Did you know clutter drains you of positive energy? You can actually feel it.   Learning to let go of clutter can be hard since it can remind you of important time in your life. Learning when to let go is just as important. Here are a few things you can do to declutter your home: Place it in boxes and set it aside until you are ready to completely let go. Ask your friends and family for help. An outsider's perspective may be what you need when you are tackling this tough situation. Take breaks often. Sorting through items that you have emotional attachments to can be draining and exhausting. Don't get discouraged, take a few breaks often and work in short periods. It takes time to get rid of clutter and move into a more organized state. Don't let obstacles take away your forward momentum to clear your space of clutter. Remember by getting rid of the clutter, you can fill your home with the positive energy through organization!

We know you all are busy getting everything cleaned up from visiting guests, traveling, or decorating for Christmas, but we want to remind you of 2 of our past posts (Garage Organization to Start the Fall and 4 Organization Tips to Help You Through the Holidays).   The gist of both blog posts is that with a little organization, you can save time and money and be a little less stressed by taking some steps to clear clutter out of your home - no matter where the clutter is.   If you need help to get some of this done, you can always call Carolina Closets for a free consultation. We do anything from closets to pantries to garages, even entertainment centers and laundry rooms. And since the holidays are just around the corner, you could always surprise a loved one with a gift that keeps on giving all year round.

The change of seasons not only means the vibrant colors and scents of fall and gearing up for holiday gatherings and Christmas shopping, but a changing of gears to get back into a more hectic lifestyle rather than fun in the sun. Though this is a challenge for almost everyone, we are offering some tips to help get you back in the swing of things. Plan it: Make a schedule and stick to it the best you can. If you have kids, list their activities, time, and location. You can include chores, school projects, and dinner menus. You can buy a simple calendar or whiteboard, create a colored chart (a la Martha Stewart), or share a Google calendar. Stop the lost and found: As the colder weather creeps in, sports equipment, backpacks, and coats start to take up valuable space. Closet organizers can help avoid last minute rushing around. Logical, easy to access space for storage is a great first step in being organized. (And don't forget, being organized saves time, money, and causes less stress - all of which we need as the holiday season comes around.) Prepare: One of the best ways to be organized is to prepare for the hustle and bustle of the fast approaching holiday season. It can be as simple as cleaning or reorganizing a space to work better for your needs. Take 10: No, this is not a break, though it will help life move smoother. Each evening, the entire family takes 10 minutes to prepare for the next day. This can include putting out clothes, packing school bags or lunch, or anything that will take time away from your morning. By doing this you can send each family member out of the house more relaxed and ready for the day. If you take some time to organize your life, you have more time to enjoy the fun that fall and winter seasons bring. Though we can't organize your family routine, Carolina Closets can help you take steps to organize your closets, pantry, garage, or mudroom using closet systems that work for your individual needs. We even do custom closet design for the client who wants 100% individualized style.

For many families, the end of summer means it's time to put away items like camping equipment and gardening tools. And if you plan to pile these items around your garage, you are not alone. In a recent consumer poll, 62% said the garage storage is the main area they would like to resolve. Other studies show homeowners rate the garage as the most disorganized place in the house that is used regularly. The disorganization not only aggravates homeowners, but can risk injury and damage to your car with overstuffed garages. So whether your garage is slightly messy or stuffed to the rafters, the cool weather creeping in with fall creates the ideal time to give it a tune-up using these steps: PREP: As with any job, you need to put in some prep work. In this case, it means to come up with a plan and pace yourself. A little hard work now will pay great dividends once the job is complete. SORT: Pull everything out of the garage and set it in piles.  Categories like sporting equipment, tools, car care, lawn care, seasonal/holiday, and toys tend to work for most. DISPOSE: Get rid of "stuff." Throw away broken or expired items. Return borrowed items. Sell or donate duplicates and items that haven't been used in years. Be sure to recycle anything you can. CLEAN: Now I am not talking about white glove clean. It is a garage after all. But give it a good thorough cleaning, maybe even a fresh coat of paint, and wiping down gear will make you want to keep the space tidy. STORE: There are many options on the market for garage storage solutions. You can look into garage shelving, garage cabinets, or customized garage cabinets. (Carolina Closets can help you with all of your garage organization needs - even on a budget.) LABEL: Label containers with a Sharpie. This will keep items in the designated area. MAINTAIN: There is always that pesky upkeep. With a car, you have oil changes. With a garden, you have weeding and pest control. Just like those tasks, when you start to see clutter growing, take a little time to take care of it and always remember to put things back where you get them. We hope our tips help, but remember Carolina Closets is willing and able to help you organize your garage. Just like any part of your life, having an organized garage can help you save time, money, and reduce stress.

