Use storage hacks for a more organized home — and chill family life.

It’s a given. When your kids go back to school, your schedule and family life get more hectic. But you can prep for the school year crush by fine-tuning how you organize your home, including storage and space use. Here are some ingenious but simple storage hacks for getting an organized home that will make going back to school easier.

#1 Organize Your Kids’ Bedroom Closets and Drawers

Help your kids get dressed in the morning by organizing their clothes. Arrange the clothes in see-through bins and on hangers so they can find what they want to wear and get dressed in a hurry. That way, your child won’t waste valuable time rummaging around for matching socks or their favorite shirt.

Pro tip: Label the drawers, bins, and closet organizers with the type of clothing that goes in them. If your child knows which drawer is for socks and which bin is for T-shirts, they can stash their clothes in the right places so an organized closet will stay that way.

#2 Add Places to Store Books

Make sure your child has a place to store textbooks, library books, and their own books. Install shelves that are low enough for them to reach. If they already have shelves in their rooms, organize them just like you did their closet so they can find the books they need, fast. You don’t want them to miss the bus because they’re looking for their math book.

Pro tip: Put library books in a separate bin on a low shelf so your child remembers to return them on time.

#3 Create a Dedicated Space for Homework

Create a homework station where your children can study and work on their book reports. For younger kids who need parental supervision, set up a space in the kitchen or living area so you can make sure they stay on task. For older ones who can manage homework without Mom and Dad, set up a study space in their rooms. Make sure they have a table or desk, a comfy chair, bins to organize school supplies, good lighting, and no distractions.

Pro tip: Keep phones and video games away from the study space (easier said than done).

#4 Set Up an Organized Drop Zone in Your Entryway

You know the drill. Your kids come home from school and throw everything from backpacks to sneakers on the floor when they step in the door. To keep your entryway from looking like a tornado went through, turn it into an organized drop zone. Create storage space for backpacks, shoes, sports equipment, hats, coats, and other gear. Put up cubbies for shoes, shelves for books, and hooks for jackets, backpacks, and tote bags. You’ll declutter the space and ramp up efficiency.

Pro tip: Put baskets or bins on the floor or on low shelves by the entrance to catch the socks, toys, papers, and other paraphernalia that doesn’t make it onto a hanger or into a cubby.

#5 Create a Back-to-School Communications Command Center

That’s a fancy way of saying you need a space where you can coordinate class and work schedules, homework assignments, school activities, and reading lists. The center can be as simple as a calendar and whiteboard on a kitchen wall. Or you can make it more functional by adding hanging bins for folders, a message board, or a small table or desk where you can put an inbox, a bill holder, and a supply of envelopes and pens.

Pro tip: Get a large whiteboard with a calendar template that lets you customize each month and write down all your school-related appointments in one place.

#6 Get the Kids’ Bathrooms in Order

Make it easier for your kids to get out the door in the morning by arranging their bathroom for maximum efficiency. Sort their bathroom essentials by category — toothbrushes, hairbrushes, towels, shampoos, and soaps. Organize them in cabinets, drawers, or bins. You want to make items easy to find so your kids can brush their teeth and hair and wash their face fast.

Pro tip: Help younger children stay organized by labeling storage areas with the type of grooming supplies they hold, like “Hair,” “Teeth,” and “Bath.”

#7 Set Up a Back-to-School Breakfast Station

Feeding children as they rush out the door to school is tough. Make it simpler by setting up a spot in the kitchen with easy-to-prepare food so your kids can eat on the run. Put out airtight containers of cereal, bowls, packets of instant oatmeal, and fruit in a basket. Make sure milk, yogurt, and other healthy breakfast foods are in easy reach in the fridge.

Pro tip: Use hotel breakfast bars as your inspo. Kids love picking their own meal from an array of food, so copy that look on the kitchen counter.

#8 Make a Snack Drawer

Kids are hungry when they come home from school. Set up an area where they can get their own snacks. Put bins in the fridge that have healthy snacks just for them. Think fruit, yogurt, string cheese, nuts, hummus and celery sticks, and cherry tomatoes. If you make healthy food as accessible and ready to eat as junk food, your kids might choose an apple instead of a bag of chips.

Pro tip: Use clear bins so the kids can see what’s in them and so you know when you’re running low on snacks.

A few back-to-school hiccups are probably inevitable. But with some simple hacks for an organized home, the transition can be a whole lot easier.

Crush the clutter challenge by finding creative ways to store your household’s sports equipment.

