Put It In A Box!

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Earlier this year I went on an organizing binge. I don’t know where I picked that particular bug up, but I wish I could get it again. 🙂

Anyway, in contrast to other times when I have attempted to organize something, this one has really stuck. Stuff I organized a month or more ago is still neat and tidy. That almost never happens.

The key, I believe, is boxes and containers. Fancy ones like cardboard shoe boxes and dollar store plastic baskets.

Of course, weeding out all the extra stuff and junk helped too.

In the past, I would put things away neatly, but without any real order or home. Things laying neatly side by side in a drawer or on a shelf don’t tend to stay that way for long.

It’s like lining up a bunch of cats in a row and then expecting them to stay that way. Sooner or later some are going to wander away.

Line them up in kitty carriers, though, and you have yourself an organized bunch of cats.

The same is true for your stuff.

I used a silverware organizer and plastic baskets to assign homes to things like knives, serving spoons, tea strainers and all of the other little kitchen things you put in your drawers. It’s so much easier now to find what I need.

I used cardboard shoe boxes (classy) to organize my pantry. Baking stuff lives in one, while another one holds bags of pasta. My medication and vitamins have their own box too.

If I were motivated enough, I could even cover them in pretty paper and make things look even better. I’m not Martha, however, and I suspect that a project like that would lead to chaos and mess. Better to look at the shoe boxes.

In my linen closet, I used baskets for different sizes of sheets. I even had a couple of really big baskets that I used for our quilts.

And shoe organizers. We know they exist. Why has it taken me over 30 years of married life to buy one and put it to use?

It’s a mystery.

Professional organizers will tell you to contain like things. They will also tell you to measure your things and your space before you go out and buy the proper containers to store and organized your stuff.

Here’s what I’m telling you: before you do all of that – cause you know you’ll get sidetracked somewhere along the way – take a look around your house for things you already have that can be put to use.

You’d be surprised at what you can do with a little creativity.

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle

Lacy Estelle is the writer of Lacyestelle.com and the Podcast host for An ADD Woman.

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