When it comes to organizing your home, you may find an inordinate amount of odds and ends of which you really only need one - or a few. Before you run out to that big sale you heard about, check the supplies you have on hand. If you already have plenty, or enough for now, decide to use it up before you buy more and save yourself a few bucks, an extra trip to the store, and the gas you would use to get there.

Are You a Hoarder?

Do you have stockpiles of food and paper products you couldn’t resist buying because they were on sale and you figured you’d use them eventually? If you do, chances are you don’t have the room to store all of these products and they are creating piles in odd places around the house. So, you just put them anywhere they will fit ‘for the time being’. If they are perishable food products, chances are any extra products will not even be opened before you use up the ones you already have and you’ll end up throwing them out. How many yogurts can you eat in a week or two anyway?

Stop Stockpiling

This isn’t the 1950’s. While there may be a few people around paranoid enough to actually still have a stocked fallout shelter, I’m betting you don’t. So where do you keep that extra supply of 24 rolls of toilet paper, or the 16 new boxes of cereal, or the three cases of soda you just bought.

These days, most grocery and general merchandise stores know money is tight in the average household. Because of this, they are constantly and consistently offering items on sale more than ever before. I can almost guarantee that 24-pack of TP will be on sale again at the same store before you run out of the pack you’re currently using. There is really no need to buy more than one at a time.

Keep Your Cupboards Clear of Clutter

Keep your cupboards clear of clutter by only having a minimum amount of each item you use regularly or infrequently. For example, do you have more than one spice jar of cinnamon? And how often do you use it? It will take quite a while to get to the bottom and they last forever, so don’t buy another one until you get close to running out. Think about it...staples such as bread, butter, frozen vegetables, cleaning products, whatever...do you have way more than you need or will run out of in the near future. If you do, use it up or get down to the bare minimum you need before you buy more.

Bags, Bags, and More Bags

Other things I see people hoarding are paper and plastic shopping bags. I know they have their uses; like using paper bags to collect the paper you intend to recycle. But try to resist having more than can fit easily in one of the paper bags or the location you designated for them. You don’t need a thousand of them. Recycle the extras.

Plastic bags have their uses too. They can be used for anything from packing your shoes in your luggage so they won’t soil your clothes to using them to collect your puppy’s pooh when you take her or him for a walk. But do you really need a hundred and fifty of them? If you have a “bag sock” to store them, then for heaven’s sake don’t stuff it to overflowing. Take one of the bags and stuff it instead with most of them. You can drop them off at a grocery that accepts used plastic bags for recycling. Believe me, that sock will fill up again quickly enough.

Plastic Containers

Plastic containers can be a constant consternation if you can’t find the right lid when you want to store leftovers. Many of us end up with a million lids, none of which fit any of the half a million containers we have. (Eat much Chinese food, do we?)

Find as many lids as you can that fit any containers, put them away, and throw the rest out. I believe most of these can be recycled. If you are left with too few, your local dollar store offers two or more for a buck and the lids that come with them fit! Don’t keep more than you comfortably need for use in the near future. And don’t forget to factor the ones in your fridge housing leftovers into the equation.

Rule of Thumb: Use It Up or Throw It Out

Walking the road that leads to organizing your home and keeping it that way, means you stop stockpiling more than your cupboards and pantries can accommodate. Start today to use it up or throw it out before you buy more.

When it comes to organizing your home, the changes suggested in these tips will give you more room to maneuver in your cabinets and around the house, more areas will be free of piles and clutter, and the extra space, believe it or not, will lower your stress level.