Oops! The Top 10 Organizing Mistakes

by Pamela Kramer

Woman's Day, May 30, 2006

Let's face it: When it comes to organizing, most of us must be making mistakes. We stack papers in neat piles and buy clever organizing tools, but still chaos and clutter reign. So what are we doing wrong?
 

Plenty, experts say. In fact, many of the things we do to get organized actually work against us. Find out which moves might be keeping you from getting-and staying­organized, and what you should do instead.
 

Everything in its place

Oops! #1  Saying, "I'll put it here for now." It's easy to stash things wherever you can fit them-the turkey platter in the linen closet, the screwdriver under the kitchen sink. "But then you can't find them next time because they're not in logical places, and you forget what you have so you keep buying more," says Christa Patchen, owner of Savvy Solutions in Seattle.
TRY: Storing similar items in one place. Assign a home to everything you own, close to where you use it: hair-care products under the bathroom sink, serving dishes in the cabinet next to the stove. "When you need some­thing, all of the pieces will be together," says Patchen. If you don't have enough room for items you buy in bulk, such as paper towels or canned tomatoes, set up a sur­plus storage area.

Oops! #2  Letting things spread and multiply. When you toss a bunch of items into a large, open space, such as a closet or drawer, they eventually spread out and become a mixed-up pile of junk. "You have to sort through too much stuff to find what you need," says Debbie Stanley, author of Organize Your Home ... in No Time. When items are without boundaries, they also have the tendency to wander away.
TRY: Dividing up big spaces. Put loose items, such as office supplies and seasoning packets, in small containers or sectioned organizers to keep them from merging together or running free. Use stacking plastic drawers under the sink and in the pantry. Put dividers on shelves in closets to separate sheets, towels and other items. Small zip top bags are great for corralling buttons, coupons and small toys.

Oops! #3  Storing items out of reach. Many people pick a storage spot without thinking about how difficult it will be to retrieve an item or put it away. They might keep a favorite skillet under a soup pot or office supplies on a high shelf. "If things are too hard to put back, they usually just stay out," says Kathy Waddill, author of The Organizing Source­book: Nine Strategies for Simplifying Your Life.
TRY: Deciding what you really need handy. To avoid bending and reaching, put high-use items in accessible storage spots, such as top drawers and shelves located between your hips and shoulders. Items you use often should go on top or in front of less frequently used things. Put small items, with labels facing out, in front of larger ones. Stash items you use infrequently in less accessible places­for example, keep old tax records in the back of a closet.

Follow the paper trail
 

Oops! #4  Piling up papers. Stacking papers like a deck of cards makes it hard to find things
without shuffling through all of them. "Piling forces you to dig to find what you want like a cat in a litter box," says Linda Koopersmith, author of the Beverly Hills Organizer's Home Organizing Bible. The same goes for clothing. "Most people lay clothes flat one item on top of another, which is a big no-no," she says.

TRY: Thinking vertical. Always store papers vertically in labeled hanging files, so you know what you have, rather than laying them on surfaces (we're talking piles!) or in trays. Also, fold shorts, tees and lingerie to the depth of your drawers, and stand them in rows with the folded edge facing up, so you can easily see what you have and remove what you need. "This gives you extra drawer space and a bird's-eye view of the contents inside," says Koopersmith.

Oops! #5  Not having a place for incoming paper. Paper is by far the number-one
clutter-maker. "It comes into our homes whether we want it to or not, and most people have no place for the bills and various notices to go, so they stay out and litter counters, desks and floors," says Patchen. "Because of all the e-mail and Inter­net information being printed, paper use has increased 65 percent over the last 10 years."
TRY: Setting up a mail center. Use a small vertical file or desktop caddy with slots for bills, bank statements, receipts and so on. When you come in with the mail, toss the junk into a box for shredding and file the keep­ers. Put magazines in a basket near your reading spot. Reduce the amount of paper you keep by saving addresses and recipes on your computer, and bookmarking websites with info you use often, such as school calendars.
 

Oops! #6  Filing information incorrectly. "People get worried they won't be able to find
an important paper, so they make a folder for it and file it away," says Barb Friedman, president of Organize IT in Milwaukee. The problem is that when they need to find the paper again, they can't remember how they labeled the folder or where they put it, so they still end up having to search all over for it.
TRY: Simplifying your files. Keep all your household papers in one large cabinet. Create sections for general categories, such as "Finances" and "Medical." Put papers inside file folders in hanging files. When you remove a folder, leave the hanging file in place. Label each file with a title that's descriptive so you know what's in it, but not so specific that you have many files containing only one piece of paper.