Home storage is necessary for every room of the house. With our hectic lifestyles, closet organization can help create a more organized home and organized life. Closets are a great place to start when it comes to organization. We've talked about how organization can save you money and how organization can reduce stress. But organization can help make your life easier. By expanding organization techniques to the pantry, entertainment center, or the home office, you can save time. And we all know, time is money. Carolina Closets works in all rooms of the house. From the garage to the kitchen and pantry, to kid's rooms and entertainment areas, even the home office, Carolina Closets listens to you to understand your needs and wants. This way we can create the organized space you want and need.

As your child grows from infant to teen, his room will change to serve different functions and appeal to evolving tastes. So the scheme you choose for the kid's room should be flexible to allow you to make small changes from cot to college. Here are some tips to make it a bit easier on you. Color: Paint the walls a color that can be adapted to many styles and themes. Favorite colors can be used in bedding and accessories so they are easy to change later. You can always use wall decals too; they add interest without a huge commitment. Lighting: Think about a dimmer switch to accommodate for a late night feedings and play or study time as the child gets older. Furniture: Start by purchasing neutral, good quality pieces of key furniture that can transition from nursery to guest room (after the kids are gone, of course). A lot of people will tell you to go with white furniture since it can evolve with the child's room. Storage: Of course we are going to talk about storage for kid's rooms! We are storage people after all! Storage is an essential element to consider when decorating any room, but especially a child's room. Versatility in storage is a must. From book shelves to encourage reading to bins that help keep toys out of the floor - those are simple things you can handle. For kid's closets on the other hand, sometimes a professional touch is needed to allow for changes in clothing sizes and space configuration. We aren't color or lighting experts, but we do know about planning because that is all organization is. Carolina Closets is here to help you with your storage needs for your wee tiny ones to your teens. We create storage for kids' rooms that can grow with your child for many years to come. Call us today for your free consultation!

Taking time to organize your pantry may not be a priority, but you should consider it. It is a great way to end clutter and save money! (Organizing always involves saving money.) If you take the time to get a good organizational system going in the pantry, you can keep track of pantry supplies, avoid over purchasing of products or know when to replenish your stock, and keep fresh spices handy.   So if multiple open boxes of pasta or rice and jars of clumped spices sound familiar, try some of these tips to help purge that pantry. Purge - Take everything out of your pantry and sort into items used daily, items used less frequently, items to be donated, and items to be trashed. (To find a local food bank, check feedingamerica.org). If you do have some FRESHLY OPENED bread tied bags of rice or open boxes of pasta, you can place them in re-sealable containers to keep them fresh and keep the bugs at bay (plastic containers, mason jars, etc.) . Make sure to label them - contents and date! Scrub - Now that there is nothing in the pantry, clean it up. Wipe down the shelves; buy extra containers or organizers to corral spice jars, etc. Restock - Now it's time to refill the pantry in an organized fashion. For example put baking items in one section and breakfast items in another. Keep kids snacks in one area so they don't make a mess on the other shelves searching for fruit cups or packs of crackers. Put heavy things on the bottom shelf (this could save a few toes). Put daily used items at eye level so you can find them easily and know when you are running low. With these tips you can have a pantry that is more functional and saves you money.  But maybe you don't have time to do all of this yourself. Though Carolina Closets can't help you stock your pantry, they can meet with you to discuss your needs and help create an organized pantry. Call today for a FREE consultation!

