an organized space and way of life for yourself, even when your family isn’t up for the challenge.

How to Get Your Papers Organized Before Tax Time

By Patricia Lee, Houzz Article Contributor

A professional organizer offers a manageable plan for tackling those paper piles now to make April a little easier

As the new year rolls in, so do tax documents and year-end financial statements. What do you do with these documents? If you stack them along with other papers you’ve collected over the year — and vow to be more organized next tax season — you’re not alone.

That said, now is a great time to start chipping away at your paper piles so it will be easier to find what you need when you’re ready to file. And then you can set up a system to make next year’s tax season less daunting.

Set Up a Paper Management System in 5 Easy Steps

By Jeanne Taylor, Houzz Article Contributor

Invest a few hours in creating a simple system to help keep paper clutter under control

Many of my clients struggle to eliminate paper clutter in their homes. Often, kitchen countertops become drop zones for mail, receipts, coupons, brochures, meeting notes, political ads, school forms and real estate flyers. As a professional home organizer, I recommend implementing a simple paper management system to organize incoming paper and help keep the flat surfaces in your home tidy.

7 Small Tasks for January Decluttering and Organizing

By Jeanne Taylor, Houzz Article Contributor

Get moving on your New Year’s resolutions by cleaning up these often neglected areas at home

If decluttering and organizing is on your New Year’s resolutions list, you might start visualizing your goal by saving photos of your favorite organized spaces to a Houzz ideabook. But at some point, you’ve got to go from dreaming to taking action. As a professional organizer, I recommend that you begin with tasks that take only an hour or two to complete.

Tackling smaller areas of your home can give you a sense of accomplishment that motivates you to continue organizing. Here are seven often-neglected areas that can be great places to start. Depending on the time you have, you may be able to get through several of these tasks this month.