Meaghan Kessman is a mom of two active children with a house full of sports gear, whether it’s for lacrosse, volleyball, flag football, gymnastics, track, or even skateboards. It’s a lot to store, and Kessman, founder of Meaghan Kessman Home Organization in Los Angeles, knows she’s not alone. “Sports gear storage is a common challenge. It can quickly become overwhelming, especially for families with multiple kids in different activities.”

Even if you don’t have kids, storing sports equipment can be challenging. It’s bulky, and awkwardly shaped. And it often needs to be easily accessible, even while still out of sight.

Households are becoming stuffed with sports stuff. Studies show the average household spends $154 annually on equipment alone, amounting collectively to $30 billion to $40 billion per year spent on children’s sports activities. That’s more than the annual revenues of any professional league, according to the Aspen Institute.

The result? Closets and corners or garages crammed with helmets, rackets, and smelly, dirty shoes. Before you throw in the sweaty towel, try these decluttering tips and storage solutions for managing all that sports gear.

Sports Gear Checklist: How to Get Started

Like other decluttering projects, this one might seem overwhelming at first. Check off these steps to get on the right track.

• Take inventory: Do those cleats still fit? Are the tennis balls flat? Decide what to keep or toss, and consider frequency of use and whether items are in season or rarely used. “Depending on how important these items are in your household, [that] will define where and how much space is devoted to organizing and storing it,” says Barbara Brock, founder and CEO of Barbara Brock Inc., an organizing and staging company in New York City.
• Designate a spot: The garage, mudroom, basement, or closets are common storage areas. Garages work well because they can accommodate a large volume of sports gear, especially for outdoor sports, even if it’s dirty, says Audra George, CEO and owner at Pretty Neat: An Organizational Solution in Oklahoma City, Okla. Also, convenience matters: “The last thing you want to do when rushing to practice is to start looking for your gear,” adds professional organizer Liora Seltzer with What U Keep, LLC, in Bergen County, N.J.
• Check the sturdiness: “Sturdy is the name of the game for sports gear [storage],” Seltzer says. “Opt for shelving or bins that are durable and meant for heavy-duty use.”
• Assess the costs: Sports storage solutions for specific sports are plentiful, but they can be costly and sometimes take up too much space, especially if you need storage for multiple sports. Consider lower-cost options, like clear plastic bins and shelving, if accommodating multiple sports.

10 Sports Gear Storage Ideas to Declutter Your Home

Declutter your home by trying one or more of these 10 sports equipment storage ideas.

#1 Create a Sports Gear Storage System in the Garage

The garage offers a prime, grab-and-go spot — and a great place to hide stinky, dirty equipment. Consider installing a garage sports storage system, such as one with wall hooks or cabinets. Add a shoe rack to hold cleats or sports shoes, and a mini bench for taking shoes on and off in the garage. Cubbies and bins can contain balls, and wall hooks can be used to hang helmets, rackets or bats.

#2 Maximize Wall Space for Sports Gear

Wall-mounted racks and hooks allow you to keep items off the floor. “It’s a great way to store larger items like rackets, paddles, lacrosse sticks, and even skis,” Kessman says. Try these sports gear storage ideas:

• Shelves: Customize adjustable shelves to fit various sizes of equipment and to hold smaller, labeled bins or baskets.
• Pegboards: Hook helmets, gloves, bats, and more to a wall-mounted pegboard. Also, attach baskets to the pegboard for smaller gear.
• Hooks: Use wall hooks to hang longer vertical items, like bats and rackets.

#3 Sort Sports Gear into Bins and Baskets

Bins and baskets are versatile and can help you keep similar items together., They also make it easy to transport equipment, Kessman says. You can use plastic bins or five-gallon buckets to store balls, helmets, and smaller equipment. For bulky items, like hockey equipment, look for larger, vertical bins or rolling storage carts. Also, open bins are great for grab and go, but lidded bins stack well and can keep out bugs and dirt, George says.

#4 Designate a Closet for Sports Equipment Storage

Consider designating one closet in the house to sports equipment. Maximize a storage closet or linen closet by adding hooks to the back of a door, recommends Sarah Blevins, a design specialist at Villa, which specializes in accessory dwelling unit construction in California. Also, use adhesive wall hooks in the interior closet wall to hang rackets or even small mesh bags of lightweight sports gear. You also could use the closet bar to hang mesh bags full of gear. Store tall, narrow pieces vertically. Bins on the shelves can hold jerseys and game day clothes to make them easily accessible.

