Tag: Tidying Up

How to Keep a Small Apartment Organized

Moving into a new apartment can be an unnerving task, especially one with confined space. Home organization is not an easy task. It can be challenging for many reasons, from cleanliness to maintaining systems. You might be wondering how you could fit all your belongings into such a small place, but the good news is there are multiple solutions available to help you organize your small space.A cluttered home leads to a cluttered mind. A messy place can never bring mental clarity. No matter how small the place is, if you follow the below-mentioned rules, any place can become a happy place.

Living Room Organizing for a More Pleasant Gathering Space

Since the living room is the place where you spend most of your time when entertaining others, it is best not to keep it cluttered at all. Jackets, coats, and bags occupy a lot of space. As a space-saving solution, install hooks just inside the front door. Creating a mudroom or command center allows you to immediately store your outerwear and bags as soon as you enter the home. Creating coat and bag storage also makes things easier for visitors. If you do not want to hook a nail on the wall or door, simply use sticky hooks. To keep your entertainment equipment safe and away from sight, you may also incorporate storage furniture that blends well with your living room furniture. Many coffee tables come with storage boxes.

Bedroom Organizing for Strategic Storage Solutions

Making your bed every day can be a game-changer in your quest to keep your bed organized. When your bed is neatly made, the rest of the room will automatically appear to be more organized.Many people do not like storing things under the bed as they do not often clean under the bed. As an alternative, you might prefer a bed with drawers. You can keep often used things or off-season clothes in the drawer under the bed. Hang a shoe organizer inside the closet. An over-the-door shoe organizer can hold all types of footwear that might otherwise be cluttering your bedroom. There are many closet organizers are also available in the market today that help you organize things in a very elegant way. There are wire closet organizers and wooden closet organizers. You can hang clothes, place shoes and handbags and even display decorative pieces.

Bathroom Organizing for Space Maximization

Bathrooms are even smaller spaces. Make sure you get rid of the things you don’t need. Install utilitarian storage containers where you can keep your toothbrushes, toothpaste and other toiletries like soap and shampoo. Another small wall hanger can be installed to keep your hairdryer, etc.

Kitchen Organizing Solutions to Tame Clutter

The kitchen is another space that seems to attract clutter. Install wall hangers to hang the pots and pans. Use drawers and cabinets to store other utensils and cooking related gadgets. Keep items you seldom use on the top shelves.Take advantage of every hook and nook in the kitchen by installing a hanging spice rack. Place hanging storage containers at the back of the cabinet or pantry door to hold canned food or bottled food items.

By following some of the above-mentioned organizing suggestions, your small apartment will appear more orderly and spacious. A well-organized small apartment can feel as accommodating as any larger space as long as you keep these tips in mind.

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More Than “Minimalism”

Whether I am speaking to people in their homes or reading an article about organizing, I sometimes encounter what I describe as a near-obsession with the act of throwing things away. People will often say to me in frustration, “I am a minimalist. I just want to throw everything away.” However, the act of throwing much away in favor of owning little is only a small part of the equation for living a balanced, organized life.

Throwing Things Away is Only the Beginning

Many, many of us in the United States own more than we need for daily survival. And, in my opinion, there is nothing inherently wrong with this. However, anyone who has become frustrated with “clutter” has likely discovered that there is such a thing as having too many nonessential items. In contrast to that notion, most of us feel much happier when we have comfortable furniture, several clothing options, and aesthetic objects around the home we simply enjoy for the sake of ambiance. While doing a very detailed and thorough purge is essential to truly becoming organized, purging is just the first step. Furthermore, “over-purging” can be more detrimental than helpful.

The Dangerous Over-Purge

On the front end, purging can bring a sense of relief and help most people realize exactly how much space they really have and how little they use certain items they have been storing needlessly. However, it is important to avoid the danger of simply throwing things away to receive instant gratification, then later routinely buying new thing to fill the space. In the end, the cycle repeats and a need for a second major purge will eventually arise.

Deliberation While Purging

In my opinion, one of the most effective tactics in Marie Kondo’s The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up is her suggestion to hold and even speak to each item before deciding whether to keep it. While I do not typically advise clients to communicate with their items in this exact way (…unless they want to), I believe there is value in pausing to think about an item before deciding whether to keep it or throw it away. Oftentimes, when I notice what appears to be an impulsive, emotional response toward an item, I ask the client to pause, and we quickly discuss the object. Just by creating a pause, the client is typically able to think through the cause of the strong feelings toward the object and become comfortable discarding (or in some cases keeping) it. He or she is then able to proceed with a clearer understanding of the item’s role (or lack thereof) in the home.  Taking time to think about each item also minimizes the risk of over-purging and allows the person to logically think through potential opportunities and uses for an object they simply never knew they had or never took time to seek out opportunities to use it.

Yes, Some of Us ARE True Minimalists, But…

By nature, most people prefer to surround themselves with certain comforts and with aesthetically-pleasing things. Therefore, it is important for each person to consider where his or her center of gravity lies when attempting to balance the functional constraints (i.e. storage capacity) of a room with individual preference when it comes to variables like decor, technology, and comfort features within the space.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Economics and Marie Kondo’s KonMari Method

Famed Japanese home organization consultant Marie Kondo has inspired millions around the world to focus on optimizing their home environment. Although the thought of organizing and “de-cluttering” is a source of dread for many, Kondo’s book, The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up, has performed tremendously from Tokyo to New York City. What is it about a book on home organizing that appeals to so many?

