There is always a season to celebrate and the stores are ready for that. We go from Canada Day to Back to School, then from Thanksgiving to Halloween and from Halloween to Christmas. Next up s Valentine’s Day, but what about now? Now, it’s the Bin Season. The first pages of store flyers, the shelves at the stores- are all filled with bins. Why is that? New Year’s resolutions! Most of us will have “Get Organized” on the resolution list. We go to the stores and purchase bins and baskets of all different sizes and hope that this is the year we finally check “Get Organized” off our list.

The reality? We find out that the bins we purchased are either too small to fit our stuff into, or too big to fit the storage space. Suddenly, the storage solution that was supposed to help us get organized becomes clutter itself. As a Professional Organizer I am all for bins and baskets to contain our belongings, but their purchase should be the last step of the organizing process.

What are the steps of the organizing process? “Group … Home … Contain”

1. Group

After de-cluttering you are left with the things you are going to keep. Group those like with like, by season, or by activity (e.g. Thank You or other cards together with a pen and postage).

2. Home

Once everything is in groups, decide where you want to keep it. Ask yourself following questions: “How often do I use it?” and “Where do I use it?” Remember to place heavy items on the bottom shelves, and frequently used items at the front and between the waist and chest height.

3. Contain

Now it’s the time to purchase the containers. Measure all three dimensions of the space that will home the corralled things. Before purchasing the storage solutions consider aesthetic needs, material and transparency requirements, and whether or not you need a lid.
Happy New “Organized” Year!

Blanka Smetana
Trained Professional Organizer
Owner of Tidy Corners and Office Evolution