Five fundamentals of organizing

Professional organizer Rachel Strisik shares five organizing fundamentals:

It's better to take it slow.

"People will say, 'I want to organize my entire bedroom,' but that's overwhelming, and it can derail you from the entire process," says Strisik. Instead, write down the steps of your project first. "Looking at chunks is more manageable, less overwhelming and more likely to get done."

There is a difference between being neat and being organized.

Organizing is not just about getting bins; that is a big misconception. Neat is stacking items and putting things away. Organizing is having homes for items so you can find them when you need them.

"Organizing is the next step that will allow you to spend time on the things you want to spend time on rather than wasting time looking for X," Strisik says. "It's unrealistic to think your house will look neat all the time, especially if you have children. But it can always be organized."

Off-site storage should be a last resort.

Looks matter.

If you like the color blue or flowers, spend the extra 50 cents to get blue files or the ones with flowers because you're more likely to use them.

Remember that organizing is not a one-time event.

There's maintenance, too. Organizing works only if you continue to sort, group, file and discard as new items come into your home. "The first time might be the hardest," Strisik says about organizing, "but the next time is just maintaining what you've already accomplished."

Strisik shares some of her favorite organizational items:

• TBS blue file cabinet, $159 at www.cb2.com.

Write Side Up storage bin, $29 at www.landofnod.com.

• Bamboo dry-erase channel panel, $70 at ww.seejanework.com.