Birdee's Nesting Place: Organization

I've been wanting to blog about organization for a long time, however I have two problems, I have ADD, and I have OCD, which makes it very difficult to claim myself as an organized person when my mind is such a clutter, and my house is never good enough.

I have learned some pretty cool tips and tricks on organizing my nest that I'll pass along, just in case you can learn from it, build from it, or just want a good laugh at someone who is so upside down and tries to go right side up.

This is not going to be a post about how your should clean your house first, or throw a bunch of stuff away. This is a very keep-it-simple approach to organization. It's my way of painting myself out of a corner, when I'm already stuck in a mess. You wont walk away from this with nothing but a very clean kitchen sink. You wont walk away with a very clean anything. This is not a cleaning post, this is an organization post. Cleaning comes after the clutter is cleared. This is my dive in approach to getting the job done NOW.

One thing I should mention, and this drives my husband absolutely nuts, is I use baskets (or bins), Lots and Lots of baskets. I can not comprehend organization with out the aid of baskets. For without baskets, there is no organization, just as without vanilla coffee creamer, there is no coffee. I prefer square baskets, as I have no round corners to put round baskets and I think round baskets end up adding to the clutter, rather than tidying it up nice and neat. However I would use a round basket temporarily if I had too.

Another thing that is important to the success of my organization is layout. There is a place for everything and everything is in it's place. But where IS that place? Well look at how a grocery store works. They have isles with different types of products, and the stores are divided up into different sections based on what the item is. There is food, cosmetic, home, toys, clothes. And in each of these different sections they have isles that break down item locations even more. They have your electrical isle, they have your plumbing isle, they have your bread isle, they have your cereal and breakfast isle, they have your snack isle (are you counting how many baskets you’re going to need? Now is a good time to go cheap and start shopping All-A-Dollar, or the liquor store for boxes if you need to get started on a very small budget).

So imagine this, in one corner of your store, you have your "Hardware" department. Imagine it like Home Depot, or Lowes Hardware, everything that is not food, or clothing that you could buy at these stores, goes here, (like the basement on all those shelves that have just a little bit of everything from crafting items, to light bulbs, to left over tiles, to old camping gear, to a bunch of you don’t know what because it's too overwhelming to even look at it to go through it to see what else is up there besides a bunch of cob webs and dust bunnies).
First you will need a minimum of 500 (okay start with at least 6-10) bins, and label them, (oh, did I mention you will need some sort of label maker? Whether it be scotch tape and a marker, or actual labels and a printer with cute little clip art designs).

Labeling and filling boxes:

1. Hardware - You know all those annoying little pieces of whatever you see floating around the house, and when you go to put them away, you don’t have a clue where there even supposed to go, because maybe you don’t even know what the heck it is, but you don’t what to throw it away because once you discover what it is, it will be when you realize you can’t live w/o it. Those go in here, along with locks, door knobs, hinges, a million screws, bolts, washers, nails, and other random pieces of wall hanging thingies that you might use some day. Just toss them in the basket, it's that easy.

2. Plumbing - Everyone has one of those gooey ring things that seal a toilet to the floor, go ahead and toss it in right next to that new faucet your husband is going to install in the bathroom sink "someday". Some copper tubing, weird looking plumbing tape, brackets, Drain-O, hair traps, drain plugs, plunger, things of that nature.

3. Electrical - Light bulbs (even those tiny ones for your fridge, stove) Electrical cords and power strips, outlets, light switches. If you can buy it in the electrical isle, it goes here. Heck, you can even throw old phone cords in here Just-In-Case you EVER buy another landline phone again.

4. Paint - Remember all those cans of spray paint you bought because you were into painting baskets and picture frames? This is the place for them, along with spackle, primer, wall paint, (not acrylic craft paint, that is in the crafting isle, silly), tarp, blue wall tape, brushes, rollers, (Did I mention, these baskets or bins need to be BIG?)

5. Lawn and garden - You don’t have to have a lawn or even a garden to realize that you will still have items to fill this basket.

6. IT Equipment - All the million billion extra computer cables that actually only fit in the old style monitors that you may need someday, the thousands of extra red, yellow and white end cable connectors that you’re not sure goes to what gaming system. All the chargers that you’re not sure if it goes to a remote control car, that piano in the kids room, an old ghetto-blaster that requires that 5lb ceramic bunny to be placed onto of the CD player in order for it to work, or some mysterious piece of electronic equipment that you have forgotten about and don’t dare throw it away. Old cell phones that you swear to God you’re going to get all those numbers off of them someday, if only you can find the charger for it. (I promise, after you’re done organizing, that charger will end up in this basket).

7. Auto - Air fresheners, ArmorAll, sponges, wax, your 1984 super cool -foot print- gas pedal. (This basket may be more useful stored in the garage - if you dare tackle that area of the house. However that project may be for graduates).

8. Beauty (Part 1 - Hair) - Extra shampoo that you will use someday when your desperate and have ran out of your favorite product. Extra boxes of hair color, bleach, mixing bowls and brushes, foils and perm rods, old flat irons, electric shavers, combs, brushes, gel and other styling products. (Yes I do hair too, so I need a box for all this stuff, you may not).

9. Beauty (Part 2 - Hands and Feet) - Files, lotions, foot wax, pedicure kits, nail polish, etc).

10. Beauty (Part 3 - Skin and the rest of it) - Make up, body butter, body glitter, eye shadow you still have from high school, 30 tubes of Wet-N-Wild lipstick. These are all the items you DON'T use on a regular basis, but swear you will use someday, or maybe your kids will when they grow up, or maybe they will make great Halloween costume makeup.

Notice how you’re not throwing anything away yet.... Not saying you can't, because you certainly can. However one thing that can stall someone from organizing their home is the overwhelming thoughts that you’re going to have to throw some beloved items away, and you'll find you're spending too much time stairing at an item, bouncing back and forth thoughts in your head that say "I haven’t used it in years - yeah but I forgot I had it, it's still good - but you haven’t missed it so why keep it - but it would be fun to use if I can remember to use it, I do get board - but it's taking up space - but it's still a good item, what if I throw it away and the day after garbage day, I realize I NEED this item, then I'll have to pay for it again, and there is no savings in that!) Just keep the darn thing! Right now we are working on organizing your home and finding that "Place for everything". We'll purge later, (like when your angry is best. There is no detachment like anger detachment. You'll be amazed at how much you realize you just don’t need when you’re pissed).

So we have gotten started on one corner of your home. Go ahead - get inspired, get motivated, and get started! You will soon realize how easy it is to just get a few boxes, label them, and just start throwing items in the boxes. No dusting, no front and center, just toss and you’re done! Put the boxes on a shelf, and the next time you realize you need a light bulb, or extension cord, or file for your feet, you can just go to that basket and grab what you need. After all, now that you know where it is, you actually might use it!

Next...Owner’s manuals. And other obnoxious important papers…
WTH do people seriously do with these? Where are yours? Do you really need to keep them? And if so, where?

Then…

The kitchen (This one will be so much fun!)
The linen closet.
Under the bathroom sink
Hobbies – how many do you have? Should it all gone in one pile? (No, but they come from the same store)
And even more to come...

Sample Storage Bin
Clear is nice so you can see what it in it,