No ONE Right Approach

Occasionally when I go to a new client’s home, after I’ve walked in and seen what they are struggling with, that they ask me to tell them what to do. This is perfectly understandable; they’re frequently frustrated. They have tried to find a solution and have only called me because they’ve gotten overwhelmed and need that answer. Yet this is not the way I work. I cannot tell someone what the solution is; what I can do it talk about the options. In organizing, there are so many different ways of doing things.

I was trying to think of a comparison – one idea I came up with was the way we choose to handle our money. A good financial advisor is not going to tell you to invest in a high-risk stock without talking to you about your personality. My dad talks about how when he started investing, he got obsessed with checking the status – often several times a day. It became apparent to him that this was not the way he wanted to spend his energy. Nevertheless, there are many people who are comfortable investing without the need to check it compulsively.

Just like organizing – there are a variety of approaches to staying organized. It depends on your personality, your style. If you can find what you need, when you need it – it doesn’t matter how it’s done. Here are some examples:

I think I’ve mentioned it before; I worked with a woman who used accordion folders for all her paperwork – the monthly one, with numbered slots for each day, which she used for the current month’s bills. Then once the month was finished, she moved the relevant things to a yearly folder with monthly tabs.

A client had researched different ways of organizing papers and found one suggestion to break everything into 5 categories, and put your papers into one of those categories.

In organizing media, you can subdivide into genres. I knew one woman who broke her CD’s into genres while others just alphabetize everything. And others who just throw everything onto the shelving.

When I was working with a woman who needed periodic breaks when we were together, I started organizing her books during that time. As I presented different ideas about how it could be done, she loved the idea of little organization of them. The idea of going to one of the shelves and being surprised by what she found captured her imagination. She eventually decided to have some minimal organization since she was inadvertently buying duplicate books, so we broke her books by authors (not even including genre). This way she could easily see what she had by author and avoid getting those second copies.

Organizing your closet by style of clothes – work, casual, and eveningwear – is another example. While others group by type – long sleeved, short sleeved, long dresses, short dresses, etc.

The list could on and on – I could have even expanded the examples within the specific item being dealt with; yet it all comes down to finding a way that makes sense to you. You need to be able to maintain it; you have to like it – it needs to fit your personality. It might be easier if there were ONE way to organize things, yet we’re all too different. Finding the system that works for you personally is the only way to make a difference in the long run. Discover the system that makes sense to you.

Those Deep Cabinet Shelves

I should expect it at this point, when I go into another house, to see more badly designed cabinets. Somehow, I am still shocked at these “spacious” cabinets that are barely functional. How can anyone think these are useful? Or functional? Then what do you do when you are stuck with them? I wish there were better answers, though here are some ideas.

There are many shapes and varieties of these weirdly designed cabinets. I’m not sure if there is one that I dislike more than another. What I am talking about today is specifically those deep shelves.

Those deep shelves boggle my mind, how can that back area be functional? Then in many kitchens, there is a half shelf above in the back! I think I get the idea of it, but it’s typically the lower shelves and then even more inconvenient. Here is a picture of my own kitchen, with this exact set-up. It functions, though is not great – as you can see from the stacks in front as well as some precarious balancing (that remarkably does not fall!). For us it works because the things in that back half, both on the shelf and below it, are things we rarely use. Therefore, if it’s an option, put things used less frequently behind those things you do use.

There are companies that allow those shelves to pull out. I worked with one woman whose lower kitchen cabinets had those for the upper shelf. She had not been pulling them out. This ended up adding to the disorder, and after rearranging she agreed to practice pulling them out. The last time we talked about it, it was working well. Yet this is something we don’t always consider, pulling out a sliding shelf is more work. Not necessarily a ton of work, but it is a bit of a shift, our behavior has to change to accommodate this new feature. If you do not uses the feature, it can add to the mess.

Back to the idea of putting less used items in the back, can work in a linen closet or other such deep shelving, though sometimes with more difficulty. I have another picture from my own home, where some of the shelves are deeper than is truly useful. Some of the shelves you cannot see are being redone. One of the things we’ve done is to stack things two deep – on the left are the towels and washcloths. We work from the front, and when those stacks are empty, what is behind them are easily accessible. This is also a place where less used items live farther back.

