View Full Version : A place for everything
Chicken lady
6-20-16, 8:57am
And everything in it's place"
i love this concept.
My cousin and I joke that we should live next door to each other (people's careers make that impossible) because we could clean both houses together.
She actually has places for everything that is in her house. Clear, logical places, and yet she hates to put things away! I love to put things away, "straighten up", "tidy", "create order". I hate to clean - sweep, vacuum, mop, wash... Dusting is ok.
i went to visit her once when her boys were small, and when she went up to put them to bed, I put everything away. It was obvious where it went and I was done by the time they had washed faces, brushed teeth, and listened to two picture books and a chapter from a kids story.
she came down and said "oh my god, you cleaned my entire house!" I said "I didn't clean anything, I just put stuff away." And she said "but that's the hard part!"
which made me laugh, except, it's the hard part for me too. Because I always have more things than places. So as part of the elephant eating, I am listing all of my rooms, and as I come across items, I am either putting them in the room(s) where that category belongs, or choosing a room and adding that category to the list.
for example, my basement is divided into two "rooms" by the closet under the central stairs. So the basement listings are "basement a", "basement b", and "closet". My scrapbooking corner is in basement a, so on that page I have written "scrapbooking".
I am hoping that this change from my current system of "store whatever you pick up in the nearest abailable location based on what fits" will help me make better decisions about what to keep/get rid of and how to change my storage to reflect my priorities.
i'm sure I'm going to come across a lot of things I don't have good storage for, so hopefully people can give me ideas and suggestions (other than how to konmarie my clothes)
Chicken lady
6-20-16, 8:58am
Apparently I messed up the thread title and I can't fix it. It's supposed to say "a place for everything.
moderator?
Apparently I messed up the thread title and I can't fix it. It's supposed to say "a place for everything.
moderator?
Ask and ye shall receive.
Chicken lady
6-20-16, 9:12am
Thank you.
I'm bad at immediately putting things away but I have found one organizational trick that really works for me. We used to have a bathroom vanity which was a total disaster. To have to bend down and dig behind stuff to get what you wanted meant everything was just thrown in there.
When we redid the bathroom, we took away the vanity and replaced it with a pedestal sink. There was a very narrow wall (9" deep) next to the tub, and I found that one of the "Billy" IKEA units fit there perfectly, so we installed that and use glass doors. Inside that cabinet, I store towels, all color coordinated to the bathroom and neatly folded they way stores fold them. As for the vanity items, I also got from IKEA six 9" baskets and with my label maker I designated the baskets with the following functions:
Hair
Teeth
Clip
Body
Shave
Make-up
The baskets are on two shelves in the Billy cabinets. Cleaning supplies are now in the linen closet in the hall.
Almost all grooming things fit into one of those categories, and it's SO easy to just grab something and toss it in a labeled basket. I think it helps that there are actually labels on the basket. But I'm so surprised that NOTHING is ever in the wrong place!
I love having spots and reworking things to make them work for my life. I am desperately trying to get my 10 year old used to doing this, like putting his backpack in the same spot everyday. It's a work in progress!!!
I like to find solutions to things that are not working. I noticed I always put my purse wherever because I didn't have a spot. I made a spot on top of the dryer, next to where I got out the garage. Now I have a go to and I know where it is.
Chicken lady
6-20-16, 10:11am
We have a hook by the door for car keys. Apparently this is not a concept that ds's girlfriend had ever seen. Shortly after they moved in together, I found ds in our shop working on something. I asked "what are you doing?" And he said "making gf a key finder." I said "that looks like a hanging rack." And he said "yep. And if she uses it, she'll be able to find her keys."
catherine, I love the sound of your bathroom! Mine could definitely use an overhaul.
Ultralight
6-20-16, 10:14am
I usually put stuff like keys, wallet, ballcap, etc. on my coffee table. This way I can see it.
I also just throw my dirty laundry in a pile on the bedroom floor.
When someone comes over I clean off the coffee table and put my dirty clothes into my duffle. Takes two minutes.
