Monthly Archives: May 2016

Dresser drawers are hard to keep neat if you stuff the garments and hope the drawer closes.

Roll garments like t-shirts, pajamas, activewear.  Move off-season clothes out and into bins on top shelves.  This also allows you a day to purge the unwanted.  Jeans work well folded on shelves (think “like in a store”) and drawer dividers can segment socks, underwear, bras and cami’s.  Bins don’t have to be clear plastic, check out decorative fun bins and baskets at The Container Store.  Your closet can have a new look without spending much money and happiness will replace the “drawer depression”.

The kitchen is a room where one must function efficiently.  Arranged into work zones, this will be the case.  Store items where you use them, (bakeware near the oven, glasses near the refrigerator, flatware in a drawer near the dishwasher)… extra steps are great for exercise, not kitchen functionality.  Big kitchen?  Set up designated areas for frequent activities, (coffee prep entertaining prep, baking area).  Not such a big kitchen?  Try a mobile island for extra counter work space.

Is there a remodel in your future?  Why not take the time to really plan how you want to function in that new space.  Glass front cabinetry is beautiful, but not if you are trying to hide a mess.  Those corner cupboards can be a waste of real estate with a lazy susan… or not… try “v” shaped drawers in those corners… no more digging in the back dark corners of the cupboard.  Consider pull-outs for all lower cupboards for easy go-to and storage.

Bedroom storage a problem?  Purchase a decorative basket and fill with your colorful blankets, neatly folded, or purchase a bench with built in storage for the foot of your bed.  Newer nightstands have built in charging stations which eliminate cords and cables around the head of your bed.  Built-in units, more expensive, but O! so efficient!  Open shelving surrounds you with the things you love to see and closed cabinetry and drawers below allow for exceptional storage.  Plan it, do it, love it!

Where were you when you made your big life plans?  Perhaps in college surrounded by friends discussing hopes and dreams… the possibilities were endless and exciting!  Where might we live?  Would we get married?  O! the career plans, families and adventures that awaited!

I think it’s safe to assume none of us ever said “I hope I have a big house full of things that I bought just because they were on sale.”   We never talked about our intentions to own so much stuff that we would spend our free time trying to organize it all.  No one said, “I hope my future kids have so many toys that they can’t pick them up because there is nowhere to put them!”

Why do we trade in our hopes, dreams, goals and plans for things that will eventually end up in a garage sale, consignment store or landfill?  We pull this baggage behind us as we go through life thinking about the next thing we can add to it!  Stop doing that!

I still love shoes and handbags, kitchen gadgets that slice and dice… but I don’t like the idea that someone would trade in special hopes and dreams for something that can be bought.  I like my stuff but I am SO OVER IT!

Give me passion, pursuits, wholeness, healing, compassion, audacious goals, love, grace, kindness… give me those instead, and let me not be distracted by anything less.

Simple fix… purchase a 3-ring binder and some sheet protectors.  Each manual gets a sleeve then organize the binder by large appliances, small electronics, garage/utility items, toys and sports equipment.  Store the binder on a shelf in the garage or your utility room.  Each year when cleaning out your files, go through the binder and toss the manuals for which you no longer have the appliance.  Now you have an extra drawer for something much more useful!