A Lesson Learned

     My life has a special ebb and flow of organizational and cleaning-directed energy.  The moon has phases, and so does the state of my room.  Last summer, I embarked on a journey of cleaning, rearranging, organizing, and purging (though not in that order).  What I have learned is a very important lesson in keeping things tidy:

     Buy organizing stuff.  Preferably attractive organizing stuff.  Just do it.

     Over the years, I have tried various methods of containing and organizing things.  Many of these methods involved using those giant 10-reams-of-paper boxes that my workplace was constantly getting rid of, or using those plastic storage tubs.  I will not sneeze at free boxes, and the giant plastic storage bins are very useful in attics, garages, closets, and storage units, but there are some problems with using these methods as a long-term solution:

1.  They are ugly.  I try to be practical about these things, and think, "Well, I already HAVE them, why buy new storage stuff?"  Then I look at these things every day for a while, and feel very differently.  I still use some of the plastic bins in the pantry and under my bed, but that's okay-- I don't have to stare at them in the living room every day.  Even when life is going fine otherwise, having a stack of hideous storage boxes always on display in your room can really have a negative impact.  Not only can they be an eyesore, but they can make you feel like you still haven't really moved into your house and have yet to finish unpacking.  I used to have a great many of these constantly in view; it is so much nicer to have the remaining ones hidden.

2.  The cardboard boxes only last so long.  After not even three years, my cardboard boxes (which were only meant to hold paper for a little while before some greedy printer-copier ate it up) were/are starting to bow from being stacked on top of each other.  And I had only filled these with paper!

3.  The plastic bins are often horrible for paper storage.  They may keep out moisture and critters (very important when storing stuff over the summer between school years), and they have those easy-to-carry handles, but storing papers in these is a nightmare-- you end up with lots of dead space, or you try to fill in all the space and you end up with bent papers that look like a deck of cards in the midst of shuffling.  And the dead space inside the box means that the bin itself is also taking up a lot of extra space in your house!

4.  Unless you have lots of large items, they are not organizing-friendly.  Sure, enormous bins and boxes can hold a lot of stuff, but that's just the problem.  Imagine putting eight years' worth of papers into one of those giant boxes.  Imagine doing so in a way that made everything fit-- but at the cost of mixing piles of papers.  You have my exact problem.  I have spent hours going through those boxes separating high school creative writing from college tests from birthday cards from pictures my sisters drew for me.  An absolute mess.  The only way I was going to be able to find anything (because, really, what is the point of keeping anything at all if you're never able to find it again?) was to break down and just get new-- and much smaller-- boxes.  Luckily, I was able to find plenty such things at TJ Maxx and Marshalls, and these storage options are pretty enough that I can keep them in the living room without making it look like a storage unit!


     The same basic concept applies for kitchen drawers and ridiculously tall and high-off-the-ground linen closet shelves.  Throwing all your utensils in a drawer doesn't cost extra money, but it certainly doesn't help you ever find anything in under five minutes, either.  Trying to stack all your sheets and towels on that shelf  It may be annoying to have to pull out the wallet, but when you actually buy organizing aids and use them, it is so much easier to find things, put things away, and have a neat and not-ugly home.