Organization help??

[BMW]

I have been looking at books that have pictures and ideas and instructions for organizing... everything from bathroom cupboards to closets to garages. Some books have "get it together in 40 days" type promises.

 

But, I don't want to spend the money right now... I have a great routine for daily life right now. I don't need a fly lady website. My struggle isn't getting dishes done, floors cleaned, swiping down bathrooms. My struggle is that I have no idea how to organize "things"... particularly cupboards, closets and the garage.

 

Any ideas? websites???

 

Thanks

[Mabeline]

I enjoyed this book. It was recommended here. I think one of the main ideas of good organization is making sure everything has a specific home and you can easily remember or find that home when the object is not in its home. Did that make sense? LOL. Good luck!

[Aubrey]

You know, I don't want to claim to be organized or anything, but some things that have helped me are

 

1. Think outside the box. Put stuff where you use it instead of where you think it ought to go. For ex, I used to keep all the hair-fixing stuff in the bathroom, but I *always* fix my girls' hair sitting at my desk. Now there's a desk drawer for it, & it's always put away.

 

2. Put stuff that goes together, together. I've made little kits for some stuff. So bandaids, hydrogen peroxide, & neosporin-type-stuff are in a bin together. Hair stuff is in a bin together. So I can say, "Bring me the hair kit," & I don't have to worry that someone will forget/not be able to find something.

 

3. Don't be afraid to have two of something. My desk drawer that has the hair stuff also has neosporin, nail clippers, etc. So there's the kit in the bathroom & a drawer in my desk.

 

4. When looking for a place for something, always stay close to where you use it. The camera cord hanging out of the front of the computer drives me nuts, but whenever I'd put it away w/ computer stuff, it would be buried deep in a box of computer stuff we never accessed. The camera cord gets used several times a month. So I put it in the front of the top drawer of the file box, where the computer is sitting. It's completely illogical, but I can always find it.

 

When I'm organizing a space like a bathroom cabinet, I pull everything out & think about what really needs to go there & how often I need to reach it. The happiest I've ever been in the kitchen, for ex, was when I ditched normal & started storing my flour & sugar & baking stuff w/in easy reach--where the coffee cups, glasses, & every day dishes would normally go.

 

I have a pie safe that my gr-gr-grandfather made, & since my dishes are all the same color (dif designs), I think they look really good out--showing. So it's sort-of a puzzle for me. I put stuff where I use it & then adjust everything else.

 

Most recently, I've realized that I don't like my measuring cups floating around my spatula drawer. I dread baking because it means trying to *find* the 1/3c. So I've pulled them all out, & they're sitting on the counter, waiting to find a new home. I think I'm going to hang them from the bottom of the baker's rack, but that's across the kitchen from the flour & sugar, so...maybe not. Maybe cup hooks under the flour & sugar. Sounds pretty tacky, though, lol. We'll see.

[Catwoman]

My struggle isn't getting dishes done, floors cleaned, swiping down bathrooms. My struggle is that I have no idea how to organize "things"... particularly cupboards, closets and the garage.

 

 

Maybe you could come to my house and do the cleaning, while I go to yours and organize your stuff?

 

It sounds like we both need some help -- but with different things! ;)

 

Cat

[Dirtroad]

Martha Stewart ... but you would want to find a more economical alternative... but she has awesome ideas

[dalynnrmc]

Maybe you could come to my house and do the cleaning, while I go to yours and organize your stuff?

 

It sounds like we both need some help -- but with different things! ;)

 

Cat

 

Hey! That's what I was gonna say! :D

 

Aubrey posted some fantastic stuff there!

 

My big thing is putting like things together, preferably in some sort of container and labelled. Yep, I know it doesn't have to be that way, but I like the "put away" look. Mostly this is for stuff that is used less-often, but it also applies to things that are used more often.

