You could win ABRANDNEWCAR! if you can you name what these pictures have in common?
Do you know where your prime real estate is IN your house?
It’s the kitchen cabinets and drawers that are the most accessible. The coat closet. The inside of your bedside table. The storage around your bathroom sink. The areas of your closet that are the easiest to reach. The top of your desk. Your main desk drawer.
So why are your coats and shoes not in the coat closet? Because you are storing small appliances, your vacuum, wrapping paper and board games in it.
Why are your counters constantly cluttered with overflow? Because your cabinets are storing your Christmas dishes…AND your “entertaining dishes” (that you use once or twice a year)…AND your sunscreen…AND 47 cookbooks (45 you NEVER use)…AND a mug collection you started in the 60’s (you also don’t drink coffee).
Your bathroom cabinets are storing toilet paper to get you through the next 14 years….AND all your toiletries are on the counter.
The inside of your bedside tables are storing awards, random paper, artwork from your kids, ticket stubs, purses, and 3 travel alarm clocks (that don’t work). Meanwhile your books, magazines and nighttime paraphernalia are helter skelter.
Your clothes are just NOT in your closet. Well the clothes that fit you aren’t. The ones that are too small, outdated, or you can’t bring yourself to get rid of…THOSE are in the closet. Along with holiday decorations, luggage, blankets, more wrapping paper (oh yeah I’ve been to your house), and a bread maker.
I don’t want to talk about the desk. YOU know.
Walk through your house and look at your prime real estate. What’s inside? Is the stuff that is suppose to be inside of it lurking below it, around it, beside it, or anywhere crazy?
USE your prime real estate for what it is meant for. The stuff you use everyday. Take the stuff out that doesn’t belong and use the storage that is hard to access for the DON’T NEED ON A DAILY BASIS.
Take a pad of post it notes if you need to and walk around and literally label where your items SHOULD go.
OR list all of your storage areas in the house. Garage, coat closet, hall closet, laundry room, armoire in office, wet bar, attic, closet in guest bathroom, guest bedroom closet, built-ins in family room, huge dresser in child’s room…whatever has the capacity to store a lot of stuff (or even a medium amount of stuff). THEN list all of your CATEGORIES of stuff. Christmas dishes, wrapping paper, extra toilet paper, towels, sheets, extra blankets, craft supplies, clothes the kids need to grow into, batteries, small appliances…. AND ASSIGN the categories to places on your list THAT MAKE SENSE. Not willy nilly like now because you were unpacking with a 2 year old and a deadline when you moved in.
Like things together. Purge. Store like things together in a place that makes sense.
And remember your prime real estate.
