Organizing on the Home Front

Judging by the number of sales I’ve seen on storage bins, there seems to be a collective movement to organize and declutter early in the year.

I don’t know if it’s a New Year’s resolution thing, a fresh slate thing, or an overabundance of Christmas gifts thing, but late January/early February seems to be peak home organization time.

I’m on board. It’s not necessarily that any of the foregoing reasons are why, but because I like any reason or excuse for getting things more orderly. I think that’s one of the side effects of a daily reality awash in the disorder only kids can cause.

As I was assessing our options for getting things organized I realized there are two guiding principles for domestic organization: 1) Have less stuff and 2) Use vertical space.

Number one is self-evident and yet not how most of us think. We look at a bin overflowing with stuff and typically say, “Aha, I need a second bin to store this stuff neatly.” But principle number one says, “Aha, I have too much stuff.” I’m no minimalist, but I do think having less stuff is a simple if underutilized principle of organization.

Even if you have less stuff though, especially if you have a small home or lots of people in it, you still need to store whatever stuff you have. This is where you need to look up. There is a lot of unused space “up.” From the area above closet shelves, to the garage ceiling, to walls next to beds, there’s a lot of vertical space that can be used.

As part of my recent and (ever) ongoing organizing campaign I went even higher than that and ventured into the attic. After getting a better light up there, and being in the attic on a cool day when it wasn’t sweltering, I realized there was a lot of opportunity for storage. All it takes is a few pieces of plywood to turn a previously unusable space of rafters and insulation into a storage area.  

Yes, you’re limited with some items due to the temperature extremes, but there are still plenty of things that can go up there. Starting with the Christmas and holiday things. I don’t know how we accrued so many boxes of decorations and such but if you only use it once a year, it’s worth climbing up the attic ladder to tuck it away for the other 11 months of the year.

The boys are fascinated with the attic. They seem to think it’s a secret room or a hideout. I remember the attic having the same appeal when I was a kid. Of course, five minutes in the attic on a summer day, or one accidental brush against the insulation quickly drives home the reality that the attic is just an attic.

It also will make you really wish you had a cellar. Basements are very uncommon around here, but it seems they’re the extra space (storage or otherwise) many families are looking for. Basements are to adults what attics are to kids. In my mind they’re a near limitless climate-controlled space to store things, or even more importantly, to send the kids when they’re playing in the house.

My dreams of a basement are like most dreams though in that they don’t reflect any of the real downsides of a basement. I imagine a soundproof rumpus room for the kids and don’t even consider water intrusion, mold, or haunted furnaces.

I suppose this leads to a third principle of domestic organization: work with what you’ve got. The best way to make sure you are unsuccessful getting things in order is to spend all your time dreaming of a house or space you don’t have.  You don’t need a basement, or an extra garage, or a $10,000 professionally designed closet to make organizational improvements.

And sometimes the size of your family and/or the age of your kids means the season of life you’re in doesn’t reasonably allow for as much tidiness as you want. Which leads to the final principle of organization: Sometimes having your priorities in order means your house isn’t.