Another way to work with deep shelving is to use containers. Here we used them to help with two issues, the high shelving as well as the deep. There are two containers; each has a grouping of items, typically used together. She can grab the lip of one and pull it down, use the items, in this case cleaning supplies, and when she’s done, put the container back up. On a different shelf, we used containers behind, they were used infrequently, but were used together, so she could clear a path for the container to come out, use it, and return it, with minimal chaos. This works best if the frequently used items in front are larger, so when you need to access the containers in back there are less items to move.

You might have noticed that much of coping with less than ideal shelving focuses on storing less used items farther back. The real dilemma occurs when there is so little space that those back areas are important for frequent use. Some people use the idea of staggered tools, so the items in back are higher, and this can work, though I think of all the wasted space under those gadgets. As is so often the case, much depends on your own personal setup and preferences.

Organizing the Closet – Clothes, Jackets, and Accessories Oh My

A little while back, I talked about pulling everything out of a small space as you work on it. This applies to that entire closet of clothes – whether the front hall closet with the jackets or your bedroom closet. Dealing with clothes in general can be a challenge, who really wants to face those things we no longer fit into, or the things we bought with the best of intentions yet still have the tags hanging off them? Imagine though, opening the closet next week and seeing only things that fit and you actually wear. It makes life so much simpler and even happier!

Choose the closet you will dig into. Open the door, reach in, and pull out an item. Look at it and decide whether it’s something you want to keep. Hopefully you’ll already have some containers ready for trash and donating – and you can put it into one of those right now if you’re not keeping it. If you are keeping it, set it aside, into a pile of the things you want to keep.

Reach into the closet again and pull out the next item. Make a decision of where it will go. Continue this with each item in the closet. I’d start with the hanging items and clear the entire rod. Then move onto any other items living in the closet. Pick it up and decide whether you are keeping it or letting it move on.

You might see that you’re avoiding certain items, you see it, but you repeatedly grab something else. There is no problem doing that, as long as you deal with it by the end. The idea is that the entire closet will be empty at one point. This is a great time to clean it – vacuum the floor and wipe any shelving down.

If you have the space, you could make piles of similar types of clothes with the ones you’ve decided to keep. One of the guiding principles of organizing is to keep like things together. Now, you can see if you have 8 black sweaters that meet the same need. Or 9 black pants. Or whatever.

As you pick up each item to put it back into the closet, evaluate it again. Yes, again. Consider whether you’re making up reasons to keep it. If you’re simply attached, but never wear it, make a special box where you keep those precious items. I don’t believe you have to part with everything, but keep the space in the closet for things that you use regularly.

If you’re like most people, you’ll find some random things from emptying out your closet. Some of these might end up with those other odds and ends from drawers and shelves. As you examine the various items figure out where the really need to be kept – storing them close to where you use them. I’ll address those odds and ends in a future post. For the time being, put away what you can. Find a place to store those things that are pending.

When you pull everything out of the closet before you are done, you’ll have to look at everything. It’s too easy to skip things when you just pull things out willy-nilly! It’s simple to avoid those items we dread unless we aim to get everything out before we’re done.

Dig in and have fun! Enjoy the happiness of going to your closet and only finding what you enjoy wearing, since it fits and you like it.

Diving Into a Small Organizing Project

Often when we “tackle” an organizing project, we dive in only half-heartedly. I don’t believe this is intentional, just a sign of other struggles: afraid of being overwhelmed, unsure of how long it will take, of making it complicated, etc. It can be daunting to truly dig into a space completely, yet this is exactly what we need to do, just in small increments.

It’s simple to go look at a shelf or a drawer and shuffle things around, trying to pull out the things that don’t belong there, whether they are trash or simple in the wrong area. This can even be a way to begin. One of the problems that occur when we do it this way is that we easily get frustrated or unmotivated to continue. Things are already in a jumble, shuffling things around leaves little room for progress. It provides no sense of accomplishment or of having made much of a difference.

On the other hand, if you take everything out of the space – the drawer or shelf (remember, start and stay small) – you can begin to group like items together. You will see right away if you have several items that are unnecessary duplicates. It might be time to find a container to keep some of those like items all together, and you will know what size you’ll need since they will be together.