#5 Hide Sports Gear

When space is tight, take advantage of under-the-bed storage bins with wheels, Blevins suggests. “I would recommend investing in a wooden frame box with wheels. Soft side boxes tend to deform when overstuffed and can make them more difficult to pull out from under a bed or couch. Sturdy sides will help prevent you from overfilling, and the wheels will make accessing the bin easier.” Also, multifunctional furniture — like ottomans and benches — offer more hidden storage opportunities. “If you’re tight on space, opt for pieces with drawers,” Blevin says. In a pinch, “a coffee table can double as storage for soccer balls and other sports gear.”

#6 DIY a Sports Gear Storage Solution

You can find plenty of hacks on the internet for DIYing a sports storage solution, such as using wooden crates stacked on top of one another to hold hand weights, kettle balls, and elastic straps. Or, construct a “bungee cord organizer” by building a rectangular, wooden frame and attaching bungee cords to the side for storing balls inside vertically. If your garage has unfinished walls, take advantage of the vertical wooden beam studs: Nail horizontal wooden slats between two beams to create a place to tuck in bats, hockey sticks, and rackets.

#7 Repurpose Items for Sports Gear Storage

Household items easily can be repurposed to store sports gear, like using mesh see-through laundry bags, buckets, or trashcans as ball holders, or three-bin laundry sorters on wheels to fill with larger vertical items, like rackets. You could also repurpose a hanging closet six-shelf organizer to store helmets horizontally.

#8 Look for Systems for Specific Sports Gear Storage

Google “sports rack,” “garage sports storage,” or “sporting goods storage ideas” to find solutions at retailers. Standalone and wall organizing systems geared to specific sports are plentiful, so you don’t have to piece together a solution yourself. Here are examples of some of Brock’s favorites:

• Racket holders: A wall-mounted plate with four double-hooks to hang paddle boards, tennis rackets and pickleball equipment.
• Multilayer, freestanding ball organizer: A vertical tower with ball holders and baskets.
• Golf club organizer: Racks to store two pairs of golf clubs as well as shelves for shoes, balls, and other sports accessories.

#9 Hang Sports Gear from the Garage or Basement Ceiling

Free up floor space by using the ceiling in the garage or basement, such as with ceiling-mounted hooks or shelving to store less frequently used items, like canoes, surfboards, kayaks, or sleds. Ceiling hooks also can be great for storing bikes. Or you can hang a netted hammock from the ceiling for storing lighter-weight equipment like balls and gloves.

#10 Hide Sports Gear in a Stylish Mudroom

Who said storing sports gear can’t be functional and still look glamorous? A mudroom off the back entry of your home can become an organized sports mecca that hides the mess behind stylish cubbies and benches.

David Ciccarelli, founder and CEO of the vacation rental platform Lake.com, needed a solution for his active family’s sports gear. He enlisted the help of interior designer Deborah Salmoni, who also appears on HGTV’s “Scott’s Vacation House Rules” and who had renovated his cottage. Salmoni designed a mudroom for the family that consisted of four cubbies for each child, outfitted with six “double hooks” to offer up twice as many hanging spots for sports equipment, from skipping ropes to tennis rackets, coats, and more. Upper cubbies offered additional storage.

Whichever storage solution you use, “make sure you choose a system that works for your kids,” Seltzer says. “If they can’t reach the gear, or it’s too hard to grab, it will all end up on the floor. So, try it out with them and practice getting things in and out of the bins and shelves.” After all, practice makes perfect, and that applies for clearing the sports clutter, too.

Tips for the right lighting design in every room.

Lighting was once the poor relation of remodeling — a check-off item more endured than embraced.

A few years ago, you would have spent maybe 1.5% of your remodeling budget on lighting. But today you’re looking at more like 5%. After all, the newest, smartest, wireless-connected bulbs featured on the Apple store site cost $50 each.

“It’s a new world of lighting,” says lighting guru Joseph Rey-Barreau, an architect, lighting designer, and University of Kentucky design professor.  “Changes are happening so quickly; people have to think about it more than ever.”

One of the challenges in thinking about lighting is that it can be a bear to understand. The world has its own language (know what lumens and Kelvins are?), and increasing costs can make decisions intimidating. So, it makes sense to learn about lighting before you begin your remodeling project. You’ll love your remodel much more when it sets the right mood and saves you coin because you installed the correct fixtures and bulbs from the get-go.

Learning the Language of Lighting

Lighting design that’s done right has three layers:
1.  Ambient (general lighting of a room).
2.  Task (such as food prep).
3.  Accent (for highlighting a piece of art or focal point).

To incorporate these three layers well, you’ll need to understand the terms used to describe light bulbs:

 

Kelvin: A scale of measurement for the “color” a light produces. The higher the Kelvin (K) number, the cooler the light appears. Most bulbs will be in the 2,500K to 6,500K range — with 2,500 being the warmest and 6,500 the coolest. For reference, a candle burns at 1,900K, and sunlight is 10,000K.

