BY TERRI SAPIENZA | THE WASHINGTON POST
Professional organizer Rachel Strisik shares five organizing fundamentals:
— It’s better to take it slow.
“People will say, ‘I want to organize my entire bedroom,’ but that’s overwhelming, and it can derail you from the entire process,” says Strisik. Instead, write down the steps of your project first. “Looking at chunks is more manageable, less overwhelming and more likely to get done.”
— There is a difference between being neat and being organized.
Organizing is not just about getting bins; that is a big misconception. Neat is stacking items and putting things away. Organizing is having homes for items so you can find them when you need them.
“Organizing is the next step that will allow you to spend time on the things you want to spend time on rather than wasting time looking for X,” Strisik says. “It’s unrealisti— to think your house will look neat all the time, especially if you have children. But it can always be organized.”
— Off-site storage should be a last resort.
“I think they are a waste of money,” says Strisik. “Not only is it a major splurge, but what you put in there will probably never be looked at again. Out of sight, out of mind.”
— Looks matter.
If you like the color blue or flowers, spend the extra 50 cents to get blue files or the ones with flowers because you’re more likely to use them.
— Remember that organizing is not a one-time event.
There’s maintenance, too. Organizing works only if you continue to sort, group, file and discard as new items come into your home. “The first time might be the hardest,” Strisik says about organizing, “but the next time is just maintaining what you’ve already accomplished.”
Strisik shares some of her favorite organizational items.
— Set of six stuff file folders, $7.95 at crateandbarrel.com.
— TBS blue file cabinet, $159 at cb2.com.
— Bamboo dry-erase channel panel, $70 at seejanework.com.
— Kitchen: Martha Stewart Collection fridge bin, 8-by-14-by-4, $14.99 at macys.com.
— Kid’s space: Elephant storage bin ($31.99) and alligator wall organizer ($27.99) from 3sprouts.com; Write Side Up storage bin, $29 at landofnod.com.
Readers offer some personal suggestions:
— Every change of season I go through my house, and my rule is: Anything I didn’t wear, use or look at the year before goes to charity, including my “one day I’ll fit into this again” pants and my “want to cook more for my husband” pans.
— Purge, purge, purge! Create a place where you can keep a box for items to be donated or recycled, and when it’s full, drop it off to the appropriate facility.
— Turn all your clothes hangers to face the opposite way you usually hang them. As you wear each item, turn the hanger back around. At the end of six months, look at the items you have worn and get rid of the rest. Then, try to stick to this rule: Every time you buy a new article of clothing, another one in your closet has to go.
— Sort the mail at your recycling bin. Discard all return envelopes, inserts and catalogues. You’ll be amazed how little winds up crossing the threshold.
— Have the proper mind-set for getting rid of items you don’t need. When I look at something I know I should donate, I remind myself that someone else will get joy from it and I’ve already gotten so much pleasure from it.
— Every time my adult daughter comes home to visit, I send some of her stuff back with her.
— Accumulating things for donation pickups was never that helpful (too much time to reconsider, and I had to have a collection place). With Freecycle, I can list an item the moment I find it, and it’s usually gone within hours.
— Completely empty the space you want to organize, whether it be a drawer, closet or garage, and start from there.