Simple Accessories Can Bring Success To Start Your Organizing Journey
My organizing journey began with small projects that took no more than 15 minutes. Now, I love to organize! However, I know that the organizing system and accessories have to be simple or I am less likely to maintain it. Maybe you can relate? This blog takes you back to my beginning. I have found that most of the time it’s the little things in life that make the most difference. My hope is to inspire you to start your organizing journey today.
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The very first area that I organized was my kitchen island because it had become piled high with paper. This was the drop zone for the mail and anything the kids brought home from school. I cannot even begin to tell you what this looked like, maybe you have a space like this so you know what I am talking about? Maybe this type of clutter is in another area of your home? Anyway, I had water boiling on the stove because I had begun to make dinner and I just started going through the paper mountain. Before I knew it, I had gone through the whole mountain and it only took me the amount of time it takes for water to boil, around 8 minutes! This blew me away! You see, I had told myself I didn’t have the time to deal with the paper clutter, turned out I was wrong! The paper clutter went into 3 piles: shred, trash and keep. The keep pile was my
area in need of organization. I found this and love it! Here is the link.
SUCCESS: Now you can use anything that works for you. That is the point of all of organizing. To be honest, this system is easy to use and everyone in my family can use it. (the greatest way to know if you have the correct organizing system).Success- the mail was immediately sorted into the piles: shred, trash and keep. The items that I need to keep have a hanging file in this wire mesh holder. This sits nicely on the counter
and each file is labeled making it easy for everyone to use. For under $20, I found a successful
solution to paper clutter.
The next area I organized was my sock drawer. This was an area I just could not figure out. I knew I needed something to organize the drawer so I began to search for solutions and this one resonated with me. It has a honeycomb design that makes it expandable. Here is the link.
SUCCESS: I set my timer for 15 minutes and emptied the drawer, sorted through the socks only keeping the ones I really wanted. I let the socks with holes or soon to be holes go away. I also let go of uncomfortable socks or the ones without a match. Those are all clutter for me. Then I put the honeycomb drawer divider in my drawer, GAME CHANGER!! I was able to put away my socks in an organized fashion for the first time ever. Little thing to organize but powerful in its impact on my overall mindset toward living organized.
I soon had the confidence to tackle the dreaded junk drawer. I know, it’s everybody’s favorite area of the house! Some people have multiple junk drawers. This is a wonderful area to have when it’s organized. The first thing I did was to decide the intention for this drawer. Everything in the drawer has a purpose for somewhere in the kitchen area that is not food or utensil. I have many items pertaining to correspondence, bill paying, as well as office supply type items. This will of course be dependent on the size of your drawer. Here is the link to the one I have.
SUCCESS: This is customizable with the dividers and I find that to be extremely helpful in organizing. It is is so functional, could be used in a variety of ways. Once I sorted through what I wanted to live in the junk drawer, I was able to put everything back in the drawer in its individual compartments. We have the junk drawer that is unique because we can easily find what we are looking for. It has been 10 years now and we still love the junk drawer and keep it for its intended purpose.
Under the bathroom sink needed some love and organization. This became the next 15 minute project. Set my timer and then I emptied out the space. The easiest thing to start with was items that belong in the trash- the really old items that are partially dried up or products I no longer use. Once I did that, it was on to deciding what I wanted to keep and how would I use it. Once I figured this out, I could add an organizing accessory to make it all come together. Here is the link to what I used.
SUCCESS: This was perfect for my space and I love 2 tier systems and pull outs were bonus for me!! Pull outs help you find your items in the back easily and I have found that prevents waste. How many times would I forget something was in the back of the cabinet and bought another of that same thing?! Make sure you measure the area you will be using. I was able to incorporate two under my sink. This could be used other places as well.
The last of my initial 15 minute projects was my purse. This is an area many of us ignore until we are trying to find something. I had a large satchel type purse and you could lose a small child in one of those. So, I did what I was learning to do well and set out to find a way to have a better organized purse. I did a 15 minute purge and found all of the lip balm (5) I had been missing. Then I added this wonderful insert to my bag. Here is the link.
SUCCESS: This insert was a very inexpensive solution to the problem I was having with not being able to find items easily in my bag. This also works in tote bags. I really felt put together when I could easily reach in my bag and pull exactly what i was looking for. My organizing journey was born out of necessity and one could say that is the same for everyone who goes on the journey. Simple projects don’t have to cost a fortune for you to have organized spaces. With each project comes the confidence to go on to the next.