Now that you have pulled everything out of the space, you can start grouping them with similar items. Deal first with the items you know you want to keep and figure out where you want them. Since the space is already empty, you can start putting them away. You will also see whether you still have too much for the space. You’ll need to decide then whether you can get rid of more or find another location to keep them. A container can be useful to keeping like items together within the space as well.

Frequently we come across items that we’re not sure where they need to go, they do not have a good home. These things can set us back since there does not seem to be a specific place they belong. The first step in dealing with those things will probably not feel the best, but to gather those items together in a container and put them to the side for the moment. Don’t concern yourself with right now with these things.

Those odds and ends can often be found throughout the house. If you have the time and availability to do it, I recommend letting them sit in a container for a while. You have the container, so if you have a need to get something from it, you know where it is. Putting them somewhere “just because there is nowhere better” does not serve you in the long run either. As you deal with other spaces, you might come across similar type items. Sometimes that is when you have a sudden idea of where to logically keep those items.

It takes time and energy to pull everything out, yet it will increase your productivity and effectiveness in whatever organizing project you dive into – as long as you remember to start with small projects. A standard drawer or shelf should take you typically less than 30 minutes for the entire process: from pulling everything out, sorting and purging, and putting the things back in. Maximize your energy by doing it right the first time, avoid shuffling things around, and find the wonderful success of accomplishing your organizing project on the first try.

Where to Start with Organizing the Entire Home

“If I want to get the whole house organized, where do I start?” I have the answer though most people don’t like what I tell them. Ideally, you want to begin in the area where you store most of your boxed up things – the basement or attic, sometimes the garage. Here in the Midwest, the basement is usually the place where boxes and holiday stuff goes. In one client’s space, it was a section of the finished basement, the laundry area. If you have an attic and this is where you put things for storage, then this is where you begin. It is the least exciting area to begin this transformation of your home, but will make your life easier in the end.

“But why the basement?”

First, it is likely that what lives in the basement are things that can be removed from your home entirely. We put things in the basement, forget what we’ve put there, and it becomes a bizarre discovery of items. This varies, and you probably have plenty of things you will want to keep. Those holiday decorations are worth keeping. The point is that the basement is where you store the things you want to keep, but do not want to have out and your opinion of what to keep changes dramatically over time. It has probably been so long since you dove into a number of boxes, you will be happy to get rid of many things.

Second, you need to make room for all the things you want to save from all the other rooms in the house. Where are they going to go if you have no room to put them in your main storage area? If you clear out everything from the basement at the beginning, you know what’s left are things you want. You also know how much space you have left for the things from the rest of the house.

Third, by starting with the storage area, you will reduce the amount of repetitive organizing you’ll need to do. If you just start putting containers in the basement before getting it organized, when it is time to work there, you will probably end up going through some of those bins again. It is easy to forget what is in each bin. It feels more tedious and likely to add to feeling overwhelmed and therefore becomes that much easier to procrastinate. If you added stuff to the area before clearing it out, it is also harder to work in there.

Organizing is often a repetitive process. As you go through things, you put like items together. It is virtually impossible to organize the like items until you have all those items in front of you. It is hard to predict how much room or what size container you need before you see everything together.

As you are going through things in the basement, you can start containers for those – “I know I have more of this type of …” If you have the space to leave those bins open and accessible, all the better. Just like the items that you use regularly, it is easiest if you keep like items together, even in storage. If you have this option, as you move along organizing each room, you can bring the keep items for storage down and put them away immediately.

Just imagine filling a container of treasures from another room. You carry the container into the basement and there is a space for it right now. You get to put it away, safely and not think about again until you are ready for it. It is a completed task now.

Although starting the process of organizing with the basement often sounds like the least exciting (and sometimes the most daunting), it will give you fabulous rewards. I have known many people who cannot believe the relief and ease of having that area ready, even lightening the process for them of dealing with the rest of the rooms. All of this is not to say that you can’t work on other spaces first, and I have done this plenty of times, just that this is the ideal place to begin.

