I think there is life changing magic in the most basic of organizing principles. It’s known as “a place for everything”. Since I started working as a professional organizer back in 2003 I have been sharing this as one of the keys to successfully organizing our homes, our offices and our lives.
We “professionals” tend to glibly throw out these tips that we deem to be useful without ever really explaining in detail how to achieve them. Because I believe this one to be a foundational exercise towards achieving organizing success, I am going to share with you my experience.
When we say have a place for everything, we literally mean absolutely every single thing in your life. Every piece of paper, every pen and pencil, every light bulb, every shoe, every dish, every utensil. Every single thing. I am most definitely not saying this is an easy thing to achieve. But when you do, and you can do it, it is literally life altering.
First, you must go through each and every closet, drawer, box, bag, and bin and make a place for everything. This takes planning, careful thought, skill with creating storage solutions, and an investment of time. However, once you do it, if you do it right, you will never have to do it again.
All of my “stuff” had a home in my house. But there was room for improvement. I recently went through all of my drawers and closets and moved things around in an effort to really fine tune the concept of everything in its place.
Every single thing in the house has a purpose or is pleasing to look at. Every single thing has a home. That home is the most convenient place I could find closest to where I use that thing. Every single thing can be found in under a minute. Every single thing that comes into the house replaces a thing that leaves the house if that thing already existed and the place it belongs is already full.
Now that is life changing! And it’s not magic, it’s a fact.