Laws of Order

Product for keeping shoes off the floor

Isn't this a cool idea? It may not work in every home, but I LOVE the idea of keeping stuff off the floor. It makes for easy cleaning (no need to bend over and pick up shoes to sweep under them), and it's a nice clean-looking design. I think it would also work well if you had a shallow wall-mounted cabinet above it to stash your mittens or sunglasses or other things you need when you go out.

From Design Within Reach.

Training: Get rid of one thing every day

If you're just starting to get rid of stuff (and you're not in a hurry), ditching one thing a day is by far my favorite method of getting rid of stuff. Why? Because 1) it takes practically no time, 2) it trains you to be vigilant about keeping only the things you need and/or love, and 3) it gives you something to feel good about every day. And, if getting rid of stuff is stressful for you, you only have to do a tiny bit at a time until you start to feel that de-cluttering really isn't the trauma you imagined it would be. (If you need to, you can warm up with just one thing a week and start picking up the pace from there.) The idea of training yourself is key, because once you get into that mindset, you will find yourself getting rid of things more easily and you will also be much more cautious about bringing more stuff into your home (which will save you some serious cash).

Once you have your prerequisite "outbox" set up, you can start with some no-brainer type items that can go straight to the trash/recycle bin: expired medicines, cosmetics you've had for more than one year, junk mail, expired coupons or event flyers, socks/underwear with holes, broken umbrellas, etc. Once you are warmed up with these easy-to-purge items, you can venture into more daring territory, like clothing. (Don't start thinking about your photos until you consider yourself an expert, though.) You will be amazed at how easy it is to get rid of things, and you might even want to do more than just one-a-day once you're on a roll.

Tackling your mountains of (print) photos, Part I

After a brief hiatus, I am back and tackling one of the worst enemies to organization ever: the photo collection.

If you are reading this, I assume you are not one of those people with a beautifully designed scrapbook for every year of your child's life, or with boxes of photos neatly arranged by date or event. No, I think most people look at a set of photos when they first get them, then the photos sit on the kitchen table for a while, then on a desk, then maybe a drawer, and eventually they get shoved into a box to be dealt with "later," and that is where they spend the rest of eternity. So if you have a box (or a closet, or a room) full of photos that make you cringe every time you think about dealing with them, this is for you.

Here is how to get started dealing with your photo collection:

Step 1: Decide what you want to do with your photos, and be realistic
I'm sure a lot of people want to make scrapbooks for every trip they have ever taken, complete with stickers and original artwork, but do you really have the time for that? Do you really want to spend your free time cutting up photos and designing layouts, or would you rather do something else? If it's going to be your hobby, more power to you. If you have 10 other hobbies, then maybe you should consider a less time-consuming solution. Here are some alternatives:

What to do with photos

• Scan your photos and organize them on your computer (my personal choice)
• Put them in some kind of album for easy viewing
• Put them in photo boxes organized by date or photo type
• take the best photos to a professional to have albums made, and get rid of the rest

Step 2: Break up the task
Now that you have a goal, it's time to start sifting through all those prints. If you have to face a daunting mountain of photos every time you sit down to work you will feel like you are spinning your wheels, so just take a little handful and put it in a small box, bag or envelope. Then take that container to some designated spot and work on sorting, labeling, scanning or whatever, away from the main pile. Then, every time you get to the end of that little handful you can enjoy the satisfaction of completing a small task, and you can give yourself an imaginary gold star, martini, vanilla latte or whatever floats your boat.

Step 3: Pick the most viable location to work
Do you spend a lot of time on the phone? Do you like to unwind by watching TV? Move your project to the place where you are most likely to work on it. If you spend a lot of time waiting around (at the doctor's office or at the airport, for example), you might want to take an envelope with you to work on in your down time.

Step 4: Make the task as appealing as possible
Resist the temptation to just stuff a handful of photos into an old raggedy shoe box and plop it on your sofa. It may be practical, but you won't like having an old shoe box lying around and you'll find a place to "put it away" and then you'll never work on it. You should find something at least marginally attractive that won't look out of place in your home. Some ideas: a nice gift bag, a tissue box cover (box type), a large envelope in a pleasant color, a folder with a nice design. Since you are going to be using these for a very long time it makes sense to invest a little effort into making sure that the project gets done.

Now you are finally ready to get started!

Lymph drainage for the home: Get set up to get rid of stuff

Before you start working on all the different methods for getting rid of stuff, the very first thing you need to do is to set up your home so that "stuff" has a way to get out. You probably already have a trash can, so all you need now is some spot for all your "outgoing" items that deserve a better home than in the dump.

First, decide how you'd like to get rid of stuff. See my posts on Alternatives to Trash and decide what methods would work best for you, and then label your bags/boxes/containers accordingly. Just as an example, I have containers labeled: sell online, *re-gift, garage sale, donate. They don't have to be very big containers, just big enough to make it worth the effort to deal with the stuff all at once (like driving to the donation center). Then, whenever one of them fills up you can take care of a lot of things all at once.

I recommend putting these containers (or paper bags, or boxes, or whatever you like) close to an exit, whether it be near the front door or in the garage. It just makes it easier to get the stuff out of the house when it is almost there anyway. Plus, it is an easy way to remind yourself to take care of a full container when you see it on your way out.

*I don't mean wrapped up as a new present, but just to give to someone who might want/like it.

Oh, how I long for an anti-gravity device

After my daughter started to crawl I learned the beauty of storing things as far off the ground as possible. At first a coffee table did the job, then the dining table, then the computer cabinet, and now that she has learned how to climb I am fantasizing about hanging everything from the ceiling, kind of like a backpacker's bear bagging system. Granted, that wouldn't look so cool, but I have seen one storage idea that does look good, and it keeps all your stuff off the ground: very high shelving.

The best example I have seen is a single shelf that runs around the entire room about 18 inches from the ceiling. This is a fantastic idea for people who have a lot of books and can't bear to part with them. With this shelf you can keep (many of) your books, have them in view, and you get to free up some space on your regular bookshelves, or get rid of the bookshelf altogether. It is also a nice decorating touch for a bedroom or study. Of course, you would have to get a step stool to get anything down, and you would have to remember to dust up there on a semi-regular basis, but for a lot of people that is a small price to pay to keep their beloved books. (I saw this same shelving idea in one of the houses on Desperate Housewives. I think it was Susan's house that had shelves close to the ceiling, but she had picture frames and vases and stuff like that up there. It looked nice, but I think you'd have to be really good about dusting or it would just look filthy in a month or two.)

One of the best things about this storage system is that it keeps everything out of your direct line of sight, so the rest of your place always looks clean and tidy, even if you still have lots of stuff (which you should really consider ditching). I think it works best for books because you wouldn't have to do a lot of active dusting; just get some cheap fabric, cut it in strips and lay it across the top of the books, then throw the fabric in the washer a couple of times a year. I have seen people try this high shelf idea with stuffed animals and it looked good, but again it's all about the dusting, and I doubt the fabric would look so hot on those.

I wish I could do this in my house for all my books, but we live in an earthquake-prone area. Enough said.