The Streamlife Four Step P.L.A.N. to Get Organized. P.L.A.N. stands for Prioritize, Liberate, Arrange and Nurture. Here we’ll focus on the two middle steps to reclaim calm and control in your environment.
1. Liberate
Take a look at what’s piling up. Is it clothing, books, media, food? Gather like items and take them to where you intend to store them. You’ll now have books near your bookshelves, clothes close to your closet, and food near the pantry. There likely won’t be room for everything, so now it’s time to edit.
Sort out the things that no longer inspire or fit you, or are too worn or damaged to be used or repaired, and give yourself permission to let them go. That includes new gifts that just don’t suit you or your current lifestyle. Gather receipts and exchange them or pass them on to someone who will appreciate them. You’ll want to edit down to close to the volume of items that can fit in your space comfortably.
2. Arrange
Now, it’s time to create homes for the new items. There may be plenty of space after you have edited, but if not, try some of these organizing tools that really help “create space”.
Organizing supplies. The goal is to make whatever you put away easy to find when you need it. There are three key principles to consider when storing items – keep them visible, accessible and manageable. The following products accomplish all three.
Pliio Clothing Management System
Pliio is the only line of organizing tools that help you fold your clothes and actually keep them folded. Clothes are folded around the tool which stays inside the garment. This allows you to store clothes vertically in drawers – making them visible, and with the structure inside the garment, they become as easy to manage as putting books on a shelf. Easy for any age to use, the line includes two sizes of Clothing Filers for tidy drawers, Clothing Pilers to tame the messiest shelves, and Storage Boxes designed to fit the filers.
www.pliio.com
Available at Bed, Bath and Beyond and Home Outfitters.
Clear, Plastic Shoe Boxes
Yes, they are fantastic for shoes, but clear shoe boxes are invaluable helpers in containing small items in almost any storage space in the home. Inexpensive, stackable and see-through they work in under-sink cabinets and on shelves keeping things easy to see and easy to manage. Use just the bottoms as drawer dividers. Examples of things you might store include: shoe care supplies, mini-toiletries, spices, light bulbs, and first aid.
Available at Home Depot.
Smead Stadium File Sorter
It’s easy for paper to pile up and soon you’ve the important in with the recycling. If out of sight is out of mind for you, consider this paper file sorter which has multiple compartments for letter-sized file folders each of which at its own level. This lets you see the name of each file. Store it on or near your desk, or on a kitchen counter, a common place for papers to collect.
Smead.com
Available at Amazon.ca.
Rubbermaid Modular Canisters
If kitchen cupboards are chaotic, consider replacing bags of dried goods with these stackable containers. They are designed to fit in upper cabinets and fill the space from front to back, so there will be no hidden row of forgotten items. Available in four different heights, stack them to fill your cabinet from top to bottom making the most of your storage space.
Rubbermaid Modular Canisters
Available at Walmart.ca.
For more organizing and productivity strategies, visit www.streamlife.ca.
