Recently I was contacted by a young couple I had worked for almost ten years ago. Their children were very young and we had gone through the entire house and garage and created organizing systems for everything. Although their lives have changed considerably as their children are now nearing their teens, I was amazed to see that the bones of the systems were still in place and working.
Some of the systems we put into place work in almost every home organizing situation I’ve encountered. These include:
Steel adjustable shelving for the garage and pantry: We bought enough shelving in our initial sessions to hold everything they needed to store at the time with a little room to grow. Since life got busy, they didn’t purge stuff that was no longer useful (for example, ski clothes the kids had outgrown) and the shelves were overflowing. A couple of purging sessions got everything back into order.
Wall hooks: We installed hooks as needed ten years ago to get as much off of the floor as possible. Continuing to identify where hooks would be helpful was key to creating new corners of order, for example, a new mop and broom hanger in a laundry area and more hooks for jackets and backpacks in an entry hall.
Go with the flow: If the children have places to do art in their rooms but only want to do art at the kitchen table where they can have company, just go with it and create a little art station in the dining area. It can be as simple as a rolling cart of supplies that can get put away when the table is needed for a meal.
Label: Almost all of the labels we created ten years ago were still in use and going strong. The reason it worked so well in this case is that the couple really focused on what they needed initially—it was a thoughtful, unrushed process. They took the time to choose the right size containers by thinking ahead to how much each category was likely to grow. That’s the key to creating a system that works for the long term.
Continuously clear log jams: Where does stuff pile up out of control? It could be a corner of the garage where you put bags of things to donate that never quite make it to the donation center. Or tools that don’t get returned to the tool box because it is buried in the back of the garage.
Is there a table piled with children’s school art that hasn’t been sorted to keep or toss? Parents sometimes feel guilty about tossing children’s artwork, but a lot of times the children don’t have attachment to it. In many cases a photograph of each piece will suffice as a keepsake and the kids are fine saying good bye to the macaroni, clay and egg carton creations.
My favorite part of organizing is the life review that happens when we get into a container and realize its contents no longer have relevance for us. It’s great to include children in this process. Teach them that the space can be used for something that has a current purpose—or a container could even be left empty—what a concept! Empty space is always a plus in organizing for the long term.
contents no longer have relevance for us. It’s great to include children in this process. Teach them that the space can be used for something that has a current purpose—or a container could even left empty—what a concept! Emty space is always a plus in organizing for the long term.