Finding and maintaining a home for your "stuff"
May 31, 2021 9:28 AM Subscribe
Trying to get organized, put things away, where they "belong". The problem is, how do you figure out (and then remember!) where something belongs?
I'm looking for a general strategy, but maybe I can start with a specific example.
I have a tool box. There's a drawer for sockets. There's also a drawer for wrenches/screwdrivers.
The rest of the drawers are an assortment of random things (chisels, knives, zap straps, miscellanea basically).
When I grab a socket or a screwdriver, I can remember where to put it back, but if I grab a zap strap or a knife, it's a 50/50 that it'll end up in another "miscellaneous" drawer.
This basically applies to the rest of my life. Books obviously go on the bookshelf, but little things like batteries, where do they go? I can't have a separate drawer for each class of item so some things have to live together.
I want to know exactly where everything is. How do you do it? Do you have a strategy?
I'm looking for a general strategy, but maybe I can start with a specific example.
I have a tool box. There's a drawer for sockets. There's also a drawer for wrenches/screwdrivers.
The rest of the drawers are an assortment of random things (chisels, knives, zap straps, miscellanea basically).
When I grab a socket or a screwdriver, I can remember where to put it back, but if I grab a zap strap or a knife, it's a 50/50 that it'll end up in another "miscellaneous" drawer.
This basically applies to the rest of my life. Books obviously go on the bookshelf, but little things like batteries, where do they go? I can't have a separate drawer for each class of item so some things have to live together.
I want to know exactly where everything is. How do you do it? Do you have a strategy?
One thing you can try is small sticky labels with a list of contents for, for example, a drawer in your toolbox. You could write zap straf, knife, (and whatever makes sense to go with those things) on the label and then you'd start keeping more things in a specific place. And eventually you won't be able to read the label but you won't need it anymore.
yup, what the primroses were over said
posted by Glinn at 9:37 AM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
yup, what the primroses were over said
posted by Glinn at 9:37 AM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
One general principle of organization is "like goes with like". What are batteries like? Opinions may vary, but the point is to do something that will make sense to you in the future. Some people put them near electronics, others may put them with things like clips and rubber bands, because they are small things that you have a bunch of and get used as support items for other things.
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:39 AM on May 31, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by SaltySalticid at 9:39 AM on May 31, 2021 [8 favorites]
For something like a tool box, a label on the outside of the drawer will make it quick and easy. For places where you would not want a label on the outside for aesthetic reasons, put a label on the inside of the drawer with a list of what goes there. You still might have to open a few drawers at first, but if you consistently only put things on the list in that drawer, you will get used to the system you have created. When you get something new, decide where it will live before you take it out of the packaging, and add it to the list of things inside that drawer or other storage location.
posted by hworth at 9:41 AM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by hworth at 9:41 AM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Every thing needs a place where it lives. Different things can live together, but everything has its own particular home. Every time you use a thing, *as soon as you’re finished using it, return it to its home*. Labels can help for remembering where those homes are when it’s time to find a thing again, but for me, the key part of staying organized is putting things back ASAP and not creating “temporary” piles of stuff everywhere that require secondary sorting and cleaning later on.
posted by epj at 9:43 AM on May 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by epj at 9:43 AM on May 31, 2021 [9 favorites]
Remember that labels can be as simple as masking tape or an index card with the list of items taped to a storage box. Then you can easily update the labels if you want to store things in a different place.
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 10:17 AM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by never.was.and.never.will.be. at 10:17 AM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Dividers or organizers in larger spaces help. I once bought a lazy susan for a kitchen cabinet that turned out to be a useless size in that location (too small for the things I wanted to put on it, while also taking up too much room in the cabinet itself). Instead of returning it I put it on a shelf in the fridge to see if it would work for little jars of sauces and pickles. It's still there. I have other little bins in our fridge for other things that I can group together, and if I need something from that category I can grab the whole bin. I also had a mess of hot sauces and vinegars taking over a spot on the counter next to the stove, but I was able to dedicate part of a shelf to the things I only use once or twice a month and get the counter space back for the things I use most frequently.
For a tool box I'd use a strategy of dividing and labeling. Sets would go together, of course (screwdrivers by type and size, wrenches by type and size, and so on) but that would still leave a lot of random single tools here and there. For those I'd probably go by general size and shape, e.g. the random chisel with the random putty knife, and try to divide the drawers so things mostly stayed tidy and visible in their homes.
