For many of us, when we begin to set up our homes, we think of functionality and appeal while forgetting to consider purpose. Sure, your kitchen is for cooking and your bedroom is for sleeping, but all the tiny zones in these rooms get cluttered when they lack purpose.
One of the biggest pieces of advice I give clients is to give purpose to all spaces within their home. This sounds easier said than done, but buckle in and get ready because I’ll have you organizing like a pro in no time.
Lets face it, junk drawers just take up more valuable real estate than they should. An impersonal space like a junk drawer is a great place to practice creating purpose.
Suppose we have a junk drawer in our kitchen that houses scissors, batteries, and soy sauce packets—among other things. I suggest dumping the entire drawer into a bin or bag, vacuuming all loose dust & crumbs, and scouring the drawer with a great all-purpose cleaner like Mrs. Meyers.
Now what would you like to store in this drawer? Utensils, kitchen linens, Tupperware, teas or maybe instant Jello. You have so many options, and this is a great way to open up space in your kitchen.
What about that bag of junk drawer goodies? We’re re-homing them. So scissors, (different than kitchen shears,) would go into an office or craft space, or even the utensil drawer. Batteries would be stored with tools, hardware, or electronics. Finally, the sauce packets— I always say toss them, but if it’s not in your heart to do so, then create a storage bin in the pantry, or food storage space, that would house your to-go freebies.
BAM! Junk drawer eliminated & kitchen storage increased.
If you're familiar with French cuisine, or maybe just that movie about Julia Child, you know the term Mise En Place-putting in its place. Mise en place is good practice in getting everything prepped and ready to go before you begin cooking and holds great importance in a professional kitchen. This is a great example of how preparedness can make the "work," part of a process easier.
Professional organization largely focuses on "putting in its place," to keep a home decluttered. The goal when organizing your home is to make your space more productive and more enjoyable. On the productivity side of organization, consider that every item will have a home and we will be making a habit of mise en place. When you give purpose to the spaces in your home, it becomes so much easier to refrain from putting the wrong items in a space or allowing clutter to pile up.
Every home is different and there can be so many variations to the use of space in your home. Living rooms can be home offices, bedrooms can be game rooms, and perhaps there is a hybrid-multipurpose room that serves many uses. Regardless of what is going on in a room, you should give it a purpose to the best of your abilities. Every area within that room should do its best to serve the main purpose of the room.
If you have a "game room," then all items in that room should be related to games, gaming, or hosting of game nights. For multipurpose rooms--think craft room that serves as an office when you're not creating--aim to separate the different purposes into zones. The craft space will have its designated storage in a zone of the room and the office space will have its own functionality and storage in another area of the room. It's important that the storage areas in this multipurpose room remain separate from each other to stay organized and decluttered.
Storage areas can quickly become large-scale versions of a junk drawer when they lack a concise purpose. I highly recommend waiting until you're ready to take on a BIG organization project and then creating purpose in all storage areas at once. To make this process an easy one, plan ahead by writing down every storage area in the home: garage, shed, linen closet, basement closet, etc. It's okay if you can't give purpose to every storage area when you first begin.
After you write out your storage spaces, list the categories of items you know you need to store: Christmas decor, towels & sheets, seasonal clothing, hats, long term food storage, pet supplies, backstock consumables, etc. Consider the best places to store your items based on the frequency you will need to get into these stored items and their proximity to where they need to be accessed or used.
Storage areas can be multipurpose in structure, however, attempt to store different categories of items on separate shelves or in separate bins, so your items have their own homes, and you can utilize mise en place to keep clutter at bay.
Re-homing is very useful when creating space in an area. If an item doesn't match the purpose given to a zone or space, then re-home it to another area that better utilizes the item in question. Repurposing a space, on the other hand, is a great option when you have an area in your home that is not utilized to the best of its abilities, (see junk drawer, above.)
This is evident when you notice the following issues:
Re-homing & repurposing are two options that are frequently used when organizing your home. It is important to remember that these are a bit more time-consuming so ensure you have ample time to complete these tasks and you won't have clutter sitting around, waiting to be put away.
A purposeful home, with a place for everything, is essential to a clean, organized home. When you have purposeful areas in your home, decluttering becomes easier, organization will come more naturally, and your productivity will skyrocket. Ask for help from friends or family or reach out to us here at The Purposeful Home, LLC. We love all things organization, but we are happiest when we're able to change our client's lives for a happier, more productive home.
We can give you a FREE consult with information on how to get started, or let us give you a quote to organize your space for you: Request a Consult - Ask us a question or request a service here: - The Purposeful Home, LLC (tphutah.com)