Wattage: How much electricity a bulb consumes. Most of us are used to wattage being an indicator of brightness (the higher the wattage, the brighter the bulb). Not so anymore. Today, lumens are the gauge for brightness.

Lumens: The amount of light you get from a bulb — in other words, its brightness. For instance, you need a total of 1,000 to 3,000 lumens to properly light a 250-foot living room.

This chart from the Lighting Research Center shows how many lumens you need for particular tasks. If you’re older or you have vision problems, you’ll want to increase the lumens.

Task Area	Minimum Lumens
Reading	98
Closet	381
Dressing	1,680
Dining table	315
Kitchen cutting counters	360
Range	450
Sink	450
Toilet	45
Vanity	1,680
Outdoor entrance	996
Paths	297
Flower beds	972
Stairs, entries, hallways	1,200

 

To help simplify all this data about lights, the U.S. Federal Trade Commission requires light bulb makers to place labels on packages that estimate:

• Yearly energy cost.
• How long the bulb will last.
• Whether the bulb feels warm, cool, or somewhere in between.
• How many watts of energy the bulb uses.

Room-by-Room Lighting Tips

If you’re trying to set a romantic mood in the bedroom, you don’t need the same amount of light as when you’re julienning fries in the kitchen. Each room has its own lighting needs. Here’s a breakdown:

Kitchens (5,000–10,000 total lumens)

• To reduce shadows, place recessed lights on the sides (not centers) of ceilings.
• Light kitchen islands so shadows don’t fall where you’ll be cutting vegetables or kneading dough. For a six-foot island, that could mean placing two to three small pendants in a row directly above where you’ll be standing.
• Chandeliers in the center of the room should have shades that direct light down.
• Always install under-cabinet lights for task lighting.
• Use above-cabinet lighting for ambient and mood lighting.

Bathroom lighting (4,000–8,000 total lumens)

• Ceiling fixtures aren’t good lights for applying makeup or shaving; they cast shadows on faces. Placing lights on the sides of a mirror is better. Tubular fluorescents that are the same length of the mirror work well. If you have a big wall mirror, place a fixture with shades pointing down above the mirror, which will cut down on shadows.
• Budget for a light above the tub and shower when you remodel. Showers especially can be dark, making it hard to see when you’re cleaning or shaving.
• Separate water closets should have their own light and exhaust fan.
• Install dimmers for middle-of-the-night bathroom visits.

Bedrooms (2,000–4,000 total lumens)

• Install recessed lighting or a center fixture for general bedroom tasks, such as making the bed, dressing, and cleaning.
• Use table lamps with warm lights to help set the mood for rest and relaxation.
• Add dimmers to bedroom lights so you can quickly change the mood.

Living Rooms (1,500–3,000 total lumens)

Living room lighting should be flexible for the many things you do at home — sit and talk, read, watch TV (whether on a big screen or a mobile device), play games, etc. Your living room or family room will need to make the most of the three lighting layers mentioned earlier.

• With ambient lighting, avoid placing lights directly over seating unless you angle them away.
• Use task lighting, usually lamps, for reading and other things you do while sitting.
• Install accent lighting in the form of spotlights and picture lights for the room’s focal point and artwork.  Light individual artwork with picture lights set at a 30-degree angle. If you’re lighting several pictures, light the wall with track lighting or spotlights.

Dining Rooms (3,000–6,000 lumens)

• Don’t position lights above your dining chairs — it’ll cast ugly shadows on faces.
• To prevent head clunks when getting up from the dining room table, size the fixture no wider than 12 inches less than the table.
• Adjustable recessed lights (ones you can position at different angles) are great for highlighting centerpieces, candles, or flowers.
• Dimmers are a must to set the mood.

Home Offices (3,000–6,000 lumens)

• Don’t forget to highlight your accomplishments — college diploma, picture with the president, Best Dad award — with adjustable recessed lights or surface-mounted spotlights.
• Train recessed lights at the walls — called wall-washing — to make home offices feel larger and look brighter.
• Poorly placed lights will produce annoying reflections on computer screens. Portable lamps are good light choices because you can move them to avoid reflections.
• If you’re in and out of your office all day, install occupancy sensor controls to avoid energy waste.

Feel Like You Need Professional Help?

A long line of professionals is eager to help you add lighting to your remodel. But when it comes to designing a lighting plan, you don’t always get what you pay for. Architects and electricians will charge, maybe, $100 per hour to map out lights, and they don’t necessarily have the latest lighting design training, says Larry Lauck, president of the American Lighting Association.

