Home Organization
S.O.S.:
Save Our Space By Lindsey Geiss
Seven Ways to Address Common Clutter Complaints
W
hether you are drowning in socks, consumed by crafts or just plain paralyzed with clutter, there is hope for home order. Professional organizer Ann Shenk, founder of Simple Spaces in Bay Village, offers tips to address parents’ most common complaints to get all hands on deck and help save our spaces. Shenk is a member of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals (NAPO.net), which has over 3,500 members globally dedicated to helping people and organizations bring order and efficiency to their lives. They meet monthly to share best practices and advance industry research. A lifelong organizer, she has been sharing her skills professionally for the past 12 years. As a former teacher with a daughter and a son in college, she has experienced all ages and stages of family organization needs and runs a pretty tight ship when it comes to making sure everything has a place. She has seen the effect COVID-19 has had on home environments. While some families undertook renovations, many collected home school essentials and endless activities to occupy kids, creating chaos. To help streamline our lives, Shenk addresses seven universal home organization concerns: 1. “THERE ARE SO MANY SOCKS!”
Small items can become big annoyances, so she suggests two things: First, wash socks in a mesh bag, so they are all in one place and not
12 | Family Living at Its Best
filtered through other clothing. Have different color-coded bags for each family member and either store the entire bag in a drawer or have each person dump and sort their own, if they can. For boys, especially, buy the same white short or long socks and dress socks in all the same color and style to simplify sorting. Depending on the size of a dresser, one drawer of socks is enough. Second, put any single socks into a small basket or bag kept near where laundry is done. Every few months, have your family look there, and if they can’t be matched, they are trash. 2. “I HARDLY WEAR/USE IT
BUT HATE TO THROW IT AWAY.”
Shenk’s philosophy is “less is more.” “We have too much and nowhere to put it,” she says. Fight the urge to buy more fancy baskets, and purge instead. For clothing you are unsure about, place the hangers backwards on the rod. If you see one hanging that way for a while, it is not being worn. If an item is gently used and a brand name, you can sell it, but that takes time and effort. Shenk warns, “if you have time and enjoy that, great. Otherwise, it’s not worth the time and a couple bucks here and there.” Consider Goodwill, Salvation Army, AMVETS and local donation centers. “Many clients want to keep the right thing for the right person, but the level of anxiety seeing it sitting there knowing ‘I have to do this,’ you get to a point when you need to get it off your plate,” she explains. “Our good intentions are giving us anxiety, and we become paralyzed because there are so many errands to run and
things to do with the piles that nothing gets done. You are so overwhelmed. Isn’t it better to donate to a good cause so you no longer have the disorder and stress in your home? Start with a clean slate.” 3. “I DON’T KNOW WHERE TO START.”
Shenk tells clients, “show me the parts of the house you are avoiding because it causes anxiety and asks, “Where are you the most? Do you spend the most time in the kitchen, for example?” Work to improve those areas. She suggests not starting with offices because paperwork goes slowly, and you feel like you aren’t making any progress. Rather, start with smaller spaces, like a pantry or cupboard. Once one space looks really good, “it gets contagious.” Shenk also suggests organizing everything so you can see it. Don’t put items behind things in closets. Remember the adage, “out of sight out of mind.” If you can’t see it, then it will not be found and used, and you will wind up buying more of what you already have. Also, tackle clothes before toys, so the clothes are ready for the school year, then handle toys while kids are at school and not home. Rearrange the play room and regularly rotate toys by age and stage to keep them fresh and more easily identify what kids still play with versus what they do not, to make room for new items before holidays and birthdays. Some parents, as a rule, have children donate one old toy for every new one they receive. When organizing, separate items by category (games from toys, instruments, etc.) Also think outside the box. Flat, clear ornament