After a hard day’s work, does going home give you a sense of tranquility?   Several studies and polls have shown that stress can come from everyday things – like sitting in a messy room. Elizabeth Scott, a wellness coach says, “Living in a cluttered home can create constant low-grade stress and subtly but steadily drain your energy.” So in order to gain some peace and tranquility, you should try to keep an organized living space free of clutter.   The main problem with this is getting is organized in the first place. Most people tackle the whole house. What you should really do make a plan to prevent you from becoming overwhelmed. For example, it may be beneficial to tackle your child’s room first – maybe the kid’s closet or the mountains of toys. You may want to do your closet first to make your clothes more accessible (or to buy more!).   Here are some ways getting organized can reduce stress: Kid’s Room: Kids won’t be stuck looking for clothes and possibly make you late to work! Closet: You will be able to find your clothes with much more ease. You might even find some clothes that you forgot you bought. Pantry: With some organization, you can get more into your pantry and also see what you have so you don’t buy duplicates.   Carolina Closets can’t help with the stressful daily commute or the screaming kids, but we can help get your home closets, garage, pantry organized to help create that peaceful area that you have been craving. Call us today for a free consultation!

Garages tend to be the catch-all of the house especially for things that won't fit in home closets. After a while your garage is swamped and you have to climb over boxes of unused cookware or the juicer that was used twice just to get to your golf clubs! If your garage is so full of unorganized messes that you can't get your car parked, it's time to reclaim this space with some professional garage storage solutions by Carolina Closets. Garage Storage Trends Behind closed doors - Open shelving is common in many garages, but more and more home owners are moving to garage storage systems with doors, cabinets, hooks, and drawers for ultimate organization. Specialty Garage Storage - The garage is the perfect place for items such as bikes, tools, golf clubs, fishing rods, and other recreational equipment. If you have it, there is a way to store it. Did you know that there are specialized racks to hang your bicycles so they are no longer under foot? Garage Organization Tips from Carolina Closet Give your garage a thorough cleaning. (You might even want to hold a garage sale to make a little extra money, but you could always drop of items that still have life to local thrift stores.) Look at the garage space and think of the ways you would like to use it. Do you need a recycling center, a workbench, or maybe a gardening bench? Call Carolina Closets to schedule a free in home consultation for one of the many home storage solutions Carolina Closets has to offer. Carolina Closets has many budget friendly options! Check out our garage storage special while it lasts!  

Is your car parked in the driveway because there is no room in the garage? If so, maybe you could use a few tips for organizing your garage. In honor of our garage storage special, we thought we would offer a little help. “Safety Third” (a little tip of the hat to Mike Rowe from Dirty Jobs - Learn more about Safety Third) Store hazardous materials in original containers and put them on a high shelf or in locked garage cabinets to keep out of the hands and mouths of kids and pets. Ladders left leaning up against a wall can be a real hazard too. They can fall, damaging your car or injuring a loved one. Lean it against the wall horizontally at floor level, or look into a garage wall storage system. (It works great for rakes and brooms too.) Keep it Clean Junk on the floor? Get it up and stored properly or get it out! For example, scattered kids’ toys cause tripping hazards for adults and health hazards for kids especially if they are in a location the child cannot easily reach or near hazardous chemicals. Use bins to help clear garage clutter. Gardening tools should be stored vertically on hooks on the wall storage system so you can get to them when you need them. Soak up spills with cat litter or sawdust. If it’s already soaked in, try oven cleaner. It needs to soak for 15 minutes, then scrub! Look into install matting or rubber tiles. Not only do they look great, but they can extend the life of concrete floors. It's easy to control clutter if you remember that the four walls are four more floors. With the right garage cabinets and shelves, you can actually quadruple your storage space. Call or fill out Carolina Closets' contact form to get your free estimate today!