How many of you have ever thought, ‘If I just had that . . . fill in the blank . . then I would be organized.’?
Whether it’s a pretty box, colorful planner, latest designer file system, or the newest electronic gadget, there is a part of us that hopes once we purchase the tool, we will finally be organized.
The problem is the tool does not organize you; you use the tool to be organized.
That includes finding containers to help you be organized.
This is how it works:
Scenario #1:
I’m out shopping with my daughter and find the cutest spice rack. It’s beautiful and ON SALE! I can never get my spices organized. This will do it!
I nab the purchase and take it home, throw it in the hall closet and promptly forget about it.
A few weeks later, I decide to finally organize my spices. I get the spice rack out of the closet.
Ummm . . . I didn’t realize how big it was. It doesn’t fit in the cupboard and there’s not really a good place for it on the counter.
My spice jars don’t fit in the spaces on the rack and, even if they did, there is not enough room for all of them. I switch some to different size jars and leave it on the counter.
Throughout the week, it gets in the way every time I try to cook and I can’t find the spices when I need them.
I finally give up and put the spice rack back in the hall closet to keep company with my other failed attempts to be organized.
What happened?
I didn’t take to heart the proverb, ‘Prepare your work outside; get everything ready for yourself in the field, and after that build your house.”
Let’s try again:
Scenario#2:
I decide that I want to organize my spices and this time I will use the Organizing with G.R.A.C.E method.
Gather:
I gather all the spices I own together and put them on the counter.
Remove:
Then I go through each one, throwing away those spices that I don’t want or are expired.
Assign:
I take a look at what’s left and decide where I want to put them. All my spices were already in the pantry but scattered about on different shelves. A pantry shelf at eye level would be perfect. I move some things around and put my spices on that shelf.
Contain:
Now I have to decide how to contain them so they don’t end up spreading out. I would like to be able to see them all, but the space doesn’t allow for that.
It would be nice to have a carousel or a tiered shelf. I measure the space I designated for the spices and write down the measurements (width, depth, and heighth of the space) in my phone.
Now weeks later, I’m shopping with my daughter and the spice racks are ON SALE!
Now I gravitate towards the racks that are carousel or tiered shelf styles. Some are too tall to fit in my shelf area. Some are too wide. Some are just right. I settle on a beautiful, tiered shelf that fits the space and my varied sized jars would fit.
I buy it, take it home, put it on the shelf, and put my spices on it. Perfect!
What’s the difference between Scenario#1 and Scenario#2?
Planning and patience. We like to jump to the container first and then try to fill it with the things.
It does not always work that way. Get it in the right order. Gather the items. Remove any you do not want anymore, Assign them to the best place for them. THEN go shopping for a container that fits the space and the things in order to contain them.
Experiment
The last step is to experiment.
I did experiment in Scenario #1 and it did not work. Again, I had it in the wrong order.
I started with contain and moved to experiment before I had a chance to gather, remove, and assign a place.
Scenario #2 went much better. And after living with it for a while I decided that I really liked that carousal one that could go right next to the tiered shelf. Now all my spices are visible and findable.
Plan first, then wait and look with patience. You will find what you need.
And perhaps, as a result, you will have more room in the hall closet.