On some level, I think of the idea of starting with the most tedious, hardest part first and then everything else feels easy. Having this done helps motivate you. As usual, I recommend setting aside small chunks of time to dig into the basement, not trying to make yourself tackle it in one weekend. Slow and steady wins the race, just direct your focus and energy in one area – make it the basement. You won’t regret it!

Help, My Partner is a Slob

Does the title sound familiar? Nevertheless, finding the balance between different people’s various styles of organizing can be challenging, especially when you are living with them. Living with anyone can be difficult; we all have quirks and ways that we like things. If you’ve decided to share your life with someone it requires compromise and sometimes just plain tolerance. So then what do you do when your partner is not as particular about things as you are?

First, where are your intolerables – those things that have to be a certain way? Where can you shift enough to accept things? Then ask the same questions for your partner. A weird example for me: I feel strongly about the toilet paper being put on the roll in a certain direction. My husband could care less. No problem, I change the rolls so they go on the way I want.

At a presentation I was giving, a woman asked at the end how she could organize so that her husband would not interfere with her systems. She explained that she needs the visual reminders of things. I suggested that they make “safe” areas in their home, a couple of places that were hers alone. That way when she set out the stuff by the back door to remind herself of errands, her husband knew to leave it alone and then the same thing for her vertical filing rack. Making some safe zones means that things are always where you left them. It also might mean that you’ll need to retrieve something for the other person, but it can be maintained in a way that works for you.

There is nothing wrong with creating certain spaces that are off limits to the other person, not that there is anything sinister going on. We are so individual in the way we deal with things, embrace that, and find ways to make it work. Hopefully it is easy to ask for areas that are purely yours and have that respected. Additionally, you keep control of that area, and if it gets disorganized, you can figure out why and make modifications.

I heard from a woman who said she needed help and her partner was not willing, so she wanted to hire someone. There did not seem to be any animosity there, just limits. On the other hand, he did not mind her hiring someone to come in to help her.

Depending on the situation, we might want or need the other person’s involvement. This is where I return to the power of a timer. If you want someone’s help, find a time limit that is mutually acceptable, then set the timer. There is no way that you will lose track of time. You gain credibility too that you want exactly what you are asking for. The stereotype of the nagging wife can be eliminated and the husband can be helpful. I warn you though that it might feel a little silly setting the timer, but don’t let that stop you.

We cannot change anyone else. We can only change ourselves. Can you accept that the dirty laundry never makes it into the basket? Or that you find random glasses around the house and not in the kitchen sink? Are they willing to meet you part way? Sometimes it can be a simple matter of their systems are not working anymore, so they need to find other ways to approaching things. Systems break down, we outgrow them, it happens to all of us. Finding systems that compliment each other so that you can maximize your own productivity is what matters. Look for ways to balance your different approaches. If you cannot figure it out, there are always professional who can help.

Tame Your Tupperware

As I was putting away the Tupperware the other morning, it occurred to me that this is something that easily gets out of control. It almost seems like it is having a party all by itself when we’re away. It gets all jumbled and chaotic. Tupperware is also one of those things that can be hard to part with, there are always uses for them. Nevertheless, it does need to gone through from time to time.

I decided to take a picture of MY Tupperware storage for you to see. This is not the most organized it gets, but this is how it looked this morning. It has been a little while since I went through it. Due to how we’ve arranged things in the kitchen, we have a large drawer dedicated to the Tupperware containers. In truth, we have more in there than what we regularly use and some that I could part with.

Sometimes I think of socks when dealing with Tupperware, their lids are like matching socks. They somehow become separated and seem to disappear. Therefore, the first step is to match lids to containers. Then it is time for the container without a lid to get recycled or re-purposed. If the container is short enough, it can fit in a drawer to contain small items there.

After you’re left with the containers and lids, you need to consider how many you actually use. As I’ve said, Tupperware is always useful and therefore can be hard to part with, yet there is limited space in your kitchen. Feel free to repurpose them for crafts, small kid stuff, hardware, or whatever, but limit yourself to what you need and use for the kitchen.

Since kitchens have so many variations, there is often no set place where the Tupperware is kept. As I said, we have a deep drawer we use, and with this it is easy to keep it from overflowing into other areas. This is part of the reason that many people need to make a point to go through their containers periodically – to limit the chaos from infringing on other areas.

