Organizing Your Home in a Way that Works for YOU!
Are your drawers as stuffed as that Thanksgiving turkey? Can you even find your stretchy pants? Is finding space on your pantry shelves as hard as finding a parking space during the Black Friday sale at the mall? Do you have to move this thing and then that thing to get to the one thing you are looking for only to find it too late, too broken, or two sizes too small? Do these questions stress you out? Me too! If you answered “yes” to even one of these questions, you might be disorganized. Friend to friend, let me steer you toward an organized home that will work for you and bring you satisfaction and happiness in ways you can feel and see.
Peace on Earth, Goodwill it, Man
A well organized home starts with the first and often most difficult step of paring down your items. This time of a year is an excellent one for editing your kitchen drawers, closet or garage. Having too much stuff makes any organizational system hard to maintain, so consider going through spaces for items that are broken, missing parts, duplicated, outdated or unused. Overwhelmed? Start with a small area such as the spice cabinet or hall closet and watch how the domino effect pushes you to other areas before too long. You will perhaps notice a peaceful feeling as you conquer the excess and that feeling will motivate you to keep going!
Do You See What I See?
There are many ways where you can find storage within the walls of your home. The rule of thumb is to “store it where you use it”, so keep soccer cleats in the same shoe basket in the garage, or make jackets easy to find and keep neat by hanging a hook by the door, and leave your keys in a cute bowl in the entry when you come and go… SO much time saved! I open boxes and decant everything where I can in the kitchen and common areas. Cereal kept in airtight containers fit nicely in the pantry while also keeping the cereal fresher and indicating when it’s time to shop for more, for instance. Label boxes for easy identification, and make things easy to reach for every resident in your home. Vertical space is often overlooked, so when looking for more space, consider closet shelving, an OTJ (over the john) storage cabinet over the commode, and/or pull down storage in garages and closets. Other storage opportunities include within nook or window seating, storage ottomans, the underside of kitchen islands, and under the stairs. Make it easy on yourself to keep your home organized and you will maintain a designer look; creating a home that works for you!
Ho, Ho, PRO!
Wait, who are you calling a ho? Seriously, knowing when to call in an expert for help is SO important when you’ve come so far in paring down, only to find that your current organizational methods just aren’t working like they could. I often use RESET YOUR NEST here in Utah to evaluate the needs, shop for the pretty bins and boxes, and to label and organize my client’s spaces. Look for pros (or friends!) in your area that will help you get your storage issues under control and help you find a system that works for you. The cost in time, frustration, and poor tools far outweighs the investment of a storage system in your home.
Life is chaotic and busy enough. Spend your time with your family rather than looking for them under that pile of laundry that has nowhere to be folded, waiting to be put away in drawers filled with last year’s mismatched socks and a ball of unknown power cords. An organized home will work with you and adds a mental, physical and emotional value that will only increase as you surround yourself and those you love with the things that serve them.
Happy Holidays!
Love,
Alli
