Organize Your Home for Change

Time to Organize Your Home?

When life changes do you find that how you plan to organize your home changes, too?  I tend to stick with the way I have things organized until circumstances change and make them no longer effective.  Lots of things can change your circumstances, the birth of a child, the changing needs of children as they grow, or moving into a new home.  All these changes can inspire or require new ways of organizing your home.

Our Life Change

Having lived in one story homes my entire life I never realized the organizational challenges I would have to make when we purchased our two story home in 2012.  I had always kept the office supplies in one area, the first aid kit in one place, all the tools in one tool box and so on.  When we moved into our current home, not only did we more than double our living space, we tripled the number of floors.  While the house is a two story house, the garage is below the first floor.

My Plan Had Mistakes

Being a control freak planner by nature, I had planned where everything would be placed in our new home before we moved a single box.  I knew what cabinets the plates, cups, and pans would be stored.  I planned where all the cleaning supplies would be kept and that all the tools would be kept in the garage.  I soon found many mistakes in my plan.

The Tool Mistake

When we moved in I unpacked and organized all our household tools in the garage.  After about two days I realized keeping all the tools in the garage and going down one to two flights of stairs to get a screwdriver was not going to work.  So now we keep some basic tools – a changeable screwdriver, a hammer, some allen wrenches, and a measuring tape on both the first floor and the second floor.  The rest of the tools are in the garage.

I Forgot I am Height Challenged

The next organizational challenge I had to overcome was the fact that I am the shortest person in the house, which means I frequently need a step-stool.  At first we kept the step-stool on the first floor.  After about 6 trips up and down the stairs with the step-stool, I brought the folding step ladder in from the garage.  I keep it in a closet not far from the kitchen and the step-stool is now in the laundry room upstairs.  It’s one of those step-stools with storage in it.  Its where we keep the upstairs tool basics.

Got a Pen?

Another organizational mistake I made at first was with paper and pen.  I put them all away in my craft room / office upstairs.  I soon set up the small drawer in the kitchen with pens, a ruler, scotch tape, a lighter and a few other frequently used essentials.   The magnetic pad of paper hangs on the fridge nearby.  So we now have a handy spot for noting grocery items as we use the last of them.  Having these essential office supplies came in handy the day before Thanksgiving when one of our dogs ate some cleaner and I was frantically calling poison control for help.  When you are in a panic writing numbers down is easier than typing them into your phone.

Duh!

Cleaning Supplies were something else I need to divide.  At first I kept all the cleaning supplies and tools in a closet on the first floor.  Which, honestly, made no sense.  While we have a powder room on the first floor both our full baths are on the second floor.  Duh!  It did not take long for me to divide the cleaning supplies and tools into two groups and put the upstairs set in the laundry room upstairs.

First Aid Faux Pas

Since we have a kitchen on the first floor, it did not make sense to keep all the first aid supplies in the master bath linen closet, which is what I had started out doing.  Having burn supplies and other first aid supplies close to the kitchen has been handy.

Fast Footwear

While I’ve always kept all my shoes in the master closet, in this home the master is upstairs.  I now keep a pair of shoes downstairs in case I need to go down to the garage or make a quick trip outside for something.

Are you rethinking how you plan to organize your home?  Below is a lists of other things I found handy to keep on more than one floor in our home:

Divide to Organize

• bath tissue
• paper towels
• hand soap
• phone chargers
• WiFi password
• candles
• laundry baskets
• garbage bags
• plastic grocery bags
• bottled water
• houseplant watering can / food
• pet water bowl
• pet treats, beds, toys

I don’t want you to think I went out and purchased duplicates of everything.  We already had duplicates of a few things I needed to keep in more than one place.  Other duplicates I found on a local virtual yard sale site or on clearance.

Organizing = Simplified Living

While it might seem the opposite of living simply to have multiples of the same items, the time saved not going down three flights of stairs to get a screwdriver has made our lives simpler.   For me organizing, is not just about making sure every thing has a place where it belongs.  It is also about making sure what I need is handy where I need it and about making the most of all my resources, including time.

So whether you are planning to organize your home, planning to organize your next home, or reorganizing in anticipation of a life change, like your new baby, don’t make the same mistakes I made.  Think about where you need to use what (a tool, a cleaner, pet supplies, etc.) before you plan where to store it.

How do you organize your home for the multiple needs in your home?  Do you have multiple offices to organize?  What home organizational changes have you made as you life and needs have changed?  I’d love to hear what tips you have to share, so please leave a comment and share with everyone.

Blessings,
Lauree

…keep dancing the dream

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