If you have to share a storage system with another person, though, good luck. We have a very narrow, cramped spice cabinet. I can remember how it's sorted and have long enough arms to reach the back, but my wife cannot and does not. If she needs a spice she can't see and reach in the very front of the cabinet, I have to get it for her.
posted by fedward at 10:17 AM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
For a tool box I'd use a strategy of dividing and labeling. Sets would go together, of course (screwdrivers by type and size, wrenches by type and size, and so on) but that would still leave a lot of random single tools here and there. For those I'd probably go by general size and shape, e.g. the random chisel with the random putty knife, and try to divide the drawers so things mostly stayed tidy and visible in their homes.
If you have to share a storage system with another person, though, good luck. We have a very narrow, cramped spice cabinet. I can remember how it's sorted and have long enough arms to reach the back, but my wife cannot and does not. If she needs a spice she can't see and reach in the very front of the cabinet, I have to get it for her.
posted by fedward at 10:17 AM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
A rule of thumb that my wife uses, and that works pretty well, is the first place you would go to look for a thing is the place where that thing should live. Obviously this isn't as helpful for ground-up organizing as for revising your layout later, but everyone else has good suggestions on the ground-up front.
posted by restless_nomad at 10:25 AM on May 31, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by restless_nomad at 10:25 AM on May 31, 2021 [10 favorites]
Move as many things as possible away from the "misc" category. You can group things by size, by use, by material (wood gets stored differently from plastic or metal sometimes) -- but actually assess everything you have that's 'misc', make groups, and then you'll have a workable system.
Make sure that, for a given storage location, there is space to add things if adding things in that category is likely to happen.
posted by amtho at 10:32 AM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
Make sure that, for a given storage location, there is space to add things if adding things in that category is likely to happen.
posted by amtho at 10:32 AM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
I live in a house and have things in various places, grouped like with like- so office things go in the office, and craft things go in the craft room (lucky enough to live in a house with room for separate rooms!) but you can do the same things with drawers,shelves, or cabinets if you live in a smaller space. You might find choosing a set size of plastic tote boxes to corral stuff- one for tools, one for batteries, one for lights, and then a shelf in a closet to put these items. The other idea for organizing as some have said is to keep things where you will use them. In my nightstand I have all the things I use for body upkeep- like tweezers, nail clippers, etc. I also keep pain relievers and sleeping medication there instead of a separate medicine cabinet. Anything I have for morning prep- daily medications, water to take them, deodorant, hair brush all on a tray on my dresser. In my kitchen I also group things together- like all of my entertaining server-ware in one section of my divided drawers, all items that cut in another (vegetable scraper, micro-plane, orange zester.) On my counter I have two pitchers to hold daily cooking utensils- I moved to two when one got too full, and now I separate- all my metal in one, all my wooden ones in another.
posted by momochan at 10:42 AM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by momochan at 10:42 AM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
How you figure out your categories is going to have a lot to do with how much of any one item you have.
I have enough batteries for a separate box for them alone. But I don't do any actual work on my car, so "car stuff" is a category, with everything in the glove compartment or an old backpack in the back of my car. The only kind of needlework I do a fair amount of is embroidery, so I have a separate box for embroidery floss. I don't do much with tools, so my storage is going to look way different from Nick Offermans'.
I know the Marie Kondo school of thought is to do everything at once, and I'm sure that is great for some people, but I just don't have the energy to do that kind of big project in a short space of time. I've slowly created a system over years, and that works for me. Storage systems need to be personalized and fit with how you think of things and how you use your stuff.
I love, love, love my Brother labelmaker.
posted by FencingGal at 10:47 AM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
I have enough batteries for a separate box for them alone. But I don't do any actual work on my car, so "car stuff" is a category, with everything in the glove compartment or an old backpack in the back of my car. The only kind of needlework I do a fair amount of is embroidery, so I have a separate box for embroidery floss. I don't do much with tools, so my storage is going to look way different from Nick Offermans'.
