Organizing Organizing Organizing

I used to live at the Container Store before Covid. They are great for ideas but the prices can be high so I sometimes look for similar items on Amazon.
We try to cut off clutter at the source by being mindful about what we buy. I religiously donate outgrown baby clothes and anything I haven’t worn in a year or two.
I have pared down my kitchen to essentials. I buy small quantities of spices and staples and replenish as needed. I also don’t accumulate gadgets that are not multi-use.
We found that once we allocated a specific place for items it becomes much easier. Everyone makes an effort to put things where they belong so it remains reasonably tidy. We both love books and have large collections. I am slowly converting the ones I really want to keep to Kindle so I can free up the physical space.
Elfa is a great system for organizing all kinds of closets. The Container Store usually has a 30% off sale on them in spring.

 

Kitchen: Smartest investment I made in organizing was getting slide-out shelves installed in 75% of the kitchen cabinets. https://www.costco.com/made-to-fit-...binets-by-slide-a-shelf.product.11262818.html They go on sale about once in 4-5 months. The other thing I did is started to put "give away" stuff in Sterlite plastic boxes. It is DH's job to put those away, and if I don't ask him to retrieve anything from a box for 6 months, he quietly gives its contents away. Makes the parting easier on me. : )

Clothes - I buy less. And, give away a few every 6 months. Kids - I have to nag them to buy clothes. When I can't stand their worn out clothes, I myself order a few online. I tried the Marie Kondo method for clothes - giving away the no-joy ones is easy. But, she suggests keeping all seasons clothes visible except for heavy coats. I don't have that much space. I also cannot fold like she suggests. We don't use dressers for everyday clothes. For one organization challenged child, I got a cube storage organizer to replace the wire shelving. Works like magic, clothes are easy to put away and the organizer is light and not permanent. Utilizes space more efficiently than clothes do when stored on flat shelves. For the other kid's closet, I got these shelf separators: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B076PN1VLS/ and put them on all the shelves.

The thing that helps the most is getting stuff out of the house and into the garage. Got this which is currently on sale. https://www.costco.com/saferacks-4-...ck-and-accessories-kit.product.100006897.html This shoe-organizer hangs beautifully from the Costco racks. So, each one's 10-15 pairs of shoes are away from the floor yet easily visible. Buy an organizer that says it is for large shoes or it gets hard to take out and put shoes back. The garage floor is devoid of shoes except for one flip-flop per person to wear for walking in the garage or front-yard.

Involve family - a big fat no. All are kind enough to let me do the sorting except of their clothes. They take a look at the give away pile and approve. I've marked getting DH to do sorting of his electrical, mechanical, car repair etc etc stuff as a battle not worth winning. : )

My favorite purchase has been this under the sink organizer: https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B075FD3GMD/ To my disappointment, it fits only under one sink. Measure the pipes etc and clearance under your sink before buying.

Nice thread! I will add more and look forward to reading too.

 

The first thing in my “bucket list” is have a clean spa like,zen,beautiful organized home like I see in magazines..That’s my dream!

My dream is a “mirage” Hee hee

But my heart keeps “hoping” that someday before my soul passes away to heaven(how optimistic I am!) my dream will materialize