ORGANIZATION INSPIRATION ~ Getting organized and keeping it that way

Last week we helped our daughter and family (Whitney, Reed and Tayvee) move into their new apartment in Boise. 

Since I had just read Martha Stewart Living's article (September, 2010) on her organized kitchen and reorganized our kitchen . . . I just had to tackle the kitchen.

 Martha's kitchen drawers

Do you spend more than 5 minutes looking for something? 
{I hate looking for something ~ it drives me crazy!}

Let me first say, I am not perfect, I am not totally organized, I have stuff out of its place, and this blog is for me too :). 

Here are some organization tips; some from Martha and some from me . . .

1) Decide what the space is used for and what you need when you're using the space. Think of it as work stations, i.e. cooking utensils and potholders by the stove, glasses by the sink, coffee by the coffee maker, office supplies in the desk, sewing supplies next to the sewing machine, etc.
[I had my gift wrapping supplies where I didn't wrap presents and would take everything to another room and then put it all back. I can't even guess how many steps I wasted over the years :).]
Organize the space the way you use it.


 2) Customize storage ~ decide what you want where and add organizing baskets or bins (for the kitchen, I purchased ours from Dollar Tree) and put like things together. There are so many great organization tools out there in today's market. Go shopping for ideas or repurpose what you have, i.e. a muffin tin for small items, jewelry or paperclips, etc. small baskets, jars or drawer dividers; for closets, hat boxes or photo boxes, bins for toys. Don't things look prettier in containers?

3) Give everything its space, or as Martha put it, "a place for everything". If you have a box for paints, keep them there; if paperclips go in a jar, that's where they stay . . . no roaming paperclips laying around the house :).


4) Be disciplined. Take time to put things back after using them. We all have times we leave stuff out, but don't let it go past a day if you're not using it. Don't be tempted to just "put it here for now and put it away later" . . . it probably won't get put back and when you need it, you won't know where to find it.


5) Stand back and look at what you've accomplished.


6) Have fun working more efficiently! Your kids will love it too!

Whitney's Kitchen

Aren't these cute little baskets? 

They are white plastic coated wire baskets from Dollar Tree.

Some of Our Kitchen

If the task of organizing seems overwhelming, simply break it down into small increments ~ tackle one drawer/cupboard a day, and purge what you don't need. You will feel a sense of accomplishment  when you see each drawer organized.



Top 6 Reasons to Stay Organized


(1) When you need it, you'll know where it is.
(2) You won't waste time looking for something you can't find.
(3) If someone wants to borrow something, you can have it in just a few minutes.
(4) It's easy to see your inventory and know when to add something to the shopping list.
(5) Save wasted steps getting your supplies together to complete a task.
(6) More time for doing what you love since you can work more efficiently.

I hope you find this info helpful. I wrote most of this article a few months ago, and Martha's magazine article inspired me to get going on our home organization.

Let me know what you think or what works for you.

~ Julie