Tag: stuff

Your Stuff Needs an AWAY.

We all have stuff.  Stuff we need, stuff we use, stuff we love*.  Stuff.

 

(*if anyone can tell me who crafted the ‘Need, Use, Love’ criteria, I would love to know!)

 

Sometimes we have stuff we don’t need or use or love, and then our Stuff turns into Clutter.

 

 

Perhaps you have Stuff that you do need and use, but it is scattered around the house.  In the way, on surfaces, in bags, on top of other things. In this case, your Stuff becomes visual clutter.  We know we need to keep it, but it still drives us crazy.

 

Your Stuff needs an AWAY.
 
Once we determine what Stuff is needed and useful, we need to establish an AWAY, a spot or maybe multiple spots in our house for our Stuff to live.
 
Then we need to create and maintain the habit of actually putting our Stuff AWAY.
 
We put our Stuff AWAY…
  • to take good care of our Stuff so we don’t have to buy our Stuff again;
  • so we can find our Stuff again when we need it; and
  • to give our eyes a break and our homes a breath of clean and fresh air.
Ideas to consider:
  • If you have look around your home and notice piles of Stuff, we first ask – is that Stuff or Clutter?  If it’s Stuff, it needs an AWAY.  If it’s Clutter it needs to be purged.
  • We need to establish an AWAY for our Stuff that is convenient to where we use our Stuff. Obviously, we keep cooking and food items in the kitchen.  But we can be more specific, as in, keeping the coffee cups in the cabinet above the coffee maker which is also right next to the sink.
  • We also need to establish an AWAY that is convenient for the other related Stuff that goes with our Stuff.  So, in the coffee analogy, I might also keep the cream and sugar near the coffee maker and mugs, and the travel mugs nearby, too.
  • An AWAY for our stuff helps us decide about quantity.  For example: to me, one large dresser drawer full of t-shirts is a reasonable amount.  So, when I put my clean laundry AWAY and the drawer is too full (perhaps a recent shopping trip?), the boundaries of the drawer remind me of a reasonable t-shirt collection size, and I purge a few.
  • When we have a reliable AWAY and habit around putting our Stuff AWAY, we can check the AWAY location to determine if we need to buy more of our Stuff.  Again, using the coffee analogy, when the KCup holder (the AWAY) is empty, I know it is time to buy more KCups.  Imagine if I randomly stashed KCups all over the kitchen.  I wouldn’t know what I have, nor would I use it very well when I needed it.
  • Consider this idea from the other direction – If your stuff doesn’t have a home – an AWAY – it’s likely clutter.
 
Make the habit to put your Stuff AWAY.  Once a day, a couple times a week?  Put your Stuff Away, and enjoy the clutter-free space.  A clear space signals to your brain that you’re done, that work is complete, that the room is clean, etc.  A clear space can be both calming and energizing!
 
 
To sum up:
  • Decide what is Stuff and what is Clutter;
  • establish an AWAY for your Stuff;
  • establish good habits around putting your Stuff AWAY, so
  • you can take good care of your Stuff and enjoy a less cluttered home.
Have a great week!

Reclaim the Top of Your Refrigerator

I was having a writer’s block last week and asked my Facebook Fans and Friends to suggest blog topics.  They really came through for me, so thanks to all for the inspiration!

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One of the first to responses was “What to do with all that [stuff] that has accumulated on the top of my refrigerator” (see above, front and side views).  I love this question because we have all probably been there, wondering the same question.  And I also love it because spending half an hour on this one little project is going to make you feel great about your kitchen.

So, here’s what you do, if your fridge looks like this one….  Tackle the project using Julie Morgenstern’s SPACE.  Sort, Purge, Assign a Home, Containerize and Equalize.

  1. Grab a step-stool, a clean counter, and perhaps a young helper and Clear It All Off and wash it down
  2. SORT Your stuff.  In these photos, I would say Cook books, Lunch boxes, Mail and Papers, playing cards, school supplies, vitamins?  Group your items into different categories that make sense to you.
  3. PURGE your stuff.
    • You choose what stays and goes.  Some things DO belong up there, and some things DO NOT.
    • Trash old, outdated or mysterious food products, broken items (like the green bowl), and old mail.
    • What goes somewhere else in the kitchen or home?  What’s in that Target bag?
    • What can stay? Things that only the parents / tall people use; seldom used items; big single items that don’t look too cluttered.
  4. Steps 3 and 4 ASSIGN A HOME AND CONTAINERIZE are the really important steps in this project.
  5. ASSIGN A HOME  There are challenges with tall spaces like the Fridge top.  Small things get lost. It is great storage space, but lacks structure and physical boundaries.  One rough open or close of the door can send stuff flying.  I look at that bundle of mail, and imagine the whole thing hitting the floor and flying everywhere.  Gravity.  Ever have a box of cereal dump on your head?  If we store big clunky items up there, we risk pulling things down on our heads.
  6. Containerize:
  • We need to get creative when it comes to containerizing on the Fridge top.
  • Use the space well but strive for a streamlined visual presentation.
  • Our fridge is tucked under our cabinets.  I need easily moved storage solutions if I want to access those hard to reach cabinets.
  • I suggest Book Ends, Baskets and Boxes, well labeled, for fridge-top storage.
  • Use bookends for cookbooks, or for boxes of cereal or crackers.
  • Baskets offer a nice visual while covering up their contents.  These two baskets are on top of my fridge.  The left one holds our lunch bags, and the right one holds recycling items like batteries, medications, etc., until drop-off day.
  • Image
  • Boxes, like lidded photo boxes, can corral small or seldom used items like recipes, holiday cookie cutters, etc.  They can be purchased inexpensively at a craft store and can match your kitchen colors, or just choose white to make them blend in to the landscape.
  • The Fridge top is great for items that are not too big and bulky like large serving dishes or serving baskets.  I have large serving trays at the back of my fridge-top, covered with a cloth.

7.  The last step of the organizing process is to Equalize, or maintain.  Tidy up the top of your fridge when clean your kitchen, or make a date to do it once or twice a year.

So, the next time you have 30 or 60 minutes, you can complete a project just like this and improve a room and your life.  Who knew?  Friend-who-sent-me-the-pictures, I would love to see an after-picture!

P.S. A few words about:  Cookbooks.  Do you need and use the cookbooks you have?  I have some cookbooks in a cabinet, but my go-to resource that I use multiple times a week is a large white 3 inch binder.  I’ve assembled the binder over time, adding favorite recipes to different categories like “baking” or “meal ideas”, etc. I still have a few cookbooks for inspiration, but the binder is the best. I have pockets for recipes I collect that I want to try, and plastic page inserts to slide the magazine pages or papers into (plastics means I can wipe them off if I spill). When I need to read the recipe, I stand the binder up in a large plate holder.