Just contain it

Oops! #7  Buying containers too soon. We all do it: We get jazzed about organizing and
rush out to buy an assortment of bins and racks. Then we get home and find out that our new organizers don't fit in the closet, or the things we want to organize don't fit in our fancy new containers. "You're left with organizers that just add more clutter to your space," says Lisa Zaslow, founder of Gotham Organizers in New York City.
TRY: Sorting and measuring before you shop. Pull together the items you want to organize, and toss or give away what you no longer need or love. "This gives you a sense of what you have and what you need, such as buying a rack for your 10 pairs of shoes," says Zaslow. Measure the height, width and depth of the space you have available, and take the list with you to the store so you can determine which containers will fit.

Oops! #8  Filling containers too full. It's tempting to conserve space and stuff all your files
into one cabinet or all your cooking utensils in one drawer. But when your storage is packed too tightly, it's hard to see everything you have or retrieve what you need because you can't get to it. And you know you're in trouble when you can't close your drawers and containers because they're overstuffed, says Waddill.

TRY: Giving things breathing room. Select drawers and containers that are spacious enough to house all the items that need to go inside. If a collection outgrows its home, do some weeding or find a larger container. If you separate items into two or more containers, put like items together, such as dolls in one bin, doll clothes in another. Label all the containers and store them together, says Waddill.

Oops! #9  Wasting perfectly good storage. You may think a bigger closet or another bookcase will end your storage shortage, but you probably have more storage than you think. "Nearly everyone has space they are not using," says Patchen. Look behind doors, between shelves and beneath beds. If you see empty air, you've got storage!
TRY: Utilizing your dead space. Store tall or bulky items on top shelves in closets and pantries. Adjust your shelving to fit the items you want to keep there, or install helper shelves that expand and stack. Hang shallow racks from shelves for flat items, such as placemats. Use containers that stack and fit close together. Hang racks or shallow shelves inside closet or cabinet doors. Install pull­outs in deep cabinets.

Oops! #10  Having too many multiples. Most of us have tons of duplicates, especially in the kitchen. "When we come across an item, we think we should save it and don't stop to consider if we already have another one," says Joni Hilton, author of Housekeeping Secrets My Mother Never Taught Me. "No one needs more plastic food containers than the fridge can hold!"

TRY: Setting limits on extras. Decide how many kitchen items, such as mugs and pots, you really need and let the rest go. Try not to let items outgrow their homes. When your sweaters no longer fit in a drawer, for example, consider tossing what you no longer wear. Keep a box in your garage or trunk for giveaways and aim to make monthly donations. 

10 Signs You Need to Get Organized

1. You don't want people to visit because your house is a mess.
2. You stack books on the floor because there's nowhere else to put them.
3. You can't find your receipts when you want to make returns.
4. You frequently have to pay late fees on bills.
5. You can't find a place to work on your hobbies because clutter litters every flat surface.
6. You hate to put away clean laundry because your drawers are too full.
7. You can't find your good tablecloth and candlesticks when guests come over.
8. You put items on top of their containers instead of inside.
9. You have to search the entire house for supplies, such as printer paper or glue.
10. You can't find a place for food or new clothes when you come home from the store.

The Best and Worst Tools:

Items that deserve a place on your shopping list, and ones that don't:

Best:

REVOLVING TRAYS for shelves and the fridge.
CLEAR STORAGE CONTAINERS that stack and fit flush with one another.

WALL CALENDAR with a pocket for each month.
MAGNETIC NOTEPADS that stick on the fridge.
HELPER SHELVES that expand and stack.
LABELERS to mark what's on shelves and in bins and folders.

PLASTIC DRAWER BOXES that fit in cabinets and under beds.

HANGING SWEATER AND SHOE BAGS for closets.
Worst:

BULLETIN BOARDS that look cluttered and hide must-do's.

ACCORDION FILES They rarely have the right number of slots or correct labels for your needs.
STORAGE CONTAINERS designed for only one type of food.
HAMPERS WITH LIDS Most kids (and many adults) won't bother to open them and put things inside.
OPAQUE STORAGE CONTAINERS You can't see what's inside.

HORIZONTAL TRAYS that become black holes for incoming papers.

HANGING POT AND UTENSIL RACKS, because everything on them can get grimy after awhile.
SHELF RISERS that make pantry items more visible but take up space.

Copyright 2006 Pamela Kramer.  All Rights Reserved.