Although Spring is well underway there is always time for a spring refresh. I have so many items that are in bins and storage boxes around my room, but I hadn’t yet taken the time to organize them. It’s very important to keep your bins organized because it makes it easier to access your items, to efficiently use them, and to keep track of what you do and don’t have. I’m sharing a few tips for organization for those of you who have tons of bins brimming with stuff. Enjoy the before and after pics to see what a difference it makes to organize.
Before
As you can see from the pictures, all of my bins were just filled to the brim with various items. There was no rhyme or reason to what was inside each bin. Before organizing the bins, I just placed items in them based on where the bins were located in my room. For example, I placed my toothbrush and toothpaste in one of the bins that was in the cubby of my dresser because the bin was in a prime location. However, there were other misc. items in the same bin that didn’t flow with each other. After organizing my bins and even changing their placements in my room, I feel better about my bin situation. The tips below have really helped me.
Tip #1: Clear Everything Out
I highly suggest starting with some organized chaos by clearing everything out of your storage bins. Take the time to remove all items from your bins, clean your storage bins and wipe them down, and examine every item you have. You will find that you have too much or too little of some things, and you wouldn’t have even known until you organized and cleared everything out. In addition, it will be easier to place items back into your bins when they are blank slates.
Tip #2: Sort Your Stuff
Before you place everything back into your bins it is wise to sort the items into like groups. For example, create piles for hygiene items, cleaning supplies, makeup, jewelry, etc. This will help you to see much or how little of each category you have, and it will give you a rough estimate of what will take up the most space.
Tip #3: Don’t Mix, Just Match
Now that you have cleared everything out, hopefully gotten rid of some things, and sorted everything it’s time to put away what is left. I do not suggest trying to mix & match different items into your bins. Instead, put like items or items in the same general category into similar bins. I find that it helps to keep my makeup items in the same bins and separate from my hair items. Similarly, I like to keep my lotions and perfumes together, but in a separate bin from my face washes and shampoos. When you try to mix different items, it can be easy to get confused or to forget where certain items are. Here are some suggestions for matching – create bins for:
- Hygiene – toothbrushes, toothpaste, deodorant, body washes, shaving items
- Dermatology (hair, skin) – face washes, shampoos, conditioners, lotions, oils, perfumes, hair tools, hair products
- Cosmetics – makeup and makeup tools
- Health – Medicines, bandages, face masks, vitamins and supplements, creams, eye drops, ear plugs, health aides
- Cleaning Supplies – laundry items, gloves, rags, cleaning solutions, disinfectants, dusters, etc.
After
As you can see from the pictures, I am a lot more organized now that I’ve applied the tips from above. It looks like I have less stuff now, and I found that a lot of my stuff is easily accessible when organized. Hopefully this will encourage and inspire you to get organized as well, especially if you use storage bins. If you have any tips for organizing, please share them below.
Life with DW 