Spring Cleaning blossoms with the colors of organization

An organized home has unlimited benefits. Clutter-free homes save time as items are quickly accessible without having to search. The emotional advantages are proven too: A tidy home helps clear the mind for mental receptivity and greater inner calm.

Putting off clearing the clutter that has accumulated over the past year? Plagued with the tedious task of finding a home for items stacked in the corners?

Many books detail these ideas, but they lack motivation and easy ideas to get the job done. Color motivates and makes stored items quick and easy to identify.

Sure, place Christmas decorations in red bins and Halloween scaries in orange, but expand beyond the obvious and use traditional-color associations to have items organized and festive all year long.

Take a tip from nature, as red flowers pop out of the Earth and say, “Get started!” with their assertive presence. Red commands attention to spring into action. Download favorite invigorating “red” music into your iPod to get your motor running. Put on a red shirt and rock your way through getting organized.

I’ve studied the meaning of colors and their influence on the body and emotions for more than 20 years. I’ve presented color workshops worldwide and taught color classes for many professional design associations, such as American Society of Interior Designers. I am an expert on color, design and home organization and can offer many motivating ideas to colorfully get your home or office in order.

For example:

• Store all your active items, such as exercise mats, hand weights, balancing ball, sports equipment, bike shorts and exercise bands in red containers. Find a red sports band or bandana to help motivate exercise, too.
• Items for arts and crafts, paints and brushes, glue, house-fixing tools, picture hooks, hammers and extra cleaning supplies are best stored or labeled in orange, the color of creativity and physical appreciation.
• The other colors of Spring, such as yellow, green, blue and violet, have traditional representations (handed down through time since ancient Egypt) and can make clearing clutter and staying organized fun.

Here’s an easy, healthy organizing tip: By assigning one of the seven rainbow colors for each day, I even organize my vitamins in colored, clear-plastic boxes that look like jewels to remember to take them! It also saves so much time by not having to open up the bottles every day.