Well now that 2006 is over, what's going to make 2007 better?

Well for starters, get organized! My wife and I have been in our new house since the first of May 2006 and haven't really settled in yet (a newborn can get in the way of that sometimes :) Anyway, we decided that we would de-clutter, organize, and start the new year off right. Here are a few things that have made our life easier and hope you can use them too!

• 
  Put all dry foods (cereal, pasta, flour, wheat, etc) in SnapWare containers. They are clear plastic and make your pantry look great and keep foods fresh. They come in four different sizes and you can get them at Target or Kroger.
  
• Bought a wire storage hanger for the pantry door to store all spices, sauce mix packets, and other small items.
  
• Bought a variety of sizes in wicker baskets to place around the house for storage (Kitchen, pantry, bonus room, etc.). It gives each area of the specific room a clean look and feel, plus your “stuff” is organized.
  
• Used a label maker and started label all SnapWare containers, storage bins for Christmas, Halloween, Easter, etc.). We got it as a gift and have loved every minute of it. You can get these at target for $19.99
  
• Bought plastic shoe storage bins for the garage to organize all chemicals, lawn fertilizers, cleaning supplies, and more.
  
• Use a cloth (or plastic) shoe hanger for your closet and store things such as hats, scarves, board games, etc.
  
• One thing we did was to use all those “missing socks” without a mate as a cleaning rag. Now they have a use!

Start with one room at a time and do these things, otherwise you’ll get overwhelmed, trust me on this one!

Go through each room with large garbage bags and start pulling out everything you haven’t used in 2 years and throw it in the bag. As I’ve heard before, if you haven’t used it in 2 years, get rid of it.

We also added hooks (color coordinated) for some of the doors for hanging things such as kid’s towels, bath robes, and coats.

I hope this info helps and you can start the New Year off organized!