There are also different approaches on how to deal with storing it. You might be able to see in my drawer that we are fortunate that many of them are quite stackable including the lids, even the ones from different companies. Yet, we have several that are not stackable. One great way is if you have a container, especially missing a lid that can hold all (or most of) the lids together. If you use a container for holding lids that you periodically use, you suddenly have floating lids until you have access to that container again. Never mind that you will need to make the time to gather all the lids together again. Ideally you’ll want to keep them altogether in one location.

Make the time to go through your Tupperware. I enjoy the process of finding where else I might use the excess ones. It should take you less than 30 minutes to pull it all out, match lids and put back what you want to keep. Not much time at all, so pick a time and dig in. Keep an eye on it to see when you might need to make time again.

Tackling One Room

No matter what your environment is like, choosing the room that you most want to get organized is where to start. What room do you just yearn to have some peace and organization in? This is your chosen room.

The simplest way to start is to walk into the chosen room, containers nearby, and look around. Find all the things that belong in another room. Put those items into the appropriate container. This is a great time to evaluate whether the item is something worth keeping. As you pick up something, look at it and think about it. Make a decision if you can.

It can be a good idea to have a pending area as well, a place for items that you cannot decide on at that moment. Of course, if you create a pending pile, you will need to make time to go through it at a later point.

This is also the time to pick up any trash, those loose pieces of paper that wander about or any trash that just was set aside. The idea is that you find all the things that do not belong in that room and remove them.

There are at least two ways to approach this. One way is to walk around the room focusing on one type of item, so all the things that belong in one other room are gathered up at one time. Then you do that for the next type of item, like gathering all the paper and trash.

I prefer the approach of focusing on one area within that room. You start with the coffee table for instance. It does not matter what is on it, you put all the items into their appropriate container, staying focused on the coffee table until that area is completed. Only then do you move on to another area within that room.

This is a great way to approach any room: from the storage areas like your basement or attic to any of the actual living spaces you have. It works for any degree or lack – of clutter. I admit that piles will accumulate in our living room, by the side of the couch to the coffee table. This is the way that I handle getting the room organized again. So, choose your room and dig in today.

What room would you choose to work on first?

Preparing to Purge

As FlyLady says, “You cannot organize clutter.” I am sure many people wish this were not true. The very idea of having to go through stuff and make decisions about what to keep and what to let go causes many people to shudder. It can be so tedious and often emotional. Sorting and organizing can be a time consuming process. As organizers, we sometimes forget that this process can be foreign and unfamiliar to others. Therefore, I am breaking the process down and sharing the critical steps to embarking on the task of sorting and purging.

The first thing you need to consider when beginning, this is to include in your time frame, any time you need to get it completely out of your possession. If you want to try to sell it on e-Bay, this takes time, so you need to make sure that you make the time to work on the process of it. Only you can judge whether you can be disciplined to take photos and create the listing. Until it is in the mail, you are not done. This applies just as much to donating it, so until it is out of your house, garage, and trunk, you are not finished. It is important to schedule the time for these things as you tackle purging your belongings.

Unless you have boundless energy and never get overwhelmed, start small. You do not need to accomplish everything in one day. Set aside a small amount of time for working on this, even using a timer so that you have a clear stopping point. It is so easy to get overwhelmed. This can happen to anyone, whether there is a lot of stuff around or even if there is minimal clutter. Overwhelm happens and it is something to avoid if you can. When we get overwhelmed, we often dread working on that thing again. “Ugh, the last time I started doing that….” FlyLady also comments that things did not get that way overnight, and therefore cannot get fixed overnight. If you start and stay small, you can help yourself stay motivated and productive.

It is important to decide on ONE area in which to focus. After you have chosen the area, have some containers to gather things in, you want to remain in that room until you are done working. If you want to donate items, you’ll need a container for those things. A trash bag is also a useful thing as you are working and cannot get distracted by going into another room. You might want a container for the things that belong in other rooms, as the goal is to wait to return those items to their appropriate room until you have completed working in that space. I often will have two containers for misplaced things, one for the upstairs rooms and one for the downstairs rooms. If you have even more stuff, you can have a container for each room.

