Inside: Organize Once – Organize with Labels. Collaborative post.
“Don’t touch that, I have a system!” says the person whose desk or kitchen or whole house looks like a scrapyard. And while some individuals really do make sense of such chaos, the truth is that a space that looks disorganized usually is disorganized. The so-called “system” is usually an ad-hoc series of memetic devices and associations the system’s inventor can’t ever quite keep straight.
Most of us who’ve heard or said “I have a system!” have also heard or said “Now where did I put that…?” If it walks like a mess and it quacks like a mess, it’s probably just a mess. A system really is the right call, but it needs to be an actual organizational strategy, planned out carefully and tracked with tools like inventories and labels.
Some of us really enjoy organizing. That feeling of putting the world in order, taking stock of what we have, and knowing we’ll never have to battle chaos again so long as we just keep to the system. A small subset of such people are even fun at parties! But a simple and elegant organizational system really does save hours upon hours of confusion and headache, and help us live in more relaxing, enjoyable spaces. And organization coupled with self-expression can transcend utility into decoration.
The first step to organizing a space is to go through and clear everything off the shelves and surfaces. Then those shelves and surfaces need a good cleaning, as there’s nothing like the feeling of a freshly rearranged and pristine storage area to make a space feel renewed and full of possibility.
With that out of the way, it’s time to get your Marie Kondo on and get rid of anything you no longer need. Whether a decorative tchotchke no longer sparks joy or a food item’s expiration date was written in Middle English, throwing away the useless and donating the unwanted will make the organizing go faster and hopefully make a new owner happy.
Next comes a step known only to the truly great organizers: taking inventory. By which we mean literally making a list of everything being organized. Just a simple itemized list with the name of the item and where it will be located in the new system will do, unless you want to be truly ambitious and break out the spreadsheet.
Not only does making a list help with clearing out the debris — seeing an item written down can put its necessity into perspective — it can prevent redundant buying, spark ideas for projects, and suggest solutions to nagging problems. And when you run out of a useful item, simply mark it on your list for your next shopping trip.
As you get rid of unwanted stuff and put new items on shelves and in drawers — writing down where they go on your list — be sure to group like with like and to consolidate multiples of the same item. This is especially common with non-perishable foods, which get purchased multiple times before an organizational system takes shape as it may be hard to find them amid the clutter.
In the name of sustainability, keep track of any good reusable containers you may find: glass jars, cookie tins, solid plastic boxes. All of these can be used for efficient storage. There’s no need to keep plastic drink bottles or cardboard containers except for other craft projects (though Pringles cans make great long noodle storage.)
One great thing about keeping an inventory of what you organize is this list can easily be turned into a set of helpful and fun custom labels for the items themselves. Not only can you label each individual container but the drawers where you plan to store such things in the future. This makes it easy to keep clutter from building up again with easy signifiers for where to put newly acquired items.
While a label gun can be an easy way to mark your things, these on-demand stickers are a bit dull and hard to read. Instead, invest in a set of custom sticker labels. These stickers can be made to fit a theme but printed at different sizes so that every container has a fitted label that goes with all the others and is readable from far away.
Custom labels are a great way to stamp your personality on an organizing project with homemade designs, and decorating each label with a picture or symbol for what they signify can give a storage space character. Let the kids draw those pictures for extra charm and personality and to get them involved with the organizational process.
Pretty soon you‘ll have them excited about organization too. And who doesn’t love a kid that loves itemized lists?
“… okay, maybe just let them draw the pictures for your custom labels before they make a spreadsheet of their toys”. Andrew Witkin is the founder and CEO of StickerYou, a global, e-commerce leader in custom-printed, die-cut products that empowers consumers and businesses to create high-quality materials for personal expression, marketing, and packaging.