I know the Marie Kondo school of thought is to do everything at once, and I'm sure that is great for some people, but I just don't have the energy to do that kind of big project in a short space of time. I've slowly created a system over years, and that works for me. Storage systems need to be personalized and fit with how you think of things and how you use your stuff.
I love, love, love my Brother labelmaker.
posted by FencingGal at 10:47 AM on May 31, 2021 [3 favorites]
For my workshop, I took a cheap metal shelves, found some stacking plastic containers with lids, and labeled them. The containers with the kind of things I'm currently accessing make their way to the top.
The hard part is finding categories that are not too broad or narrow (subdividing helps for things like "electronic components"), and to some extent dealing with the things that are too large to fit. (The containers I chose came in 2 depths, which helped.)
posted by joeyh at 10:58 AM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
The hard part is finding categories that are not too broad or narrow (subdividing helps for things like "electronic components"), and to some extent dealing with the things that are too large to fit. (The containers I chose came in 2 depths, which helped.)
posted by joeyh at 10:58 AM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
This is my eternal Achilles' heel. I have a lot of stuff, and a lot of different kinds of stuff -- camera stuff, music production stuff, art stuff, books, tchotchkes, etc., etc., etc. The thing that always stymies me when I'm trying to clean up is coming across stuff that I don't actually have a place for. Often I just completely give up and stop cleaning at that point.
I have a whole bunch of storage containers -- boxes, bins, drawers, etc. -- but even so, there's stuff that doesn't have an official home in any of them. One strategy I've developed to try to cope with this is that every couple years I do what I call "box-o-rama".
I open up all my cabinets, drawers, bins, and boxes at the same time, and go thru each of them, culling stuff I'm ready to get rid of, reorganizing them more logically and more compactly, moving stuff between storage areas if needed, and finding or creating homes for stuff that previously has not had a home. This doesn't totally solve the problem of "homeless" stuff, but it helps a lot.
Recently I conceived of another idea, which I haven't implemented yet, but which I think might be very helpful to me in tackling this problem. My idea is to get a couple of large-ish stacking plastic bins, and to put all my "homeless" stuff in 1 of the bins. This bin will be stacked on top of the other bin most of the time, so that I can only use the top bin.
When I've filled the top bin with homeless stuff, and put away all the other stuff that does have homes, my plan is to take the top bin out of the other bin, and start transferring the items from the full bin to the empty bin. As I do so, I will carefully consider how the various items might be grouped together, or dispatched to existing groupings of stuff, or just gotten rid of. Or, for stuff that I still can't find a place for, it can just live in the other bin. At the end of the process, the first bin will be empty, and the second bin will have some stuff in it, but less than there was before.
My thought is that if I give myself permission to have *some* stuff I don't know what to do with, but make a periodic effort to figure out what to do with it, I can get a better handle on this problem -- cut it down to size without solving it completely. We'll see if it works.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:59 AM on May 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
I have a whole bunch of storage containers -- boxes, bins, drawers, etc. -- but even so, there's stuff that doesn't have an official home in any of them. One strategy I've developed to try to cope with this is that every couple years I do what I call "box-o-rama".
I open up all my cabinets, drawers, bins, and boxes at the same time, and go thru each of them, culling stuff I'm ready to get rid of, reorganizing them more logically and more compactly, moving stuff between storage areas if needed, and finding or creating homes for stuff that previously has not had a home. This doesn't totally solve the problem of "homeless" stuff, but it helps a lot.
Recently I conceived of another idea, which I haven't implemented yet, but which I think might be very helpful to me in tackling this problem. My idea is to get a couple of large-ish stacking plastic bins, and to put all my "homeless" stuff in 1 of the bins. This bin will be stacked on top of the other bin most of the time, so that I can only use the top bin.
When I've filled the top bin with homeless stuff, and put away all the other stuff that does have homes, my plan is to take the top bin out of the other bin, and start transferring the items from the full bin to the empty bin. As I do so, I will carefully consider how the various items might be grouped together, or dispatched to existing groupings of stuff, or just gotten rid of. Or, for stuff that I still can't find a place for, it can just live in the other bin. At the end of the process, the first bin will be empty, and the second bin will have some stuff in it, but less than there was before.