A lighting designer — the gold standard certified by the International Association of Lighting Designers — will charge between $250 and $350 per hour to place recessed lights and train LED spots on your artwork.

It’s a new world of lighting. People have to think about it more than ever.

Joseph Rey-Barreau, lighting designer and architect

However, lighting showrooms typically employ ALA-certified lighting specialists and consultants who have completed several levels of training on all aspects of lighting design. Lighting showroom professionals will design your plan for free, or for a starting fee, which you can apply to the products you buy.

Because selling lighting is their business, these professionals know all the latest lighting trends and products.

These 12 front yard landscaping ideas can elevate your home’s curb appeal and value, plus your enjoyment.

If you’re like most homeowners, you’re squeezing more out of your outdoor space but overlooking a key area: the front yard. We’ve packed our backyards with outdoor kitchens, play and lounging areas, firepits, and gardens. In the process, we’ve unintentionally missed out on front yard landscaping improvements. Both the numbers and the experts support the value of upgrading your front yard landscaping.

For starters, those improvements can add curb appeal and value to your home. More than half of homeowners — 57% — believe that beautiful landscaping and exteriors can increase a home’s resale value by at least $20,000, and 16% say the increase can be more than $50,000, according to a 2023 survey by Thumbtack and Nextdoor.

An outdoor landscape upgrade provides an estimated return of 100% wheoutdoorn you sell, according to the National Association of REALTORS® 2023 outdoor “Remodeling Impact Report.” The survey defined an upgrade as adding a natural flagstone walkway, two stone planters, several flowering shrubs, a deciduous tree, and mulch.

“The front yard creates the first impression of your home,” says Janet Loughrey, a contributor to “Garden Design” and a garden photographer. “There are many ways to repurpose a front yard into a beautiful and functional space for relaxing, entertaining, or recreation.”

12 Ways to Upgrade Your Front Yard Landscaping

Here are ideas to inspire a new and improved view of your front yard:

#1 Spotlight the Front Porch

Potential home buyers rank the front porch as one of the top home features they want in their next home, according to a 2024 survey from the National Association of Home Builders. Showcase it as a place to relax or connect with neighbors by providing seating areas, such as Adirondack chairs, a bistro set, a lounger, or a porch swing, Loughrey suggests.

Embellish the porch with flowery hanging baskets and use potted flowers in bursts of color next to the front door to “guide people’s eyes to the core of the home and in providing a welcoming look,” says Jackie Mosher, co-founder of Dzinly, a Royal Oak, Mich.-based company that helps homeowners and real estate professionals digitally design exteriors.

#2 Play Up Pathways With ‘Entangled Design’

An on-trend front yard idea is to channel “entangled design” with grass in-between pavers. “Whether driven by aesthetic requests or as a byproduct of maintaining onsite drainage, we’re seeing increased interest” in this, according to the “2024 U.S. Houzz Home Design Predictions” report from the home remodeling site Houzz. The design offers a more natural look that softens up pathways by breaking up large expanses of a hardscape.

#3 Move the Firepit to the Front

Firepits aren’t just for the backyard. Homeowners are moving them to the front. Carve out an area that can be surrounded by a group of low shrubs or a stone wall feature. “Anytime you add height around a space of at least 24 inches tall, it provides a sense of containment and natural coziness,” Mosher says.

#4 Light Up Walkways

Add lighting along walkways for safety and nighttime ambience. Accent both sides of the porch, for instance with boxed lanterns in a black or antique bronze, Mosher suggests. Use spotlights pointed up at the house to highlight the architecture and up-lights on your favorite plants or trees. (Tip: Use solar-powered spotlights to bypass extra wiring costs.) Also, hang an oversized hanging pendant or chandelier above the front door. Pick a fixture about one-third or one-fourth the size of the front door, including the trim, Mosher recommends.

#5 Decorate Window Boxes

Dress up your home’s colors and architecture year-round with boxes filled with seasonal flowers, fitted along the bottom ledge of outside windows. Use three different types of flowers: greenery, a taller plant in the center, and a colorful accent flower, Mosher says. Not every window needs a flower box. Maybe it’s just the large picture window or the windows on a second story, she notes.

#6 Consider Waterwise Landscapes

With water shortages growing, particularly in drier climates, more homeowners are ditching all-grass lawns. “We’ve seen many homeowners incorporate a mix of paving stones and artificial turf to create a clean, polished look that’s modern and easy to maintain,” says Aaron Brundage, landscaping expert and director of operations at System Pavers in Syracuse, N.Y.

