I’m headed to a cottage next week to refresh, recharge, and renew my commitment to an organized life and home.
There’s something about spending time outside of your own four walls that can energize you to “clean up your life” — literally. Hotels are always excellent sources of inspiration for how we can make our own homes more streamlined and less clutter-filled. But, I also love to browse the web for great tips and expert tricks.
I’ve compiled some of the web’s most inspiring sites to get your de-cluttering juices flowing. When I'm looking to sneak a peek at some delicious time wasting, these are the sites I visit: consider this your porn of choice, fellow A-Types:
1. Unclutterer is a great site for nearly-daily tips and tricks on staying organized: you’ll find everything from how to take notes more effectively to a WHOLE SECTION on clearing up cable clutter. Its magic.
2. Peter Walsh is an expert in organizational design, a television and radio personality as well as the author of numerous New York Times bestsellers. He's a celebrity organizer worth getting to know — as the go-to-guy for bigwigs like Oprah and Rachel Ray. I don't so much love his site, but the kinds of practical advice he gives, like these 10 Tips to De-Clutter Your Home.
3. Every Christmas my mom, my sister, and I like to go through magazines and play “The Shopping Game.” This consists of pretending we’re the Rockafellers and buying one thing on each page of the magazine with our imaginary limitless bank accounts. If you want to play your own version of “The Shopping Game,” then check out some of the traditional organizing hot-spots; browse sites like Ikea, The Container Store, and California Closets to catch of glimpse of the “stuff” you need, want, and covet.
[BE PREPARED TO WIPE YOUR OWN DROOL FROM YOUR LIP]
4. Pinterest is obviously a quagmire of amazing inspiration — from do it yourself “quick tips” to large scale projects that require significant time (AND BUDGETS). Just search "Organization" or a derivative-of, and enjoy giving yourself a stiff neck after hours on this most wonderful of time-sucks.
5. Apartment Therapy is just a fantastic place to lose hours of your life. This is obviously a design-focused site, is chock-full of awesome organization tips and DIY projects, like this amazing magnetic entryway organizer. Sexy, yes?
6. For those who have a tough time purging, check out the inspiration that is Becoming Minimalist. With inspirational quotes like “once we realize we already own enough, we are freed to pursue more worthy endeavors than the accumulation of excess” on this site, you’ll want to toss all your extras and live with less.
It’s great to take some time away from your home this summer. Reflection is always a good thing — especially when you’re looking to tackle the daily grind of the “stuff” that gets in your way at home. With this kind of "porn" you won't need to close your laptop to passerbys — in fact, you might even spread the organizing fever.
If you love getting inspired by hotel rooms, check out this poaching-post. If summer hasn’t yet made its way to your closet, use this check list to swap sweaters for swimsuits.
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