My thought is that if I give myself permission to have *some* stuff I don't know what to do with, but make a periodic effort to figure out what to do with it, I can get a better handle on this problem -- cut it down to size without solving it completely. We'll see if it works.
posted by Artifice_Eternity at 10:59 AM on May 31, 2021 [6 favorites]
I have a battery organizer that I got for 10-15 bucks. It has a tester, which is handy. It doesn't need a drawer all to itself but does keep all the batteries sorted and in one place. Some have compartments for watch batteries. Some can be mounted on a wall. The one I have is about 11" long and 7" wide.
posted by wryly at 12:04 PM on May 31, 2021
posted by wryly at 12:04 PM on May 31, 2021
I realize my earlier commeny is partially helpful. As far as *where* to store things, things get stored in the room they’re most often used in. Three-drawer plastic organizers have been my friend, as they’re large enough to hold a number of things, but not so huge that things disappear. This also helps group things in categories. For example, we have a three-drawer organizer that’s office supplies and blank greeting cards. If you need to write a card, wrap a present, grab a piece of tape (any kind)—head here.
Batteries are in a shoebox on the bookshelf nearest the couch/coffeetable where the remotes live, because that’s what we use batteries for the most.
posted by epj at 12:55 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Batteries are in a shoebox on the bookshelf nearest the couch/coffeetable where the remotes live, because that’s what we use batteries for the most.
posted by epj at 12:55 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
I found this book incredibly helpful as a disorganized (but not diagnosed as ADHD) person. I'm still working through her advice and applying it, but it's written 100% for function and less than 10% for looks, which is totally refreshing in the organizing category. A few pieces of advice I really liked from it were:
any storage space should be named (ie. cup shelf, sock drawer, battery box) so you know in your head that only that category goes in there.
For anything you need in multiple places, it's good to have multiples you can you easily get to what you need. So if you need batteries for your remote control and batteries for your flashlight you store in the garage, it makes sense to have a box of batteries near where you store the remote, and a box of batteries where you store your flashlight for example. One of her examples for this is bathroom cleaning supplies. It's good to buy a toilet brush and set of cleaners per bathroom, then they're there! You'll clean more often, they don't take up a ton of space and minimize the barriers to cleaning when you notice the room needs it.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 1:04 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
any storage space should be named (ie. cup shelf, sock drawer, battery box) so you know in your head that only that category goes in there.
For anything you need in multiple places, it's good to have multiples you can you easily get to what you need. So if you need batteries for your remote control and batteries for your flashlight you store in the garage, it makes sense to have a box of batteries near where you store the remote, and a box of batteries where you store your flashlight for example. One of her examples for this is bathroom cleaning supplies. It's good to buy a toilet brush and set of cleaners per bathroom, then they're there! You'll clean more often, they don't take up a ton of space and minimize the barriers to cleaning when you notice the room needs it.
posted by Sweetchrysanthemum at 1:04 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
I have plastic crates that are categorised and stored on shelves. There's one for 'electrical' things - so batteries, light bulbs, extension leads, a special tool that gets lightbulbs out of one specific light fitting, stuff like that. Another is for 'tools', and a couple of years ago I spent a very long Saturday morning sorting out all the random bits that were loose and putting them into sections - screws, nails, washers, Allen (hex) keys, etc. - being quite specific about separating everything out, and put them into ziploc bags. Now all I have to do is take out the right bag, use what I need from it and put the bag back. Likewise for stationery, cards and envelopes, travel stuff, toiletries. It usually only takes me a minute to find what I need, and I know where it lives so it goes right back there.
(Let's not talk about the computer cable crate though...)
posted by essexjan at 1:45 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
(Let's not talk about the computer cable crate though...)
posted by essexjan at 1:45 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Adding just one point to the fine advice you have gotten already - it's okay to change your mind after you've set up a "home" for a given thing, if that "home" isn't working for some reason.
What I mean is: suppose that in your fit of organizing things, you've decided that your sewing machine needs to live in a closet on a high shelf so it's out of the way. But then, over time, you find that you sew less and less because it's always SUCH a pain in the ass to get it out of the closet, and then when you're done sewing it sits on your table forever because getting it back up onto that high shelf is an even bigger pain in the ass....and so either you end up not sewing at all, or you end up with the sewing machine on the table all the time.
Those are both signs that "in a closet on a high shelf" was the wrong place to store the sewing machine. Either it needs to be on a dedicated table set up all the time, or it needs to be on a more accessible shelf.
