By Eric Czarnik
C & G Staff Writer

Kathy Keiper has seen the effect that messy homes can have on people’s quality of life — even when she’s driving through the neighborhood.

“Nobody can put their car in their garage because it’s jam-packed with stuff,” she said.

Spring is the season of cleaning and starting anew, and home organization experts say there are proven ways to tidy up the most overstuffed closets, pantries, sheds and garages.

Keiper, a managing member of the Great Lakes Closet Co. in Warren, solves her clients’ messes, so they can have more space for everyday activities. Some samples of her work include rearranging walk-in and reach-in closets, she said.

“Probably the biggest thing we’re doing right now is home offices because people are working from home more and more,” she said. “A well-organized home office can save you hours in a day.”

The reason for reorganizing is just as important as deciding how to arrange the items, Keiper said. Different tactics apply when a homeowner needs more space for toys, for a car or for tools, she said.

The No. 1 thing, she said, organizers need to do is write up an inventory of their possessions. She admitted that this can be a painful event because it forces people to make judgments on what they need, what they use and what they can part with.

“If you haven’t used something in a year or two, you probably aren’t going to use it,” she said. “If it’s gently used, find someone else who can use it.”

The latest trend on being “green” leads many people to recycle or donate their unneeded goods instead of tossing them into a landfill, she added. 

Joe Schodowski, president of The Shelving Store in Madison Heights, advised organizers to begin their cleaning with a small project first.

“People get discouraged because it seems so overwhelming that they don’t know what to start,” he said. “Pick your smallest closet first.”

Homeowners can also add shelving to their storage areas, which come in a variety of formats and can even include drawers. “Shelves are very handy for shoes, folded items (and) blankets,” he said. “Have all your clothes inside the closet, so you don’t need any dressers, and then you free up your bedroom for other space.”

Even after everything is put into its right place, Keiper said, it could be a struggle to keep it that way. Consumerism forces many people to buy excess stuff that they don’t need, which then turns into more clutter.

“We get caught up in this shopping mentality,” she said. “Don’t go shopping for food when you’re hungry. It’s kind of like that with organizing. … Look at what you have, and think about what you need, and start to put a plan together.”

For the homeowner who still has too many things and too little space to store them, renting out storage is an option.

Eugene Sherizen, director of operations at Oak Park-based 1-800 Mini Storage, said some of his clients go through life changes like a new baby or home business and discover that they run out of room for their meaningful items.

“There’s a whole psychology of clutter,” he said. “Just to sort of bring order back into their lives is what storage can help them do.”

You can reach Staff Writer Eric Czarnik at eczarnik@candgnews.com or at (586) 498-1058.