After the excesses of the holiday season, you’re not alone if you feel that January is a good time to refresh your surroundings. Along with health and fitness, getting organized is high on many people’s lists.   Try using these 4 steps on one well-defined space:

1. Pause. Think about how you use the space, what’s working well, and what’s driving you nuts.  It’s not hard to figure out that your closet should hold clothes, shoes and accessories, but in a living space, activities can vary.  For example, you might use your kitchen for homework and bill-paying, as well as cooking and food storage.  This is important information because, wherever possible, keeping belongings where you use them will make life easier and tidier.

2. Sort. Take everything in the room and sort it into categories.  In the kitchen, you might collect all dry food items together and all glassware somewhere else.  Pick categories which are meaningful to you.  For example, a keen cookie-maker might group baking supplies, while in the closet, an avid athlete would gather sports clothing together.

Once similar items are in a single location, you’ll easily see how much excess you own. Whether it’s 6 damaged umbrellas or 47 white T-shirts, sorting is always extremely revealing and makes the next part much easier.

3. De-clutter. Do you love it, do you use it, or are you obliged to keep it for legal reasons?  Generally speaking, things should pass this test, or they may not belong in your life. Broken items, clothes which don’t fit and magazines you’ll never read, do not deserve house-space, especially in our costly Bay Area homes.  A good de-cluttering session is not only beneficial for you, but non-profits will be thrilled to receive your cast-offs.

4. Reward the items you love, use, and need with new locations. The things you use regularly deserve the best, most convenient storage spots. Once you’ve figured out roughly where something should go, you might now decide to invest in appropriate containers.  Just be sure to complete step 3, before spending money on new boxes and baskets for things you don’t need!

Try to look creatively at your space, and make good use of vertical areas like walls and backs of doors. Don’t be afraid to store items where they might not conventionally belong:  if you love to play guitar in the dining room, make a spot there for your sheet music.

***

Remember, getting organized is an ongoing process and no home or office is ever completely calm and chaos-free.  However, by shedding stuff you don’t need and allocating prime locations for vital belongings, you should find life runs just a little more smoothly.

— Pauline Wiles,
— Redwood Shores resident and owner,
— The English Organizer