How we use the storage spaces in our homes tends to evolve over time.  Intentional planning and/or trial and error over the period of years help us refine the organizational systems we depend on and allows us to function in our homes using muscle memory to find and put away things.  That’s why situational disorganization can be so frustrating.  I hear that frustration in clients' voices when they say “I used to be so organized...I don’t know what happened”.  What usually happens is life transitions have the power to wreck these systems practically overnight that we have worked to perfect.  Even happy life transitions can do this:  remodeling or moving to a dream home, having children, and job changes can toss us into a disorganized state by erasing years of organization.

One of the best ways to end situational disorganization is to recognize it! Like the saying goes “You’ve got to name it to claim it.”  Recognizing that you feel overwhelmed by your stuff and don’t want to spend years rebuilding organizational systems through trial and error is the first BIG step in the journey back to organized.  I’ve been here myself as a new mom of two kids, two moves, and a job change in just a few years.

Give each space in your house a JOB

 The next step in our journey is defining what those new organizational systems are going to look like and how they will function.  This is a planning exercise, not a moving stuff around or buying organizing products exercise. One of my favorite techniques is to give every storage space in a home a JOB.  Literally every room, closet, drawer, and shelf should have a very specific purpose to store your stuff and support you.  Giving your storage a JOB means less work for you!

 This means we ask ourselves:

• What is the purpose of this space?

•  What activities does this space support?

•  What is this space responsible for storing?

•  What is this space NOT responsible for storing?

By giving each space an organizing purpose, we reduce struggling with random stuff in  drawers/closets/rooms.  We save hours and hours of time looking for things and putting things away, and it helps the people we share a home with do the same.  It enables us to achieve one of the basic principles of organizing:  have a place for everything and everything in its place.

How this works in real life

I recently worked with a client who moved to a home with a beautiful built-in hutch in a very accessible location.  Too accessible, it turns out, as ALL the family stuff seemed to land here and mix together in the many drawers and shelves.  Here is how this solution worked during our session:

•  What is the purpose of the hutch?  Keep the kitchen and breakfast table tidy and make daily activities easy by storing the essentials of daily family life and reduce those  “Mom, where is the…” questions.

•  What activities does it support and what should be stored here?  Everyday table linens and napkins to support setting the table, stamps and envelopes for mailing, school and craft supplies for kids, and frequently used items like batteries and essential tools.

•  What should not be stored here?  Too much of any category that makes it hard to maintain the space.  Crafts and supplies that have been outgrown and tools or things that have a place elsewhere in the home.  Large tablecloths that are rarely used.

Everything in the hutch was taken out and sorted based on the client’s decisions. As we put things back, each shelf and drawer were labeled. We used my favorite multi-use storage boxes to keep categories of items grouped together.  We left open space for growth and made a plan for when things began to pile here (because they will).  I understand my client is still working on the “Mom, where is the….” questions. Sadly, I don’t think we are ever so organized that we can completely eliminate those questions but good systems will help!