In this, our first blog post of 2010, we offer up a Top Ten list of things to keep in mind when organizing your home or office.

1. Know your goal – Write out the idea situation for your home. This is a no-holds-barred exercise. Don’t filter your thoughts, just write it down.
2. Work with the people around you – Your new system won’t work unless you and the people around you all commit to living within it. If part of it doesn’t work for one person, it won’t work for anyone. Collaborate until you find something that works.
3. Be creative in storage solutions – Don’t discount anything unless it is outside of your parameters. There is always time to change it once it has been implemented, but if you never implement it you will never really know its benefits and drawbacks.
4. Know your options – Just because all you have is one closet doesn’t mean that’s the only option. Using creative containers, multi-functional furniture, or services like StorPod can drastically increase your storage potential.
5. Don’t keep everything – While everything you own has value, it doesn’t mean that you have to keep it forever. If you haven’t looked at that book you bought three years ago, chances are you won’t look at it ever. Sell it on eBay or give it away and go to the library if you change your mind later.
6. Know how much space you need – Just because you have a lot of space doesn’t mean you need it. If you find that you can live in a smaller space, you can make money by becoming a StorPod landlord. If you think you need more space, you can move or become a StorPod tenant.
7. Know your values – Just because that clock is old and broken doesn’t mean it is worthless. If it is valuable to you because it reminds you of a life lesson, then keep it. But if you didn’t take the time realize that life lesson means something to you, you might regret throwing that clock away later.
8. Use what you have – Focusing more time and effort on organization doesn’t have to mean expensive storage solutions or built-ins. Use the resources you have available to you to make things work. If you have empty pots in the backyard from the flowers that died a few weeks ago, clean them out and use them as pencil holders.
9. Ask for help – Just because you’re out of ideas doesn’t mean that your project failed. Ask friends, families, or companies for help in organizing your home.
10. Don’t change it too often – One key principle for any system is that it has to be predictable to work. If you change your organizational strategy every week, you will find that you are never actually organized. Once you choose a strategy, try it out for a few months. Take notes on what you like and what you don’t like, and at the end of the three months make any necessary changes at one time.