Most everything else has its place and stays there. :)
Miss Cellane
6-20-16, 10:29am
I've found that I have to make putting things back where they belong as easy as possible. This is especially true for things that get used a lot.
For example, I only use certain serving dishes when I have company. They live at the top of a tall cabinet over the sink. I need a step stool to get them down and put them away. But that's okay, because I only use them every month or two. My keys get tossed into a bowl right when I walk in the door, because I use them all the time and they have to be easy to put "away" and easy to retrieve.
When I find that I'm not putting something away, when it already has a designated spot, it's usually because there is some obstacle in the way of getting back to its home--I have to move other stuff, it is not stored where I use it so I have to take it somewhere else, that sort of thing. I recently reorganized all the kitchen cabinets, because I found I was not putting certain pots and pans back where they belonged. The reason was that I had designated a cabinet right next to the stove for them, but to fit everything into that cabinet meant that for most items, things were stacked on other things, and the cabinet was stuff full. So there was a very careful sort of tetris going on, to make sure everything fit. To get a pan I use almost daily, I had to pull one stack of sauce pans out of the cabinet, then lift two pans and a colander up, grab the pan I needed, then put everything back. And a repeat when i wanted to put the pan away. For stuff I use every single day.
Now there are two cabinets devoted to pots and pans, one on either side of the stove. And the slow cooker and casserole dishes, which I don't use nearly as often, are further away. And the tool box that use to be in that cabinet is now in another room entirely. But it makes getting pots and pans and putting them back so much easier. Things are only stacked two deep--the two pans I use the most are front and center with nothing stacked on them, the pot lids are hanging on hooks on the inside cabinet walls, not stacked up. I just reach in, grab, and go.
And stuff gets put away without even thinking about it.
we moved from an old house with a 4' linen closet to a home built in the 90s. It does not have a linen closet. That means all blankets, quilts and sheets are stored on the shelf above the clothes in the bedroom closets.......towels are in the bathroom vanities. Oh, how I long for another linen closet. I am too short to put away things on the shelf in the bedrooms without a ladder or step stool and cannot tell you how many times we've opened the closet doors to have a quilt or blanket fall on our head. The vanities have become a black hole, only sorted out when we lose something.
we moved from an old house with a 4' linen closet to a home built in the 90s. It does not have a linen closet. That means all blankets, quilts and sheets are stored on the shelf above the clothes in the bedroom closets.......towels are in the bathroom vanities. Oh, how I long for another linen closet. I am too short to put away things on the shelf in the bedrooms without a ladder or step stool and cannot tell you how many times we've opened the closet doors to have a quilt or blanket fall on our head. The vanities have become a black hole, only sorted out when we lose something.
This irks me about our house. It has NO linen closet. I am still trying to figure out how to make this work because all of the linen closet "stuff" has to go in the Master Closet. I am thinking of converting the closet under the stairs into a linen closet somehow.
catherine
6-20-16, 11:04am
we moved from an old house with a 4' linen closet to a home built in the 90s. It does not have a linen closet. That means all blankets, quilts and sheets are stored on the shelf above the clothes in the bedroom closets.......towels are in the bathroom vanities. Oh, how I long for another linen closet. I am too short to put away things on the shelf in the bedrooms without a ladder or step stool and cannot tell you how many times we've opened the closet doors to have a quilt or blanket fall on our head. The vanities have become a black hole, only sorted out when we lose something.
I'm curious--do new homes have linen closets in general? Or are they like pantries, and outdated? I couldn't imagine not having one.
Ultralight
6-20-16, 11:06am
My apartment has a linen closet.
catherine
6-20-16, 11:08am
My apartment has a linen closet.
What does a minimalist have in a linen closet? One towel?
I'm assuming you don't have a second set of sheets.
Just curious :)
Ultralight
6-20-16, 11:09am
What does a minimalist have in a linen closet? One towel?
I'm assuming you don't have a second set of sheets.
Just curious :)
It is mostly teep and paper towels stored in there.
catherine
6-20-16, 11:11am
It is mostly teep and paper towels stored in there.
That makes sense.
Mine does not Catherine. It drives me nuts!!! And we have an upstairs and downstairs, you would think there would be at least 1.
