Were you able to get that bookshelf organized? I hope you were able to follow those 10 steps and complete your project. Having a finished task brings me great joy since I can find what I need without clutter. When I cannot quickly get to my items, I waste energy and time. Digging through a mound of games in our coat closet to locate one game costs me valuable time.
Our downstairs coat closet had quite a bit of empty space. To maximize that space, my brother-in-law kindly installed white wire shelves. I love having shelves to hold our family games that we play often. The games with little pieces can be stored on top shelves out of little one’s reach. I can also easily get to a game in a stack of 5 games without disrupting an entire stack of boxes. When my children request a game, I can usually go to the closet, locate the game, and get it out. The problem comes when my children and/or husband help put the games away. After the games have been repeatedly pulled out and put back, the closet mysteriously became disheveled.
After wasting time searching for a requested game, I decided to use my time wisely and organize the coat closet. Here is a before picture showing the lovely mess in the coat closet.
BEFORE:
Disorganized Coat Closet
To organize the contents, I did the following:
- Took out all the games.
- Sorted them into piles: large, medium, and small.
- Placed the random game pieces found on the floor with the appropriate game. If I could not locate the game, then I put the extra pieces in a container. As I found those games, I took the extra pieces from the container and placed them in the game box. Then I placed the game in the small, medium, or large pile.
- Designated a home for each game. The larger games were placed on the floor whereas the smaller games were placed on the shelves.
- Put games in designated places. When all the games were put back into the closet, I had plenty space. The result was a clean, organized coat closet.
AFTER:
Organized Coat Closet
Entire closet neat and organized
As I open this closet door and see the neat shelves, I can easily scan the shelves and locate the game I want. Keeping this closet organized is helping me save money (refraining from purchasing a game we already own), energy (retrieving the game needed without moving items out of the way), and time (getting in and out of the closet quickly). Spending my current time organizing helps me spend my future time wisely. Though you may have organized that closet in the past, keeping it organized requires maintenance. Enjoy the process and happy organizing!