There has been an uptick in xeriscaping, which is designed to reduce or eliminate water needs — for example, by using rocks, gravel, and native plants, reports The Plan Collection, a home and floor plan company. They are also seeing more wildscaping, which focuses on native landscaping that creates a habitat for bees, birds, and small animals.

#7 Add a Get-Together Space

No front porch? No problem. You can still create a porch feel. Pave a stone courtyard to accommodate patio furniture and for entertaining, Brundage says. “A walkway with a small pergola creates an instantly inviting feel that will make guests feel welcome.”

#8 Balance Privacy and Curb Appeal

With a front yard, “there’s a desire for privacy, yet an opposing desire to allow some of the home’s architectural elements to remain visible from the street,” says Jeremy Martin, CEO at Willow Gates Landscaping in Mohnton, Pa. Decide on any areas you want to shield. To block car traffic, consider placing trees in the corner of the front yard. “This allows the home to remain visible, but the viewing window is so short that passersby really can’t observe many details,” he says. “If the primary need is privacy from foot traffic, a more continuous hedge may be needed. A fence may work, but in the front yard is often limited to three feet or four feet high by local codes and ordinances.”

#9 Get Creative With Front Yard Garden Ideas

Don’t just tuck everything into a front yard flower bed. Use vertical planters, especially for a vegetable or herb garden. Lush greenery can comprise a living wall, dressing up an otherwise ordinary wall and adding privacy. Metal trellises and arbors can add height to a landscape. Consider a trellis or arbor covered with plant climbers like roses, clematis, or fragrant honeysuckle, for a welcoming front entrance, Loughrey says.

Spruce up a front yard garden by adding seating areas, like a bench. “These seating areas add dimension to a home and provide a charming look,” Mosher says.

#10 Incorporate Rocks (but Not Too Many)

River rocks or crushed gravel are lower maintenance alternatives to mulch. However, they’re pricier to install, don’t enrich the soil, and create a “hard” surface look, Martin says. Avoid using too much river rock and consider using plants with soft, flowing foliage, he adds. Also, boulders nestled within a landscape can “complement the home. “Boulders also work well to ease grade issues without using a block retaining wall.”

 

 

Now’s the time to stock up on paint.

When it’s hot outside, smart homeowners focus their energies inside on these four tasks. You know, like taking advantage of your nice, cool basement.

#1 Organize the Basement

The two most common types of clutter? Old clothes and seasonal items. Just the kind of stuff that winds up in the basement. So this month, face your messy basement head on. Not only will you regain space, but you’ll also save time and could even knock back clutter-related depression. (Yeah, that’s a thing.)

Now that you’ve got it organized, maybe it’s a good time to consider this next project:

#2 Finish the Basement

The solution to a cramped house could be right under your feet. Transforming an unfinished basement into a media room, home office — or even a rentable space — builds equity, upping your home’s resale value. Start this project now, and you can kick back and enjoy your new space all winter long.

#3 Buy Paint on Sale

Although paint savings can be the steepest during the off-peak painting seasons of fall and winter, you can still find savings in July. Experts disagree over the best time of year to paint. Some recommend painting in the summer as long as the weather is warm, not hot, and the humidity is low. A bonus: You can work indoors and stay comfortable. You can always stock up now and be ready for that painting project later. (P.S. Latex and acrylic paint can last up to 10 years; oil-based, up to 15.)

#4 Hit Up Recycling Centers

Summer is home improvement season. That also makes it the savvy buyer’s time to seek out deals at recycling centers and home improvement resale stores. Since this is project time — not to mention moving season — lots of folks are ditching their old stuff. Take advantage and grab it up at super-low prices.

A super-easy plan for getting organized without adding to your home-is-school, home-is-work, home-is-everything time burden.

Did you ever notice that your self-improvement pacts with yourself are action oriented? Walk 10,000 steps a day. Fix that leaky faucet. Register for VolunteerMatch.

But “get organized”? It’s a goal so broad that just trying to figure out what action to take makes you wonder what you were thinking in the first place. It’s like you need an organizing plan for your organizing.

Ta-da!

Here it is. Follow these steps, spending less than an hour day (sometimes just a few minutes), to a better organized home:

1. Do That Project

“What about your space is making you feel uncomfortable or overwhelmed?” asks Amy Trager, a professional organizer in Chicago. Is it the paperwork disaster in your office? The pile of clothes teetering on your dresser? Or that mess that surrounds your doorway? Start with what’s annoying you, she says. One hour on that task will rev up your organizing engine.

2. Create a Go-Away Box

Put in it anything you’re planning to donate (or give to a friend or take to recycle). And keep it by the door so you can easily grab it when you’re leaving.