In thinking about and planning to sort and purge your belongings, ideally you want to make time to regularly review and purge things again. By setting up some time to do this periodically, you can limit the burden and tedium for the future. You can adopt the approach of each time you bring something into the house, something else must leave. I find this somewhat extreme, though it certainly can be helpful. Find a time that makes sense to you to review things. If you rotate seasonal clothing, this is a great time to go through the past season’s clothes and part with what you did not wear. The key is to make time to review things.

These are the keys to getting you ready to sort and purge in the process of becoming more organized. It is important to consider these points before digging in and doing anything. Here is where you lay the groundwork that will help you succeed in the often tedious process of getting organized. You might notice that there is very little action at this level, yet without considering these points, it is easy to get distracted or overwhelmed. Both of these things can get in the way of making the progress you are aiming for, so it is helpful to factor these things into your plans.

Ask Yourself These Questions during Organizing

So you’ve decided that it might be time to go through your belongings and try to decided what to keep and what to get rid of? This can be a challenging process, it requires making decisions about the things that we have some attachment to or even love. Unfortunately this is an important activity, we cannot keep buying things without figuring out what we can part with as our homes have limited space. People have such a varied approach to this process: from the person who has no qualms parting with their stuff to the person who holds onto it – dearly concerned with that “might need it one day” mentality. Then there are the ones that fall somewhere in-between, where they hold onto things for a while and then seem to reach a point where they are fed up and are happy to purge with ruthless abandon. Regardless of where you find yourself, there are questions that you can ask yourself as you tackle the sorting and purging process.

1. Do you love it?
2. Do you need it?
3. When was the last time you used it?
4. When is the next time you anticipate using it?
5. How hard would it be to replace?
6. How many do you have like it?
7. Do you have room for it? Are you willing to make room for it?
8. If you knew someone would love/need it more, would you give it away to them?

Some people believe that the first two questions are the only ones worth asking. This is especially valuable if you live in a small space. If you do not love it and you do not need it, it needs to find a new home. I understand this philosophy, and in many ways these are the two most important questions to ask yourself. They encourage you to think twice before simply keeping that gift you secretly dislike. You do not actually love that gift, and you certainly don’t need it, so how do you handle that non-cherished gift? If you do not need nor love something, is there ever a good reason to use your valuable space to store it?

It can be hard to part with everything that does not pass the criteria of the first two questions. Questions 3 through 6 can help you whittle down things further. Maybe you really like something, but when you start to think about it, you realize that you have not used it in 5 years. Then it can be easier to decide to pass it along to the next person. Answering these questions as well helps you see what you might be keeping that is simply taking up space without giving you much value.

I like asking people whether they have room for it. The ultimate goal of going through things is so that your things are uncluttered. You want to be able to find and get the things that you need and want. Yet, we all have our own values and cherish things that someone else might look at with a puzzled expression. I see how I can cling to certain things, and no one else seems to understand. With this in mind, if you can make room for it, then keep it. When we are reluctant to part with something, the next question is to figure out what you would rather give up in order to make room for it. I think I have shared the story of getting rid of shoes to make room in the bottom of the closet for books. This is a good example. It was an unlikely place for books, yet reflects the value of them and the lack of need for excess shoes. It directs you to figure out where your priorities really are, and what are you willing to do in order to make space for what you determine is important enough.

I will briefly talk on the idea of passing along your things if you knew someone else would cherish it more. Sometimes the idea of simply dropping your belongings at the local thrift store seems like an amorphous thing. Does it become less so if you posted it (or had someone do it for you) on FreeCycle? When people use FreeCycle, there is little doubt that the person requesting that very item you listed wants or needs it. You often have the option of picking from several people. You know that it is going to be appreciated instead of potentially sitting on a store shelf for a while. You could apply this to friends and family as well if you knew there was a need.

There may be other questions to ask yourself. Any question that will make you pause or even stop to think about the value of keeping the item is valuable. It is too easy to gloss over the process and simply keep the things. The truth is that if you have room for it, uncluttered and functional space, until there is a drive to go through it, it can stay as it is for the time being. I am an advocate of working with the space that is available and limiting yourself to that space. If or when that space needs more breathing room, that is the time to start the process of going through it. Then these questions can help you with making the decisions about what stays and goes.