 

I have a *ton* of cub scouting things. I've finally gotten them arranged in a way that is most helpful to me. The recruiting materials are in a cardboard filing box, so that I can carry it back and forth to the 5 different schools we recruit in 3 times a year. :001_huh: The pack awards are in a plastic filing box with a lid, neatly filed into filing folders (with an occasional baggie inserted). The items we use for den meetings are in a milk crate, easily toted back and forth as well as easily swapped-out depending on the craft or game we are doing that week. And all of my "helpful ideas" books are right here by my desk... where I do my planning. A lot of my homeschooling idea books and spines are here as well, on a different shelf, because the computer desk is where I do my planning.

 

I stopped keeping my "teacher" stuff here. Teacher guides, answer booklets, stuff like that which I use almost daily - now it's all in the kitchen on a shelf near the table. Why? Because we school at the table. If I need one of those books, I'm in the kitchen. (Totally goes with what Audrey was saying about storing stuff where you use it.)

 

 

Carry that into your cabinets. The lesser-used veggies are at the back of the cupboard. The lesser-used staples like rice are higher up on a shelf. The bread stays on the counter... for as long as bread *stays* anywhere in this house.

 

In the bathroom, we did a rearrangement that included putting our daily meds on the counter by the sink, putting things like ace bandages and tape into a container and put it with the *camping gear*, and bringing every day meds like tylenol and kids' cough syrup near the front of the cabinet. If you have a small cabinet above the sink... do you use it? If so, put things in it that you use all of the time. If you don't, stock it with things you seldom need but that would be used in the bathroom.

 

Actually, the current bottle of Tylenol and cough syrup are both above the kitchen sink. :tongue_smilie: It's the flu medicine and backup bottles of pain killer that are at the front of the bathroom cabinet. Cookbooks are above the kitchen sink, too. And my 3 gallon bean pot is high enough up I have to get dh to reach it... when we use it... which is when company is over... which is... never. :tongue_smilie:

[Nestof3]

I think Aubrey has great ideas.

 

DE-CLUTTER

I also think it is important to actually get rid of stuff first. There have been many threads about this. I think this is the most crucial thing.

 

RECIPES

One thing that helps me is to post recipes I use ALL of the time inside of my cabinets. I just tape them there. I have recipes for: pancakes/waffles, several kinds of muffins I make a lot, my favorite bread, peanut butter balls, choc. chip pan cookies and gluten-free peanut butter cookies.

 

In another cabinet, I have reminders about certain things, like: how to tell freshness of egg.

 

Above my washer and dryer, I have taped inside of the cabinets a stain guide (what to do for certain stains).

 

I got rid of almost every cookbook because I always use www.allrecipes.com. I have a couple of standard. If I find a recipe I really like, I print it out, cut it out, tape it to computer paper, and put inside a page protector. This goes in my 3-ring binders. I have one for baked goods, desserts, breakfast foods, smoothies, etc. I also have one for main dishes, side dishes, etc.

 

THINK OUTSIDE OF THE BOX

 

We have limited space here, and the boys have a wardrobe in their bedroom for their clothes. It's an IKEA one. In the top cabinet, I store extra toilet paper, paper towels, napkins, and baby wipes. In the other cabinet, I store their extra sheets, pillow cases, blankets. I got rid of all extra sheet sets as I wash, dry and put back on sheets in the same day. I just don't have room for them, and we adults never mess the bed.

 

I only keep a few extra towels on hand as well. Less appealing towels immediately become rags for my husband.

 

In our "linen closet/game closet/toiletry closet," I have two Sterilite drawers and a big bin. One drawer holds medicines, one holds first aid, one holds batteries. In the other unit, one holds travel-size toiletries, one holds toothpaste, dental floss, extra toothbrushes, etc. The big bin holds stocked-up toiletries.

 

MAKE USE OF SPACE

 

In our furnace/water heater closet, I store: mop, extra filters, plungers.

 

KEEP LIKE THINGS TOGETHER

 

In a Tupperware container, I keep vacuum belts, filters and bags.