Or take reading glasses (my own bugaboo). There are those who say that you should get a shit-ton of the cheap drugstore ones and stick a pair of them in every room in your house, so that no matter where you are there are glasses in the room. I've tried that and it didn't really work - there were some rooms I just plain didn't need glasses. I've also tried putting all the glasses in just ONE place - and that didn't work either, because it got to be a pain in the ass to sit down to do something which required keen vision and realize that "dammit I forgot glasses" and then get up to fetch them again. So gradually I started keeping track of where I used glasses most often, and put a pair of glasses near each of those places (one by my armchair in the living room, one in the basket with all the TV remotes, one on my nightstand) and all the rest are in a basket as backups.
My point is that sometimes you can Make Decisions about where to put things, but those decisions don't really match how you use those things - so it's okay to change things up after the fact if you find that storing those things is creating a problem.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:11 PM on May 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
What I mean is: suppose that in your fit of organizing things, you've decided that your sewing machine needs to live in a closet on a high shelf so it's out of the way. But then, over time, you find that you sew less and less because it's always SUCH a pain in the ass to get it out of the closet, and then when you're done sewing it sits on your table forever because getting it back up onto that high shelf is an even bigger pain in the ass....and so either you end up not sewing at all, or you end up with the sewing machine on the table all the time.
Those are both signs that "in a closet on a high shelf" was the wrong place to store the sewing machine. Either it needs to be on a dedicated table set up all the time, or it needs to be on a more accessible shelf.
Or take reading glasses (my own bugaboo). There are those who say that you should get a shit-ton of the cheap drugstore ones and stick a pair of them in every room in your house, so that no matter where you are there are glasses in the room. I've tried that and it didn't really work - there were some rooms I just plain didn't need glasses. I've also tried putting all the glasses in just ONE place - and that didn't work either, because it got to be a pain in the ass to sit down to do something which required keen vision and realize that "dammit I forgot glasses" and then get up to fetch them again. So gradually I started keeping track of where I used glasses most often, and put a pair of glasses near each of those places (one by my armchair in the living room, one in the basket with all the TV remotes, one on my nightstand) and all the rest are in a basket as backups.
My point is that sometimes you can Make Decisions about where to put things, but those decisions don't really match how you use those things - so it's okay to change things up after the fact if you find that storing those things is creating a problem.
posted by EmpressCallipygos at 2:11 PM on May 31, 2021 [5 favorites]
The problem is, how do you figure out (and then remember!) where something belongs?
It's tricky! I'm super organized so this comes easy to me but my partner is not organized (he has many other fine qualities) and so I see what this looks like when it does not work well. My advice is usually
- have lots of little storage containers for stuff that can go in larger holder/containers (so like tupperware containers of batteries that can go in a closet or drawer)
- have a label maker
- "like goes with like"
- "put things near where you'd likely use them especially if you use them often"
- "put things where you think you'd look for them"
Because organization is different if it's just you than if it's a whole family. In a family it makes more sense to sort of think "Where is the normative place to put a thing?" whereas if it's just you, it's more important to find a system that works for you. So there's nothing wrong with having a misc drawer, the problem comes when you have five of them and you don't know which goes in which. But like a kitchen-misc, office-misc, and tool chest misc? You're good.
And think about things that don't really need to come into the house much at all. A lot of families have "landing strips" of some kind where you unload keys/wallet/mask/whatever so they don't go deeper into the house and get lost. Shoes off households likewise have shoe areas by the door that are usually more planned-out than just the usual shoes-everywhere situation. The big thing is that nothing "lives" on a surface that is actually being used for something else. So appliances maybe live in a kitchen counter, but if you've got a bunch of other stuff cluttering up a counter that you move around to use the counter, you maybe need to re-think that.
