Welcome to Day 2 of the 10 Day Organizing Challenge. Every day for 10 days we are tackling a different space for 10 minutes of focused organizing!
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Let’s Get Organizing!
Today we are tackling a cluttered drawer. Choose any drawer in your home that is bothering you; a desk drawer, a junk drawer, a kitchen drawer, whatever!
Step 1: Empty it out first and begin sorting like with like, trashing/ recycling/ shred if papers are in the drawer.
Step 2: After like with like is sorted, ask yourself, “Do all these items go back in this drawer?” Create a “Put elsewhere” pile for items that don’t belong.
On a previous drawer organizing session, these were all the “put elsewhere” piles. Don’t ask me how all those items fit in that small drawer!!
It is important to have a place for everything in your home. If you don’t’ know where it goes, it will be thrown anywhere, like in a drawer. If you have decided that this item is something you want/ use/ need, then it needs to have a home.
When you come across an items you don’t know where to put, it will tell you what organizing system is missing. But don’t worry, we have you covered!
- Is it paper? Check out Ep 35 Clear your Paper Pile in 5 Steps, Ep 27 Stopping Paper Clutter Before it Starts and Ep 28 Stopping Paper Clutter: Mail Edition.
- It is paper that belong to your kids? Check out Ep 5 Kids Paper.
- Is it tasks to do? Check out Ep 14 Taking Action: The To-Do List.
- Is it just random items? Check out Ep 59 Knocking out Common Clutter, Ep 58 20 Things to Throw Away Today, and this post, Everything in its Place.
Step 3: Wipe out the drawer to get the dust and debris. As you are wiping out the drawer, think about, “What do you want that drawer to be used for?”
Since Bethany’s was organizing her desk drawer turned junk drawer, she wanted to really just keep the minimal supplies that she knew she would need and grab often.
Step 4: Containerize! (That may or may not be a word but it is my favorite step.) Once you know what you’d like to keep in your drawer, organize sorted items into small contains to fit back in the drawer.
In drawers, containers are necessary to keep the drawer organized going forward because they give each item a home.
You can use specific drawer dividers like I have in my kitchen drawers.
However, you can also use little boxes like jewelry boxes and small box lids to sort items like I have in many other areas of my home. You can always upgrade later but today, use what you have and cardboard boxes will work to get items divided.
Step 5: Record any projects or tasks your found hiding in the drawer. You can make a running list of to-dos or add time in your calendar to take care of forgotten to-dos.
We did it!
We want to celebrate Day 2 of the challenge with you today, so check in with us! Let us know how it went! We welcome all updates, before and after pics, or even questions that came up for you as you started the project. Tag us on Instagram @AtoB podcast or Facebook. Or send us an email Hello @ AtoBpodcast.com.
Also, it is not too late to invite a friend! We made this handy, dandy image to make it easy to share far and wide! We’ll see you tomorrow!
