Now What?

​It only takes a few steps into stores now to know what time of year it is….  The beginning of a new year.  A fresh start.  A time to organize.  Bins of all sizes and materials are on sale.  Organizing products are on every end cap.  So, you’ve hit the sales and have all the bins – different sizes and colors – and they’re all sitting in the family room, just waiting to be used.  So…. Now what?

​Well, you could always call us…. We’re here to help and would love to have the opportunity to incorporate your fabulous new organizing products into functional systems that help you get organized and stay that way!  Let us do the work for you and then you can sit back and enjoy your newly organized space.
 
If you’re more of a “tackle it yourself” type person, here are a few of our tips for putting all those new bins to use. First, did you purchase the bins for a particular space?  Or are they available for any space in your home?  If they’re designated for a certain area, stack them up in (or near) that area, so they’re readily available.  If they’re bins for any area of your home, place them in a central (out of the way) location… and place any other available bins you have there, too.  If you have them all stacked in one place, you can easily see what you have.  As you’re organizing various spaces, you will be able to visualize what bin would fit that area.
 
Choose an area to begin organizing.  What space needs it most?  Which space is causing frustration and stress?  Begin by purging what needs to go:  Organizing the pantry?  Toss expired food & spices.  Organizing your closet?  Purge any clothes that are torn, stained, don’t fit, or haven’t been used in a year (have a box sitting nearby so it’s easy to toss in clothes that will be donated).  The idea is to eliminate the items that don’t need to be there, so you can free up space to organize what you have.
 
The next step is a big one, but a very important one… take everything out!  As you take it out, group it by like items.  For example, if you’re organizing your pantry, you will make little piles all over your kitchen: put canned goods together, pasta and rice, spices, baking goods, etc.  If you’re organizing your closet, you will line up all your shoes in one area, all your tops in another, dresses in another, etc. 
 
When your space is cleared, this is a great time to give it a good wipe down.  This helps you begin with a fresh, clean start!  
 
Now your new bins come into play.  Organizing is all about containing like items so you can always find them and they stay neatly put away.  Look at all your pasta and rice…. Is there a bin that will fit all of it nicely?  Perhaps you have a lot of each, and they need to go in separate bins.  In your closet, is there a bin that would hold all your belts perfectly?  What about a bin to keep your sweaters neatly folded and stacked?  The idea is to visualize what you have in each category and use a bin that it will fit into.  Sometimes it takes arranging and then rearranging before you find the perfect fit.  And sometimes you find that you have way too much of one thing…. Perhaps you’re overloaded with rice…. Make a point to have rice with meals as much as possible until the amount isn’t overwhelming and the rest fits nicely in your new bin.
 
The rows and rows of organizational products that are on sale right now can be exciting (and there are some beautiful bins)! It’s great to grab these products on sale, but it’s helpful to have a game plan first.  Knowing what to do once you get them home can be overwhelming if you don’t know where you want to start.  We hope these tips help, but if you still feel overwhelmed, don’t hesitate to give us a call!  We can help you in person or virtually, and you will be organized before you know it.
 
Happy Organizing!