Kondo helps readers conceptualize their home organization and storage habits by utilizing basic economic concepts. Through these concepts, the author translates the oftentimes daunting language of organizing to everyday, palatable lingo. She effectively guides the reader along the path of uncovering the very psychological correlations between organizational habits and psychology.

The Sunk-Cost Fallacy in Organizing

In economic terms, a sunk cost is a past cost that has already been paid and cannot be recovered. This term is highly applicable when it comes to organizing and is a major setback for many individuals who struggle to donate or discard unused items. For example, an individual may purchase a fruit bowl or even a small kitchen appliance while it is on sale and later decide not to use the item because the colors clash with the current decorating theme or because there is simply not enough space on the kitchen counter. Over time, the new purchase remains unused, and the individual may or may not realize the item is not really a necessity. However, the item remains in place because it is perpetually regarded as a “purchase” that went unused and may still be of use at a later date. Meanwhile, the item takes up space in the home and will likely never be used because it does not meet a more urgent need in the household.

When sorting through closet and storage spaces, remaining honest about an item’s realistic potential for use is paramount. While I, personally, do not aggressively focus on forcing clients to discard items simply for the sake of getting rid of things, I do encourage my clients to audibly talk through the way in which the item came into the home and list realistic pros and cons of keeping the item. At that point, the individual is typically able to make a firm, practical decision about whether the item should go or stay.

The Folly of Prediction in Sorting and Purging

More thoroughly explained in the Freakonomics podcast, the folly of prediction simply acknowledges that, in the grand scheme, human beings are often terrible at making accurate predictions. How does this relate to organizing? Marie Kondo uses this fallacy as a basis for utilizing current valuation of an object to determine whether to keep or remove it from the household. Common examples include clothes that are a few sizes too small or books that have already been read. At this point, my method diverges from the KonMari method slightly in that I typically do not insist on a client getting rid of clothing that is within a couple sizes of his or her current weight or donating favorite books if a) there is space to store the items within easy reach OR neatly within plain sight and b) the client establishes or is clearly working on an organized plan to get back into the smaller clothing size or reread the book. Other examples include housewares and decorations that were purchased for a specific purpose and will likely never be used again. Board games and toys that never see the light of day should also be considered through this lens in most cases.

Status Quo Bias and Preventing the Accumulation of “Clutter”

Under the status quo bias, as it relates to organizing, many people are governed by the belief that they should keep an item in the home if they cannot think of a reason to discard the object. Here Marie Kondo employs a dramatic switch that I find to be the most life-changing of all the economic concepts discussed: she suggests changing the status quo to one under which no item is kept in the home unless there is a valid reason to hold onto it. Under the suggested status quo, most of us would be opting for online bank, credit card, and utility statements, recycling empty bags and boxes, no longer keeping massive collections of old, unused plastic food storage containers. The average American household would be drastically different in form and, to a significant degree, in function. We would no longer need to go out and purchase new stuff to help us store our old stuff.

What would we do with all that extra space? Imagine how much more “living” we could do in our home environments…

For more information about the interplay between the KonMari method and economics, check out this  Atlantic editor’s personal experience.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Set Yourself Up for Success

It’s October. The leaves are crisp. The weather is soggy (here in New York). Pumpkin Spice Lattes are flowing freely. These are a few of our favorite things, right?

In addition to fall boots, sweaters, cool nights by the fire pit, and pumpkin-flavored everything, there is another gigantic advantage to the fall season we often overlook: we have just entered the quiet before the holiday frenzy. Therefore, this moment of relative quiet is  the perfect time to sit down and make clear, sober plans to set ourselves up for a prosperous New Year. It is an opportune time to position ourselves to make New Year’s resolutions we will actually keep.

What does this mean for our lives in general? Assess, assess, assess. If you struggle with your weight or bad health habits, sit down and think about how you can do things differently. Visit the doctor. Have your levels checked. Is your cholesterol a little high? Let’s make a plan now to anticipate cutting down on saturated fats and high cholesterol foods in the New Year (…right after we enjoy the rich, holiday foods). Start looking into gyms. Think about an athletic activity you enjoy or a fitness class you’d like to take. Do some research…Is money management your thing? Think about what a realistic budget for your household might entail in 2017.  Social anxiety got you down? Let’s start thinking about healthy ways we can meet people in the upcoming year. What hasn’t worked well for us in 2016? Anticipate. Plan. Begin the mental prep work now.

And finally…what does this mean in terms of getting organized? If you’re already my client, now is the perfect time to schedule a “check-up” to see how well your current strategies have been working. If you’re not my client, let’s get acquainted. Visit our Contact page, and schedule an appointment with me to talk about how we can make your home or work space feel more comfortable and run more smoothly. Once we embark on the journey of exploring the connection between your environment, your sense of well-being, and your overall productivity, I guarantee your outlook on the concept of “space” will never be the same. Let’s talk organization, and let’s get empowered!

Happy October!