For most people, out of sight is out of mind. And when you get older and your memory is not as reliable as it used to be, even more so! (Hey, my brain's hard drive just needs a defrag. That's all.)
We tell people all the time in our online program that one of the goals of any organizing project is VISIBILITY. This does not always mean literally visible, like putting something in a clear container so you can see it. Sometimes it means you are doing something to visually cue your memory about what you've stored.
Here are some examples of how visibility can be managed in organizing projects:
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Vertical is visible; horizontal is hidden. (Thanks to my friend, Hoarders expert, and former Clutter Diet® team member Geralin Thomas for sharing that line with me.) T-shirts folded in stacks in a drawer are not visible; neither are toys filling up a deep gaping toy box, or stacks of paper. In all cases the lack of visibility causes "rooting" behavior. You know, pawing through something like a dog digging for a lost bone? (You've been there, admit it.) For toys, we recommend grouping items that are alike into smaller bins. For papers, we recommend file folders, binders, or magazine holders. In this photo, one of the members of our online program was showing us in our message boards how she folds and stores her t-shirts so she can see them and "flip" through them easily. No more digging! (Click photo to enlarge)
- Index it. When you literally can't see something like things in your attic or papers in folders in a drawer, you can gain visibility by indexing. A file index allows you to read what you have in your drawer without opening it, and a storage index allows you to read what's in your attic without pulling down that old rickety ladder and breathing in wisps of fiberglass. You can also use a wipe-off board to index what's in your freezer.
- Label it. Always ask yourself, "How am I going to remember and find this later?" and then figure out a cue that will work. In one of our recent #ClutterVideoTip videos, I demonstrated how I used a label to remind myself that I had stored some extra light bulbs on the top of my cabinets. (Click here to watch that week's video where we talk about finding hidden storage.) The label was placed next to the regular stash of light bulbs inside that cabinet, and it said, "More light bulbs are on top of cabinets," with a little arrow pointing up.
What kinds of things do you use to jog your memory and gain visibility when it comes to storage? Share in the comments!
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Love the t-shirt idea!
Another idea for boxes is to photograph what you are putting in the box (either a single photo of the box with it’s lid off, or a picture of each item in the box) and tape the photo to the outside of the box!
Suzanne
Those are all good ideas. One of the most frustrating things I sometimes do is put things in a safe place. Yep, then I forget where that safe place is. I’m going to apply the indexing idea to that. I’m going to also play around with the tee-shirt idea.
That white board idea is awesome! It’s a shame to think of how many pieces of meat, etc. I’ve had to throw out over the years. Thanks! More $ in my pocket!