I have a linen closet but the washer/dryer were shoved under the stairs so I was always banging my head. I turned the 4th bedroom into a laundry room and it's wonderful. Finally a room with plenty of storage space because we have stupid tiny closets in this cabin. So the linens and all the things you'd store in a linen closet are in the laundry room. The linen closet I turned over to the son with his bedroom right next to it and he uses it as overflow storage for clothes, shoes, etc. It's pretty small maybe 4' wide and 7" deep.
sweetana3
6-20-16, 12:07pm
We did not have much room for the small things in our bathroom. They tended to get lost in the bigger closet. So I moved a four shelf glass doored lawyer's cabinet to the bathroom. It has wicker containers for mouth things, RX extras, general medicine, travel acquired stuff, etc. Holds the hand towels, bulk shampoo and body wash and such.
Not only does it organize a bunch of smalls, but I can see them to instantly know if we need to add to the shopping list. I found we had bulk toothbrushes because our dentist gives each of us one for every visit. In addition, I used zip lock bags to group like things together.
Marie Kondo says that having designated and easy-to-get-to places for things is very important. You have incentive to go and retrieve and item, but less of one to put it back.
Since we're planning on working in my bathroom (spackling, painting), I've cleared off the double sink countertop....and I love it! I didn't have much extra stuff on it, just a framed photo and a glass vase filled with dried flowers. Now it only has the soap dispenser and water glass. I find I can't leave the bathroom without making sure everything is put away. No pictures on the wall either, which makes dusting a breeze.
This makes me want to clear off all the flat places where I have decorative things displayed, but I enjoy having my things around. But dusting is a pain!
Chicken lady
6-20-16, 10:06pm
Dusting is a chance to pick up your objects and handle them and look them over. To enjoy the colors, shapes, and textures and contemplate whatever it is that makes you have this object in the first place.
mschrisgo2
6-20-16, 11:58pm
"Dusting is a chance to pick up your objects and handle them and look them over. To enjoy the colors, shapes, and textures and contemplate whatever it is that makes you have this object in the first place."
I agree! I love to dust! It was one of the first "jobs" I got as a child, I would dust and my mother would tell me the stories of the things.
I'd love to help you come up with ideas.
Chicken lady
6-21-16, 8:00am
Thanks. I enjoy hearing about ways other people have tackled grouping and organizing - like the bathroom projects.
since this is still in it's early stages, the biggest thing for me is making a shift in how I handle objects that don't have a place. Generally, if I am trying to clear an area, I pick up the object and ask "where can I put this do it will be out of the way?" Now I am forcing myself to ask "where does this live?" If I can't find a home for it, then I can't keep it.
it is already becoming clear that there are going to be too many categories (or too many items per category) in room A of the basement. I also need to rethink/rework the storage though - right now there are a few small shelves but most of the items are in boxes or bins. I'm supposed to get a replacement for the big storage rack dh moved to the barn, so that will definitely go in there - it will let me store bins (fabric and raw fiber for example) 5 high without stacking them more than one on top of another. Right now I can physically only stack them 4 high and then I can't really get to the bottom one, mostly they are all over the room in stacks of 2. 15 in 3 stacks takes up a lot less space than 15 in 7 stacks.
there are also some "for now's" going on - "for now" I am leaving some books in the basement because there will be a new bookshelf in the addition next to the piano. And the piano music will go there, freeing up two shelves in the den. I should measure those shelves so that "for now" doesn't get too big.....
A book I found to be useful for me in thinking about organizing is "Organizing from the Inside Out" by Julie Morgenstern. After I read this book, I really thought about how I use things and grouped them accordingly. I have an under the sink basket with my hairdryer, brushes and product. I pull the whole basket out to do my hair then put it back after use. All of the items I use after a shower are in one drawer in the vanity. In the linen closet, I have clear shoeboxes with different categories on them: first aid, cold and tummy ache, eyes (contact lens stuff), teeth (floss, toothbrushes). These are items I don't use every day but want handy when I do need them. These are labeled with a Sharpie on the side in addition to being clear so I can just pull out the one I want. Items I use more regularly (soap bars, the big Qtip container that I use for refills in the drawer) are loose in front of the shoe boxes. I used to try to stack things up on a 3 tiered shelf but I was always knocking something down when retrieving it, and that just looked really messy and was also not obvious to guests if they needed to find something.