So as another example, I have my meds in my bathroom split out by the week's pills/larger containers of regular pills/pills I very rarely need but want to have some on hand/first aid kit. And yes to tons of glasses or general multiples of things like chargers or extension cords or whatever. In my mind I think about how OFTEN I use things and how LOCALLY I want to use them. And then I think of storage as basically accessible and basically not as accessible. And a label maker just helps me remember my system. Doesn't always work but usually does.
posted by jessamyn at 2:22 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
It's tricky! I'm super organized so this comes easy to me but my partner is not organized (he has many other fine qualities) and so I see what this looks like when it does not work well. My advice is usually
- have lots of little storage containers for stuff that can go in larger holder/containers (so like tupperware containers of batteries that can go in a closet or drawer)
- have a label maker
- "like goes with like"
- "put things near where you'd likely use them especially if you use them often"
- "put things where you think you'd look for them"
Because organization is different if it's just you than if it's a whole family. In a family it makes more sense to sort of think "Where is the normative place to put a thing?" whereas if it's just you, it's more important to find a system that works for you. So there's nothing wrong with having a misc drawer, the problem comes when you have five of them and you don't know which goes in which. But like a kitchen-misc, office-misc, and tool chest misc? You're good.
And think about things that don't really need to come into the house much at all. A lot of families have "landing strips" of some kind where you unload keys/wallet/mask/whatever so they don't go deeper into the house and get lost. Shoes off households likewise have shoe areas by the door that are usually more planned-out than just the usual shoes-everywhere situation. The big thing is that nothing "lives" on a surface that is actually being used for something else. So appliances maybe live in a kitchen counter, but if you've got a bunch of other stuff cluttering up a counter that you move around to use the counter, you maybe need to re-think that.
So as another example, I have my meds in my bathroom split out by the week's pills/larger containers of regular pills/pills I very rarely need but want to have some on hand/first aid kit. And yes to tons of glasses or general multiples of things like chargers or extension cords or whatever. In my mind I think about how OFTEN I use things and how LOCALLY I want to use them. And then I think of storage as basically accessible and basically not as accessible. And a label maker just helps me remember my system. Doesn't always work but usually does.
posted by jessamyn at 2:22 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
In a drawer, interlocking bins like these are useful. You want as many dividers as possible, and nothing stacked on top of each other, so you can see at a glance when you open the drawer what's there.
posted by pinochiette at 2:43 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by pinochiette at 2:43 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
For anything that has some kind of spatial structure, like a set of drawers or a toolbox, my suggestion would be to organise by accessibility from most-to-least-used.
For example, I use screwdrivers more or less weekly so they are in the top bit of the tool chest (easy to get to), while pliers are used less-frequently so they are in the next bit (need to move the first bit), and paint scrapers used barely at all so they are in the bottom bit (which can only be got to by first moving all the other bits).
In the kitchen, guess where we store the knives and forks? Hint: it's not in the bottom kitchen drawer, with the appliance manuals and spare batteries and bulbs. I'll give you three more guesses!
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:07 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
For example, I use screwdrivers more or less weekly so they are in the top bit of the tool chest (easy to get to), while pliers are used less-frequently so they are in the next bit (need to move the first bit), and paint scrapers used barely at all so they are in the bottom bit (which can only be got to by first moving all the other bits).
In the kitchen, guess where we store the knives and forks? Hint: it's not in the bottom kitchen drawer, with the appliance manuals and spare batteries and bulbs. I'll give you three more guesses!
posted by turbid dahlia at 3:07 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Make boxes for things.
Cheap plastic boxes with lids. I have boxes for:
Batteries
Nail polish
Misc holiday things
Rubber stamps
Scissors
Dental (new toothpaste, dental floss, and spare brushes)
Pain medicines
Stomach medicines
First aid supplies and ace wraps
Etc.
Bonus- they stack well on a shelf.
For papers, I have a plastic filing box for each year. .
Folders include taxes, receipts, utilities, banks, insurance, medical, etc. Also Correspondence, which holds blank envelopes, notecards, and stamps as well as personal letters we have received.
And I keep a label maker, a stapler, and a pair of scissors in the box. Very handy.
That’s all I’ve got. The rest of the house is a disaster.
posted by SLC Mom at 3:36 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Cheap plastic boxes with lids. I have boxes for:
Batteries
Nail polish
Misc holiday things
Rubber stamps
Scissors
Dental (new toothpaste, dental floss, and spare brushes)
Pain medicines
Stomach medicines
First aid supplies and ace wraps
Etc.
Bonus- they stack well on a shelf.
For papers, I have a plastic filing box for each year. .