3. Deal With the Decorations

Hallelujah — the holidays are over! When you’re putting away your décor, donate anything you didn’t bring out last season and separate decorations by holiday. No need to dig through your St. Paddy’s clovers when you’re searching for a menorah.

4. Create a System for Your Entryway

Set up a “command center” so your front door doesn’t become a lawless accessories arena, especially during winter months. Add hooks for coats, bins for shoes, and a mail sorter if you need it. (Remember to keep a place for your go-away box.)

5. Wrangle Your Pet Supplies

Minimize the time spent scrambling when your pup is desperate for a walk or eager for a meal. Hang hooks and cubbies near the door and keep leashes, kibble, bowls, and toys in one convenient spot.

6. Organize Your Spices

Arrange your herbs and spices alphabetically, by cuisine, or by brand — whatever makes them easier to find when you’re in the middle of your noodle stir fry.

7. Pare Down Your Utensils

You’ve accumulated several dozen kitchen utensils in your culinary career: can openers, microplanes, four wine openers (what?!). Cut back the collection and use drawer dividers to keep the rest in order.

8. Reconfigure Your Pots and Pans

Stop digging around in your shelves for the oversized, cast-iron skillet. Donate the pots and pans you hardly use and install cupboard organizers to help manage the rest.

9. Throw Away Expired Foods

You’ve never used Worcestershire sauce after that one time. Go through your refrigerator and pantry, and ditch or donate anything past its prime or that you won’t use.

10. Stack Your Pantry Staples

Make better use of your pantry by sorting through your staple dry goods — think flour, sugar, pasta, oatmeal, dry beans — and put them in airtight, stackable containers. You’ll free up a ton of space, too.

11. Downsize Your Kitchen Gadgets

You had noble intentions when you purchased that spiralizer. (Zucchini noodles every night, right?) Give those space hogs to someone else with lofty dreams.

12. Say No to Coffee Mug Overload

Every time you lose a sock, a new coffee mug appears. Keep one or two mugs for every coffee or tea drinker, and donate the rest.

13. Sort Your Food Storage Containers

No singles allowed. Toss any tops or bottoms that have no mates.

14. Reassess Your Display Shelves

Shelves crammed with knickknacks, books you’ll never read, and stuff you somehow accumulated are just a waste of space. Donate books to the library, discard the junk, and arrange what’s left in a way that pleases you.

15. Deal With Your Cables

With a Roku, PlayStation, DVD player, and cable box, it’s no surprise your entertainment center is a mess. Use bread tags or cable ties to create ID tags for each plug and bundle the clutter with Velcro strips.

16. Put Clothes on New Hangers

Switch your clothes over to the slimmer, grabbier hangers. They use less space and keep your clothes from sliding down to your closet floor. As you do this, discard the clothes you never wear.

17. Corral Your Accessories

Belts, scarves, purses, hats — all the accessories that don’t have a drawer or spot in the closet can end up everywhere. Buy an accessories hanger or install a simple series of hooks to give your wardrobe’s smallest members a home.

18. Purge Under the Bed

Under-bed storage is ideal for out-of-season clothing. But when out-of-season becomes out-of-sight and out-of-mind, clear out those clothes you’ll never wear again from this precious storage space.

19. Declutter Your Desk

When your workspace is swimming with collectibles, staplers, Post-its, and more, paring down can keep you focused when it’s time to hunker down.

20. Shred Old Paperwork

Not every form, statement, and tax record needs to stay in your filing cabinet forever. Check out this list to make sure you’re not wasting space. Shred the rest to ward off identity thieves.

21. Tidy Your Files

Now that you’ve shredded unnecessary paperwork, tidy up your files by organizing them and labeling them clearly. Colorful folders can help organize by theme (home stuff, tax stuff, work stuff, etc.).

22. Get Rid of Mystery Electronics

Admit it. You’ve got a drawer where black mystery cords, chargers, and oddball electronic bits go to die. Free up that drawer for better uses or at least get rid of the items you know for sure are “dead.”

23. Pare Down Your Personal Care Stuff

Your intentions were honorable when you bought that curl-enhancing shampoo — but it expired two years ago, and you haven’t used it since. Throw away any expired potions, salves, hair products, and medicines.

24. Tackle Under-the-Sink Storage

Clean everything out. You’ll be amazed at what you find (like those Magic Erasers you could never find). Then put everything you’re keeping back into bins you can easily pull out so that nothing gets lost again.