Ultralight
6-21-16, 8:29am
Now... I don't want to be "that guy" but I think it needs said that oftentimes organizing is just well-planned hoarding. Something to think about...
Is it worth organizing or is it better to simply de-own?
My 5yo niece said the other day she like it at my house because when you want the scissors you know where they will be... at her house there are lots of scissors, but most of the time you have to give up because you can't find any of them. Personally I don't think organization seldom has much to do with hoarding.
Chicken lady
6-21-16, 8:39am
Yes ultralite, that is the question. My mileage will vary. ;-)
and I'm pretty sure that when I get to the end, I will be making really hard choices between things that I want and things that I want MORE, because I only get one room of "library stacks". The first floor needs to be agreeable to everyone, so dh will think it's a little overfilled and I will see unused potential storage space everywhere.
Except for for the previously mentioned rack and shelf, there will be no additional storage items bought until all items are in their correct room. Then we will see. For example, I have several low quality, small thrift store bookshelves. It may be that they will all go, replaced by a nicer tall shelf or cupboard that opens up more floor space....
Ultralight
6-21-16, 8:47am
You are keeping at it, which amazes me daily! :)
Keep on!
I'd recommend if you could only do this in one room in your house, do it in the kitchen. When I finally got it organized where everything has its own place , it suddenly became functional - so much easier to work in.
Ultralight
6-21-16, 10:04am
...it suddenly became functional - so much easier to work in.
True moment of clarity! :)
This irks me about our house. It has NO linen closet. I am still trying to figure out how to make this work because all of the linen closet "stuff" has to go in the Master Closet. I am thinking of converting the closet under the stairs into a linen closet somehow.
I am looking for a solution. We have a king size bed so all the quilts, comforters, etc are huge. All the storage space under the bed is taken at the moment.
I have seen risers that raise the bed a few inches. Maybe I could rearrange and store some things under the bed?
catherine
6-21-16, 10:19am
I have seen risers that raise the bed a few inches. Maybe I could rearrange and store some things under the bed?
I had never seen risers before, but DIL brought them in to our house when they lived with us for a few months, and she had a sliding box that fit perfectly. The risers enabled a pretty deep box, actually. You would definitely be able to store blankets and pillows.
Chicken lady
6-21-16, 10:33am
Creamer, you make a good point, but my kitchen is moving to the addition, so I would just be redoing everything again in a year or two. I'm honest enough to know I won't finish everything else in two years. (Dd moves out in two years, taking her stuff and creating a third "guest room")
i don't really like storing stuff under beds. It creates warrens for dust bunnies. I do like my ikea guest bed with the integral drawers though. Ds said it was the most comfortable bed he's ever slept in, but that might be the result of a really good mattress.
ApatheticNoMore
6-21-16, 12:03pm
I am looking for a solution. We have a king size bed so all the quilts, comforters, etc are huge. All the storage space under the bed is taken at the moment.
I have seen risers that raise the bed a few inches. Maybe I could rearrange and store some things under the bed?
won't it just make the bed feel too high? My bed came with a frame. But it's pretty high to begin with, so I gave it away. Now the mattress just sits on the box platform and there's no storage underneath as it sits on the ground. I don't like to be so high up.
Ultralight
6-21-16, 12:07pm
won't it just make the bed feel too high? My bed came with a frame. But it's pretty high to begin with, so I gave it away. Now the mattress just sits on the box platform and there's no storage underneath as it sits on the ground. I don't like to be so high up.
Good point. I have a six inch memory foam mattress on the floor. This is my "bed" and it is very comfy!
ToomuchStuff
6-21-16, 12:22pm
There are things called platform beds. They do vary in design. Most that I have seen, the platform (which may or may not contain drawers and storage), replace the box (the rarely accurately named box springs as most are just a box with fabric).