Folders include taxes, receipts, utilities, banks, insurance, medical, etc. Also Correspondence, which holds blank envelopes, notecards, and stamps as well as personal letters we have received.
And I keep a label maker, a stapler, and a pair of scissors in the box. Very handy.
That’s all I’ve got. The rest of the house is a disaster.
posted by SLC Mom at 3:36 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Not so much a strategy but a guiding principle; What’s used most is Closest. Your toolbox, for example.. you have two dedicated drawers, likely at or near the top because you use the sockets etc. a lot. The next nearest drawer, should it be chisels or knives? Whichever one you use most. The next nearest might be for straps, or somethings in your misc drawer that you use a lot. And so on.
Mise en place for chefs is a similar idea. What you find used the most is always at hand. Tweak the position of your toolboxes, in-baskets and storage boxes a bit this way; you’ll soon find things become easier. Note which things you do where, which got better with your little relocationns, and bring more of the tools used most to those areas.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 5:39 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Mise en place for chefs is a similar idea. What you find used the most is always at hand. Tweak the position of your toolboxes, in-baskets and storage boxes a bit this way; you’ll soon find things become easier. Note which things you do where, which got better with your little relocationns, and bring more of the tools used most to those areas.
posted by Hardcore Poser at 5:39 PM on May 31, 2021 [2 favorites]
Things go near where I will use them. So I don't tend to group like with like as some people might, but like with like based on where or how I use them. In your example the socket set would be stored, in a labelled draw with the tools I used for my car, as that's where I use it the most. That would be stored in the garage, my everyday tool set for quick repairs around the house, lives in my closet with my cleaning supplies so I can make quick repairs of things as they happen.
Batteries go in plastic cases based on size so they don't go flat bumping off each other and each case goes in a clear plastic shoe box with the recharger in, things like double adaptors and timers in, in my kitchen as that's where I change batteries most often and where I like to charge them or need timers adaptors.
I have multiple pairs of scissors as another example, on in each of the locations around the house I might reach for scissors. Baking supplies live near my stand mixer, coffee cups live near my coffee, which lives next to my kettle.
Also label everything. Label what goes in each drawer in your tool box, then the spot on the shelf in the closet where the toolbox goes. My husband is a dumper so if I leave a spot clear and unlabeled lord knows what I'll come back to find dumped there so I have to clearly mark locations as well as the boxes to make sure they find their way home.
posted by wwax at 6:11 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
Batteries go in plastic cases based on size so they don't go flat bumping off each other and each case goes in a clear plastic shoe box with the recharger in, things like double adaptors and timers in, in my kitchen as that's where I change batteries most often and where I like to charge them or need timers adaptors.
I have multiple pairs of scissors as another example, on in each of the locations around the house I might reach for scissors. Baking supplies live near my stand mixer, coffee cups live near my coffee, which lives next to my kettle.
Also label everything. Label what goes in each drawer in your tool box, then the spot on the shelf in the closet where the toolbox goes. My husband is a dumper so if I leave a spot clear and unlabeled lord knows what I'll come back to find dumped there so I have to clearly mark locations as well as the boxes to make sure they find their way home.
posted by wwax at 6:11 PM on May 31, 2021 [1 favorite]
how do you figure out (and then remember!) where something belongs?
I do it by imagining that I'm looking for whatever it is I'm about to put away, then putting it away in the first place I'd think to look for it.
I'm also a huge believer in open storage. Shadow boards and shelf space are my friends; drawers and boxes absolutely not. If I can't see my stuff, how am I supposed to judge whether or not it's arranged harmoniously?
posted by flabdablet at 6:10 AM on June 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
I do it by imagining that I'm looking for whatever it is I'm about to put away, then putting it away in the first place I'd think to look for it.
I'm also a huge believer in open storage. Shadow boards and shelf space are my friends; drawers and boxes absolutely not. If I can't see my stuff, how am I supposed to judge whether or not it's arranged harmoniously?
posted by flabdablet at 6:10 AM on June 1, 2021 [1 favorite]
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I group things together as makes sense to me, lose shit, refind shit, and slowly refine my groupings so that I may eventually cease hiding things from myself by putting them in "a safe spot" before I die and am reincarnated as that squirrel who forgets where she buried her acorns.
posted by the primroses were over at 9:36 AM on May 31, 2021 [14 favorites]