Picture Submission #1

Here is one of the submissions I received and what I would do with it:

1.       Lower left, under desk:  Looks like they have a lot of papers and odds and ends (with the plastic bin and the box). I would keep an eye out at garage sales and second hand stores for a filing cabinet. Hit the dollar store for some folders and files and sort that out into a more reasonable system (whatever works for them). Until you get a cabinet, I would suggest a box, maybe one with a lid? The plastic tub, I would have to know what was inside to figure that out, but it could be reorganized and put on the box/cabinet.

2.       These papers and books could be better organized into folders and standing on end instead of stacked for the sake of finding things in the pile. Some of them may be incorporated into the cabinet/box as well.

3.       A and B: The first box looks like it might be able to be moved to the shelf. The CD’s, combined with 3b’s CD’s should be moved into a shoe box or a CD case (whichever is easier for the person). Maybe this, too, can fit on the shelf or possibly the desk where 3b currently is.

4.       I am guessing this is an extra tower that is not in use. Maybe it could be moved to the back corner behind the current tower OR to a storage location elsewhere in the house.

The rest of the papers and what not should be sorted into the shelf folders or the box/cabinet and placed in a system that works best for the person. Some people prefer alphabetical. Some prefer things to be placed in order of most used to least. There are many ways to sort things, but when they are sorted, it makes it easier to find them. So I say sort them to what works best for you!

Took me a while to figure out what I would do here. I would start by marking off some area’s in chalk on the driveway (pick a nice day when there is NO rain due and plan on getting it all done that day). Areas such as “Storage” “Donation” “Lawn/Yard Care” “Auto” “Tools” “Sports”. Start taking things out and putting them in the areas they fit. Feel free to add more categories as you go along.

The key here is to remove it all while sorting and THEN put it back in. Getting rid of some stuff or moving it to another area (if it is better in the basement for example) would be paramount. There is too much stuff in this garage to try and do it in steps. Sometimes, a job is just too big.

That’s it for this week, folks! Be sure to send me more submissions! Happy Organizing!

Before and After plus Shelves!

As you can see, I have these photo's stored on picasa as well, but I thought I would tell you a little about them, so you can see some of my work.

This is a friend's kitchen pantry. We took everything out, cleaned the shelves and arranged as so. She was right there telling me what she used and didn't use often. We put the less used things on the higher shelves since she is vertically challenged.

This is a set of three stacked plastic drawers in her home. The first one being her craft drawer (which she said she could never find anything in). We organized that with bags standing up so that she can remove things and look through things without going through whole piles.

Next is her paper drawer. She has all these lovely pads of various sizes and colors and I'm not sure she even remembered they were there! It took a similar look, standing the paper on end so it was more accessible.

Last is the school supply. As you can see, it had some of the extra paper and crafting in it, so it was drastically trimmed down. Later we were even able to add her plastic containers of crayons to the drawer as well.

This set of drawers was a Hodge-podge of a bunch of things. I first combined all the extra school supplies in those drawers into one. Next was the music instruments and art supplies and lastly the games and misc things left.

We filled a small garbage bag with items from the drawers that were useless (including some very old candy). She can now, mostly at a glance, locate the items she wants in her 2 sets of drawers AND her pantry. All of this took about two hours total. She had some containers saved up for me and some bags for me to use. Add a few boxes and a sharpie and I had all my supplies!

Now the next two pictures she did on her own. I was so impressed I had to include them.

She home schools her children, so this was a place for their books and things for various subjects. She bought most of the material for this at the dollar store. The boxes for each subject are covered in shelving paper and the shelves themselves in tiles. I think it looks fantastic!

My next post will delve into pictures people have sent in and how I would go about organizing them. Until then, send me more pictures AND more questions!

What Now?

Ok. So you gathered your containers and whatnot. You've removed everything from whatever it is you want to organized and gotten rid of some things. You've cleaned off the shelves and they're empty. At this point, you might be asking yourself, "What now?"

Now is where the fun part (at least to me) comes in!

 

First, I group things either by category or usage. What does that mean? Well, I’ll explain it with an example: Say you are organizing a pantry or a closet.  You can choose to either combine things by category (e.g. baking items, winter accessories, cleaning supplies, breakfast food) or by usage (e.g.  Top shelf for the things we get down rarely, middle for the things we use daily, etc..). I prefer to do both, but sticking to a single way to organize is probably simpler for most people.

Second, I physically group these items together, putting ones in containers that need to be (e.g. gloves, hats and scarves in a box; extra sponges in a bag; bottles of extract in a Tupperware container, etc). Once grouped, you can tell where they will fit best. Even if you don’t group by usage, be sure to make it a factor to some degree as you sort the items. After all, you wouldn’t want the cereal on the top shelf if that is what you have for breakfast every morning, and you wouldn’t want the gloves and hats hidden behind a bunch of other things in the winter time.

Third, Figure out where things fit the best BUT are still able to be removed and used.  It is OK to leave spaces between things. It just means you have more space for that spare bottle of air freshener that was on sale. It is also ok to try something in one place and move it later when it fits better somewhere else. You know where it will go best. This is why input from you is always important when someone else is organizing things for you.

Fourth - and this one is optional - label the space. You can get sticky white labels at the dollar store or even use small post-it notes and tape. If you want everyone else to know where the winter hats and gloves are, write it on the box; This helps the rest of the family know where to put things back. A side bonus is it can help small kids to learn to read.

In closing, be sure that things you use frequently are accessible and that you know that each thing has a place.  Stand back and enjoy!

This week I put the challenge out to you! Send me your pictures of things you just can’t figure out how to organize and I will do one of two things: I will either do a blog post on how I would organize it (with your permission) or I will send you an email back with instructions on what to do. Please also send me some information on what it is and what is inside.  Email me at theorganizationguru@gmail.com