I am looking at replacing my current one (don't like the one large drawer design, and want a larger bed), and building the replacement.
Teacher Terry
6-21-16, 12:39pm
My DH needs a landing spot as soon as he comes in the front door. So I put a cute little table there that his alone for keys, etc. This works well and he no longer loses his keys, etc. I find I put things away immediately now that I live in a 1 story home versus 2. It is just easier. I have lived in new homes that had linen closets so am surprised some of you don't have them.
Teacher Terry
6-21-16, 12:51pm
I truly don't understand the holding things feel good when you dust. It feels better to me to not have so much to dust. Also I think that when you have too many things displayed that nothing sticks out-it all is a blur. Whereas when there is less people see and appreciate what you do have.
Ultralight
6-21-16, 12:54pm
I truly don't understand the holding things feel good when you dust. It feels better to me to not have so much to dust. Also I think that when you have too many things displayed that nothing sticks out-it all is a blur. Whereas when there is less people see and appreciate what you do have.
Agree!
Teacher Terry
6-21-16, 12:57pm
A few years ago I had done a major purging of my bookcase in the DR. It has one row of books and the rest is pics of my parents, family, etc and a few mementos. My friends that left really enjoyed seeing my parent's for example because they had known them. I find a lot of people looking at the bookcase and asking questions about the people. If it was cluttered it would be lost in the shuffle.
ToomuchStuff
6-21-16, 1:00pm
As people get older, I have seen them go a couple different ways. One way is they complain about all the dust catchers, the other (tends to happen more when no family around and a lot of friends have passed), is to be happy about the stuff and the memories it helps them with, while not being concerned about the dust.
A friend picked up a t shirt for his father, that made me think of this. It had a dinosaur on it and said "All my friends are dead".
Chicken lady
6-21-16, 1:00pm
This may be a function of being a primarily visual vs. kinesthetic or tactile person.
Also, that may be an issue in the "if you are just keeping the thing for the memory, take a picture and get rid of the thing." Concept - for me, in no way is the picture equivalent to the thing.
Ultralight
6-21-16, 1:04pm
Also, that may be an issue in the "if you are just keeping the thing for the memory, take a picture and get rid of the thing." Concept - for me, in no way is the picture equivalent to the thing.
1. Why?
2. I think that idea of taking a pic of the thing and throwing it away is a clandestine way of getting a person to realize that thing was not as important they thought. It is kind of a bait-and-switch. The person takes the pic and tosses the thing. Then they realize they don't miss the thing and they don't look at the pic. So they perhaps delete the pic too.
ToomuchStuff
6-21-16, 1:09pm
1. Why?
2. I think that idea of taking a pic of the thing and throwing it away is a clandestine way of getting a person to realize that thing was not as important they thought. It is kind of a bait-and-switch. The person takes the pic and tosses the thing. Then they realize they don't miss the thing and they don't look at the pic. So they perhaps delete the pic too.
You might want to reread their post. By the reading of their post, I would say it is because they are TACTILE (touch) person.
Some people are visual, some auditory, and others memory is by touch. (why some people for example can't remember someones name when they see them, but can when they hear their voice, etc)
Teacher Terry
6-21-16, 1:15pm
I don't take pics of things. But I know it works for some people. I had a 50 anniversary plate from my favorite grandparents and my grandma's wedding ring. I wear the ring all the time and realized I no longer needed the plate so gave it to the thrift store. I have only kept a few things that my Mom gave me. For years I kept it all and moved it all over the country every time we moved. I would have never left that stuff go in the past. I started 24 years ago when I moved across country and realized I had accumulated more stuff then what would fit in the biggest uhaul trailer you could rent. There were 5 of us then. Then 4 years later I left my hubby and moved across the country again with a much smaller uhaul. about 12 years ago I got really serious about too much stuff. When I married my current DH people gave us all sorts of stuff that we didn't need even though we didn't want them too. Most of that ended up in a few years at the thrift stores. I wanted to buy new sheets for my friends that were visiting and new towels so I gave a way a set of the old for each. I figure 2 sets of sheets per bed is fine.
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