Getting Organized? Don't Make This Common Organizing Mistake!

Let me state up front: I love The Container Store.   Every time I go there I’m inspired. They keep getting in new products all the time, which makes it even easier to customize organizing solutions for my clients’ aesthetics and lifestyles.

However, I never - if I can help it - let any of my clients go in there unsupervised!

Why? Well for one thing, The Container Store can be super overwhelming to the uninitiated. There are just so many options for every type of storage and organization - and even more options if you’ve read about creative off-brand uses for organizing products!

For another thing, buying containers is the easy part of getting organized, and it doesn’t happen until the very end of the process. A new client will often ask, “What should I buy before our first meeting?” The answer is: absolutely NOTHING. I have no idea what you own and how you use your stuff, how in the world would I know how to store it?

It is SO important to not confuse use of organizational tools (bins, shelves, file folders, drawers, etc.) with true organization.

You can have a whole room of meticulously labeled and categorized file folders – but do you need paper records of those things?  Can you find what you’re looking for?  Is it easy to sort incoming important documents into their proper places?

You can have a giant closet full of clothes stored in garment-specific bins, bags, and boxes – but do you wear all those things?  Can you find what you’re looking for?  Is it easy for you to put outfits together?

I worked with a client who had purchased a couple of different kinds of decorative storage boxes over the years, from pretty soft-sided bins for the closet to plastic file tubs for overflow papers.  To her surprise (but not to mine!), the pile of empty boxes that she got rid of was larger than the pile of papers to trash.

There is a tendency out there, backed rather strongly by Pinterest, to believe that if you purchase the right containers, you’ll be able to get organized. But this is actually backwards.  If you start getting organized by editing and curating your items, you’ll be able to figure out the type of storage tools you need and create the system that works for you.

True organization consists of having only things you need and love, organized so that you can find and use them in a way that matches your esthetic.  And if certain organizational tools help you do this, all the better!  But remember, it starts with the stuff, not the tools.

If you’re working on an organizing project and wondering which containers and products I actually use with my clients, you’re in luck! I have complete room-specific guides available for purchase that detail the products I actually recommend… and more are coming soon. Just go to my Shop to browse!

LMW