We could all use a little Organizing 101

Ever thought that if you could just make sense of all the clutter in the garage, your life would improve ten-fold? Or that if you could just put some order to your kitchen you could turn out gourmet meals that would make Julia Child proud? I’m not here to tell you that organized spaces equal a perfect life, but I do firmly believe that they make for a better quality of life. Less searching around for the things you need, and more time spent doing the things you want.

I’ll tell you a little story: There is a cupboard above my refrigerator, awkwardly placed and awkwardly sized. I’m reasonably tall so I’ve been able to get at the few things I had stashed in there, but I’ve never liked how I used the space. In particular, it seemed to be a great place for baking sheets, large pans, and cooling racks, but every time I tried to extract one of those things I ended up taking everything else out just to get at what I wanted. I will even admit that although I love to bake, sometimes having offered to bring dessert to a dinner party I would avoid anything that required extensive cooling rack usage (thus the disappearance of the three-layer cake) in favor of other, non-rack options.

Last week I finally said enough. Enough! I wrote down the measurements of the cupboard and the kinds of items I wanted to store there. I came home from the Container Store with several plastic-coated wire shelves, perfect for separating the space and making it much more user-friendly. And baking-friendly.

If you’re interested in learning how to make small but significant changes like this, or need a step-by-step process that you can use to organize a garage or other big space of your own, I’ll be teaching an “Organizing 101” seminar on Tuesday, May 19, 7-9pm at the Bellevue Club. If you’re a member and want to attend, you can call 425.688.3384, email, or visit the club’s website to register. Or if you’re not a member but would like to talk about putting together a seminar for your own group, feel free to get in touch with me at 206.841.2804 or alix@organizeability.com.

Take a look at the before after photos from a home office re-do that will hopefully inspire you to give the same kind of makeover to your own space. Happy organizing!