I must once again put in a good word for the handy (and I might add CHEAP!) organizational supplies found at IKEA. They offer small storage solutions for laundry & cleaning, waste sorting, boxes & baskets, paper & media organizers, bins & bags, clothes & shoes organizers, hooks & hangers, kitchen organizers and (of course) bathroom accessories.
Now, you already know Rule Number One ('Everything Needs a Home') but what if the 'home' you give something is a 'full-house'.
What if you have so many spices or so many pens/pencils or so many anything really that you can't easily access any of it? What if you're dutiful to return everything to its proper place but things still don't seem to be going your way organizationally?
That's where Rule Number Three comes in: Accessibility is the Key.
Many times, storage systems purchased at stores such as IKEA can offer the perfect solution. I hope my sister won't mind if I use her bathroom as the perfect example.
What you must know: my sister has four, count em', FOUR girls. And as many can relate, four girls all sharing one bathroom can equal disaster at times. Happily, my sister has it under control. She purchased three BYGEL rails for $1.99 a piece and six BYGEL containers for $.99 each. To add some variety, she also invested in two BYGEL wire baskets for $1.99 a piece.
The end product looks AMAZING.
Now, instead of piling things of top of each other and cramming hair products onto a shelf too deep to be humanly reached, everything is logically ordered for accessibility. Her girls love having their own space and the removable containers make finding the perfect hair accessory easy-peasy. She even added a fun plastic plant for a burst of color and freshness. (Excuse the poor photo quality.)
Other times, necessity is the mother of invention.
Take a look at the clever way in which she organized her daughter's flower hair clips. By tacking a fun, wide ribbon to the wall and clipping each barrette along its length, she not only created a beautiful wall decoration but an ingenious solution to the 'messy bin of hair things' that no one ever uses because it's so cluttered.
Learn to tell the difference between 'organization' and 'compilation'. Are you organizing logically to allow for easy accessibility? Or are you simply making cluttered piles?
Assess your surroundings and make them work for you.
