What Brings You Organizing Satisfaction at Home?
As the days get shorter, the temperatures drop and the holiday madness is still a little way off, it’s a great time of year to tackle some organizing projects. Whether it’s cleaning out that pantry to make room for Thanksgiving supplies, eking out some closet space for overnight guests or finally sorting that jumbled junk drawer, completing organizing challenges can save you time and reduce stress. What kinds of organizing projects bring you the most satisfaction? Please share your favorite organizational projects, tips and photos of your accomplishments in the Comments.
Organizing Food
Kitchen cabinets, shelves and pantries are always a big challenge. Perhaps this is the season you’ll put your staples in easy-to-stack containers, find the right spice organizer or come up with another new way to store and access your ingredients.
Your turn: Has a particular organizational system or tool been a game changer in your kitchen?
Organizing Dressers
Until Marie Kondo, author of The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, demonstrated a new way to do it, the art of folding T-shirts wasn’t much of a discussion. But for those who’ve read her books or watched her TV show, it can spark joy and passion.
Your turn: Does a neatly organized dresser drawer cut down on the time it takes you to pick out an outfit and get dressed? And does it inspire you to do a neater job when folding laundry?
Organizing Office Drawers
Frantically fumbling through a desk drawer looking for a stapler, thumb drive or a pen that actually works can be very frustrating. But sorting a drawer or two and finding good solutions doesn’t take long. And it pays off later in the time it saves and the stress you’ll avoid.
Your turn: Do you have a particular organizing accomplishment that has reduced the stress in your life?
Organizing Bathroom Storage
Confronting a jumble of old hotel lotions, makeup that’s past its prime and expired medications can be overwhelming. But taking it one drawer or medicine cabinet at a time and being ruthless in your purging can be satisfying. It can also save you money when you finally decide to use all the travel-size shampoos and shaving kits that have been filling up your drawers.
Your turn: Do you have any special toiletry organizing tricks or tools?
Organizing Spaces for Hobbies
The colder months are a good time to explore indoor hobbies. In the weaving space shown here, the rainbow organizational system transforms supply storage into an artful view.
Your turn: What kinds of hobbies do you enjoy, and how do you keep your supplies organized?
Organizing Closets
Perfectly staged photos of large walk-in closets can make us want to throw up our hands and lament that we’ll never have a space like that. But they can also inspire ideas such as purchasing space-saving hangers, organizing clothing by color or hanging an iconic fashion photo inside.
Your turn: How do you tackle closet organization? Do you have any advice for maintaining your system after the big clean-out?
Hire a custom closet designer
Organizing the Junk Drawer
The thing about junk drawers is that the name is a misnomer. The stuff in there was useful at some point. And then it wasn’t, because you threw it in there and forgot about it (think corroded batteries, expired coupons and dried-out Sharpies). Once the junk is purged and the useful items are easily accessible, it’s can be an asset in helping your house run smoothly.