25. Hang a Shelf

Wall storage is so often overlooked. Find a spot in your home where a shelf would solve a problem and hang it. Maybe it’s for some toiletries in the bathroom, laundry supplies, or your kid’s stuffed toys.

Related: Yep, You Can Put Shelves There: 5 Inspired Storage Ideas

26. Reduce Your Towels and Linens

There are the towels you use — and the stack of towels you never use. Donate them to the animal shelter. Those torn pillowcases? Convert to rags or toss. Same for napkins, dishtowels, potholders, etc.

27. Hang a Shoe Organizer

Hanging shoe organizers can solve a ton of storage problems beyond the obvious. They can store scarves, mittens, cleaning supplies, craft supplies. You can even cut them to custom-fit inside a cabinet door.

Related: Ideas for Using Shoe Organizers

28. Organize Your Junk Drawer for Good

There’s no shame in a junk drawer, but why not organize it? Dump the whole thing on one surface and sort everything into piles. Use drawer dividers to keep each pile in its own space.

29. Store Your Tools the Right Way

Finding the right Phillips-head screwdriver to put together that cute IKEA bookshelf shouldn’t be so hard. Track down your hammers and screwdrivers, and arrange them in one easy-to-access spot, like a pegboard.

30. Plan for the Future

See how much you’ve accomplished! Take a look around your newly organized home, noting any spaces you missed. Then dream a bit about your next home project. Maybe paint that dining room, finally?

 

Want summer comfort but hate the AC? Follow these tips on how to keep your house cool without frosty air conditioning.

There’s so much to love about air conditioning. First and foremost, it keeps you cool on sweltering summer days. But AC does have downsides. It drives up your utility bills and can cause AC wars with family members, each of whom has a different perception of the ideal temperature. Even AC advocates admit that inside spaces can get a little too frosty with AC.

So, here are tips to stay cool during warm weather — at least some of the time — without AC:

How to Cool a Room Without AC

When sunlight enters your house, it turns into heat. You’ll keep your house cooler if you reduce solar heat gain by blocking sunlight.

Close the drapes: Line them with light-colored fabric that reflects the sun, and close them during the hottest part of the day. Let them pillow onto the floor to block air movement.

Add awnings: Install them on south-facing windows to reduce solar heat gain by 65% and west-facing windows for a 77% solar heat gain reduction, says the U.S. Department of Energy.

Install shutters: Interior and exterior shutters not only reduce heat gain and loss, but they also add security and protect against bad weather. Interior shutters with adjustable slats let you control how much sun you let in.

Apply high-reflectivity window film: Install energy-saving window films on east- and west-facing windows, which will keep you cool in summer, and let in warming sun in the winter. Mirror-like films are more effective than colored transparent films.

 

Open Those Windows

Be sure to open windows when the outside temperature is lower than the inside. Cool air helps lower the temps of everything — walls, floors, furniture — that will absorb heat as temps rise, helping inside air stay cooler longer.

To create cross-ventilation, open windows on opposite sides of the house. Good ventilation helps reduce volatile organic compounds and can prevent mold.

Turn Up Fans

Portable fans: At night, place fans in open windows to move cool air. In the day, put fans where you feel their cooling breezes (moving air evaporates perspiration and lowers your body temperature). To get extra cool, place glasses or bowls of ice water in front of fans, which will chill the moving air.

Ceiling fans: For maximum cooling effect, make sure ceiling fans spin in the direction that pushes air down, rather than sucks it up. Be sure to turn off fans when you’re not in the room, because fan motors give off heat, too.

Whole house fans: A whole-house fan ($600 to $2,300, including installation) exhausts hot inside air out through roof vents. Make sure your windows are open when you run a whole-house fan.

Power Down Appliances

You’ll save money and reduce heat output by turning off appliances you’re not using, particularly your computer and television. Powering down multiple appliances is easier if you connect them to the same power strip.

Don’t use heat- and steam-generating appliances — ranges, ovens, washers, dryers — during the hottest part of the day. In fact, take advantage of the heat by drying clothes outside on a line, unless doing to will violate homeowners association rules.

Plant Trees and Vines

These green house-coolers shade your home’s exterior and keep sunlight out of windows. Plant them by west-facing walls, where the sun is strongest.

Deciduous trees, which leaf out in spring and drop leaves in fall, are best because they provide shade in summer, then let in sun when temperatures drop in autumn. Select trees that are native to your area, which have a better chance of surviving. When planting, determine the height, canopy width, and root spread of the mature tree and plant accordingly.

Climbing vines, such as ivy and Virginia creeper, also are good outside insulators. To prevent vine rootlets or tendrils from compromising your siding, grow them on trellises or wires about six inches away from the house.