Speaker 1: Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.
Speaker 1: Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.
Speaker 1: Today's tip is about the order in which you should
Speaker 1: organize your household spaces. Start with any spaces that are
Speaker 1: just yours. Then you can address common areas with storage
Speaker 1: spaces pretty far down the list. Today's tip, like another
Speaker 1: this week, comes from Lisa Woodruff, who is the owner
Speaker 1: of the Organized three company. Lisa helps people get their
Speaker 1: homes in order, with a particular focus on those who
Speaker 1: may have organizational challenges. Anyway, Lisa has many folks coming
Speaker 1: to her with the complaint that they need to get organized.
Speaker 1: They often point to an overflowing attic or basement or
Speaker 1: guest room as an example of their problems. They want
Speaker 1: to tackle this ridiculous looking space with the boxes teetering
Speaker 1: on top of each other and the Christmas lights wrapped
Speaker 1: up somewhere around the old vacuum cleaner. Lisa, however, does
Speaker 1: not want to start in your attic. People often think
Speaker 1: of storage spaces first when considering tackling an organization project,
Speaker 1: she notes in her company's publication The State of Home
Speaker 1: Organization in twenty one Century America. But in reality, these
Speaker 1: spaces should be tackled. Last, The fact that these spaces
Speaker 1: are not accessed frequently suggests that other spaces in the
Speaker 1: home should be prioritized. In other words, you deal with
Speaker 1: your bathroom counter and your own purse or backpack or briefcase,
Speaker 1: or the place where you take off your shoes in
Speaker 1: your house every single day. As long as you know
Speaker 1: where your birth certificates and car ownership information is, which
Speaker 1: we talked about in an earlier episode, then your messy
Speaker 1: basement just isn't that pressing of an issue. If stuff
Speaker 1: has been in boxes for five years, it can stay
Speaker 1: in boxes for a few more months, So it is
Speaker 1: best to start elsewhere. Lisa suggests starting with your own
Speaker 1: personal spaces. These are spaces that are owned by a
Speaker 1: single person. Think your own section of a closet, your
Speaker 1: bathroom supplies, your car, your purse or wallet or backpack,
Speaker 1: your own bedroom if you don't share one, or at
Speaker 1: least your side of the bedroom. If you do, why
Speaker 1: start there, well, because you can. Individuals often have a
Speaker 1: high degree of autonomy and independence in creating and maintaining
Speaker 1: organization systems in these areas. Her report notes these locations
Speaker 1: are unlikely to be disturbed by other family members. They
Speaker 1: create a home base from which to launch into our day.
Speaker 1: These spaces are often a sanctuary to return to after
Speaker 1: the chaos of the day, So tackle your space first.
Speaker 1: Once that's done and you know where things are that
Speaker 1: you need, you can move on to common areas. Now
Speaker 1: it's important to have somewhat more limited ambitions. Here. You
Speaker 1: can organize, but you need other folks to buy into
Speaker 1: your organization. Lisa suggests that any organization systems here be
Speaker 1: extremely functional and easy to maintain, and don't expect them
Speaker 1: to last forever. The system to corral little kid toys
Speaker 1: in your living room won't work once you have teens
Speaker 1: who have electronic gear. Finally, you can move on to
Speaker 1: storage spaces. Just do your best to group similar items
Speaker 1: and don't create too precious of a system. After all,
Speaker 1: you won't be the only person going in here and
Speaker 1: accessing things, and these spaces will easily become a dumping ground.
Speaker 1: There is probably going to be a big other category here,
Speaker 1: but done is always better than perfect, And remember when
Speaker 1: you get overwhelmed by the attic, you can always go
Speaker 1: look at your own cleaned up closet and bathroom counter
Speaker 1: and feel better about life because it's better to know
Speaker 1: where your shoes are then where that special decorative bull
Speaker 1: you put candy in each Halloween happens to be, particularly
Speaker 1: if it's June. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks
Speaker 1: for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,
Speaker 1: I'd love to hear from you. You can send me
Speaker 1: your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with
Speaker 1: me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod
Speaker 1: that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.
Speaker 1: You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast
Speaker 1: is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,
Speaker 1: I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is
Speaker 1: a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from
Speaker 1: my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,
Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.