Organizing all the little things in your home is important, yet you don’t do it. Even I feel overwhelmed sometimes when I’m working with someone, and we take care of organizing all the big things first, and then we look at the little things, and we both say to ourselves, “Now what?” Of course, being a professional, I don’t say it out loud, but I do think it. And I often hear my client let out a big sigh as they look at all those little odds and sods, bits and pieces, and random stuff.
Organizing the little stuff can take a lot more effort than the big stuff. It’s not as obvious how to sort it, where to store it and how to keep it organized. So we end up with a “junk” drawer or two or three. Or piles of junk or “crap,” as so many of my clients like to call it.
Would it be the worst thing if you just closed your eyes and tossed the lot of it? Seems to me that would be very freeing. What would you be tossing exactly? Probably things like hair elastics, pieces of ribbon and string, random batteries, matches, candles, screws, nails, pens, staples, paperclips, elastics, band-aids and on and on and on.
Consider Letting Things Go
First, consider how much you can let go of. The stationery store is not going to stop selling pens anytime soon, nor will the drug store stop selling hair elastics, and I’m pretty sure the hardware store will have a package of screws next time you need them. Consider donating as much as possible and throwing away any random one-off items.
Sort all those little things. It’s more like micro-sorting at this point. Separate the paper clips from the elastics, staples, and so on. Think about how you will store them and separate them as you sort. Try not to default to the easiest decision – keeping everything. The more items you let go of, the easier it will be to stay organized.
Think about where you would most likely look for those items when considering where to keep them. If I am looking for a candle and matches, I would probably go to the kitchen or dining room. For a nail or a screw to hang a picture, I would either go to the garage where my household repair items are stored, or I would have a shelf in a closet or in my kitchen to keep the household items I use a lot. If I were looking for hair bands, I would go to the bathroom, and so on.
Choose the Right Containers
Choose containers to store all those things in. You can store little stuff in small zipper seal bags, tiny plastic containers, and organizers with sections. It doesn’t have to be fancy; it just has to work.
If you struggle with keeping things organized, use labels. If you throw paper clips in the elastic container, put a label on the zipper seal or container that says “paper clips.” Trust me that will make you think twice before you start to undo all your hard work by mixing them up.
Don’t let the little things take over your home. Take control and keep only what you use right now. Keep in mind this guideline the Minimalists follow: if you can replace it in 20 minutes for under $20, let it go!