Sharing solutions to organize and transform your space.
January is Get Organized (GO) Month, according to the National Association of Organizing and Productivity Professionals. You’ve probably spent more time at home over the last year than ever before, so it is a great time to refresh your space and tackle some decluttering projects.
Need inspiration? Check out this article from Redfin with 21 ideas to get organized in 2021. Be sure to read to the end to find my tip for how a cart can be an organizing tool!
Last spring, after a few months of lockdown, I wrote about pandemic storage - and storage dilemmas I never thought I’d have, like how to store your face masks.
Today, 10 months into the pandemic, we’re definitely buying more in bulk than ever before. I used to have space in my pantry or basement storage, but those areas are really full. This calls for more creative storage. For example, check out these mudroom essentials: bags, gear, exercise stuff...and the Costco-sized box of popcorn.
I also finally decided I need to purchase more bins for my pantry to corral the bulk baking supplies, so they don’t topple down every time I take something off the top shelf. More posts to come on that project.
Have you been watching a certain show that is making you want to redo your pantry, garage, and every closet with clear bins?
While I’ve been using containers and labels for years, lately I’ve found myself considering reorganizing my entire pantry and kitchen with new bins. Maybe after 7 months of living and working at home all.the.time I’m seeing my kitchen in a new way. Or maybe it’s the relentless ads from certain stores attempting to convince me to buy containers and watch a new home organizing show. Or it could be my ongoing need to be able to control something during this time when so much seems out of control.
Containers can work:
Clear and labelled containers are very helpful for finding things and putting them away.
Sometimes there is a specialized container that solves a particular problem.
I agree that when our space looks great and we use containers we like to look at, we are more likely to be motivated to keep up the organizing system.
But I also know that organizing is not about the containers.
Organizing is about how we interact with our stuff. Containers don’t solve the underlying issues. You still need to deal with the stuff.
That’s why any sustainable organizing strategy has to start not with the containers, but with the harder work of making decisions: keep, toss, recycle, donate? And that’s how I work with clients. We go through the items and I support clients as they make the decisions. Only then will they know how many mugs or books or LEGOs they have, and can determine if a new or specialized container is needed. Clients often have some bins, baskets or other containers already, or we can get creative to repurpose other things already in the space. (See how I used a shoe shelf in my dining room, for example.)
While I’m not anti-container by any means, remember that buying 20 new clear containers probably won’t solve your organizing issue in the long term. Don’t forget to first consider the stuff you are putting in the container.
During the stay at home orders, I heard from several friends that they were buying larger amounts than usual, and had to clean out the freezer. Here’s how to keep your freezer organized in a few easy steps:
Take everything out, even food in the way back, and throw out anything that has been around for a year, or has a layer of permafrost.
If you have food in containers, label each one before you put it back. Get into the habit of writing a description and the date on everything before it goes in the freezer.
Bonus tip: to make labeling easier, I keep masking tape and a sharpie in a drawer next to my fridge so I can quickly write out a label.
Keep similar sized items together; for example, stack up prepared foods - and turn the labels facing out so you can easily see what you have.
Consider using clear bins to store similar items, such as frozen veggies.
Need more space? Plan meals using up foods in the freezer.
Don’t know what’s in your freezer? Make a list/use a whiteboard.
Easy labels with making tape and a sharpie
Recently a friend staying with me shared an observation about my home: when she needed a pen, there it was…or a pair of scissors, exactly where she needed them. Her remark made me realize that I had organized my home for the little every day items that we need.
Where do I keep paper and pen?
Near the phone
In the kitchen (where a small drawer is filled with paper pads, sticky notes, pens and pencils)
Next to my bed; read more about organizing your bedside table
In the bathroom, for all those great ideas that you get in the shower
Where to keep other important items:
Scissors on every floor, near the paper and pens (having duplicates comes in handy)
Essential tools, like small screwdrivers, tape measure, flashlight in the kitchen in my “junk drawer”
Keys near the back door
Chargers in the kitchen
These are small items, but it can be frustrating when we can’t find them when we need them. Try to organize the essential everyday items in your home and feel more in control.
Home with a snow day today? Once the French toast is done, and the movies get old, try an organizing project to clear the clutter and make you feel better.
Here are some of my favorite ideas to get you started:
What do you do when you go visit your best friend to see her new home? Organize her pantry of course!
The gorgeous customized pantry had deep shelves, which meant things got lost in the back. We took everything out, weeded out expired items, then grouped categories together on the shelves. After a quick trip to HomeGoods to purchase some baskets, we set up the new easy-to-use pantry.
Like bed linens, table linens are often crowded into shelves or drawers, making it impossible to know the size and shape of the tablecloth without unfolding it.
This Thanksgiving, a family member shared her new secret for organizing table linens: she stored each one in an XL clear plastic bag, and noted the size - whether the tablecloth worked with 1 table leaf, 2 leaves, etc. I loved this idea!
This requires some work upfront, but will definitely save time later on. The labelling system makes it so easy to grab the correct bag rather than dig through all the linens.
Corners are magnets for clutter! Things seem to end up in the corners of our rooms, often in piles, bags, or boxes. If you really want to clear the clutter, take a look at what's hiding out in the corners.
Here’s how to get started:
Once you’ve been able to clear the clutter in your corners, enjoy your space! The room will feel more open and peaceful.
Problem: Your child's backpack ends up all over the house...in the kitchen, in the living room, near the shoes, but never in the same spot.
Solution: Give the backpack a "home," a set storage place where it goes every day once it is unpacked. Yes, every day. This is a routine even young elementary school students can master. Even if you don't have a dedicated mudroom, you can find a place for the backpack.
Backpack storage ideas:
This clever idea comes from a friend who recently moved. She set up this new paper management system near where she opens mail and pays her bills.
Here's how the simple system works: she opens her mail, weeds out all the junk, and then puts the paper in the appropriate box. "Deal With" means just that = paper that needs to be acted upon (bill to pay, form to fill out) and "Done" = file. When Done is overstuffed, she knows it's time to file the papers she wants to save.
This is a great system for people who need visual reminders, and helps combat the creation of piles. The boxes can also be quickly tucked away if needed.
Want to let everyone in your house know where things go, but don't like the look of everything labeled?
Try putting the labels inside a drawer or cabinet. A client and I set up these useful labels all along the inside rim of her utility drawer. Now the whole family will know where to find what they are looking for.
I saw this low-tech but effective reminder tool in a client's kitchen. Just flip the lever over after feeding the dog, letting everyone in the house know the chore is done.
We all love to cook in my house, so we have a good-size collection of cookbooks and a few favorite cooking magazines. I also have lots of paper recipes I've saved from websites and torn out of of magazines. My recommended method for keeping paper recipes is a binder system.
If you have folders or boxes of recipes and want to get rid of the paper, consider digital options:
Always searching in your cabinet for the right spice container? This cool product makes spotting the spice you need even easier.
SpiceBands are like headbands for your spice containers! Put them around the edge of the lid so you don't have to pick up the jar and read the label. If you have to store your spices in a cabinet, I still recommend a tiered shelf for spices, like I use in my kitchen. The colors and clear printing on the SpiceBands also help with visibility.
And for more ideas on spice organization, read my previous post on creative spice organization.
Our family loves to grill and eat outside on our patio. My husband is the grill master, and is super organized when it comes to his grill things. Here's how he does it:
That's Neat! Organizing Elizabeth Goodsell 617.905.7762
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