WEBVTT - Your space, our space, then storage space

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to Before Breakfast, a production of I Heart Radio.

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<v Speaker 1>Good Morning, This is Laura. Welcome to the Before Breakfast podcast.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's tip is about the order in which you should

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<v Speaker 1>organize your household spaces. Start with any spaces that are

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<v Speaker 1>just yours. Then you can address common areas with storage

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<v Speaker 1>spaces pretty far down the list. Today's tip, like another

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<v Speaker 1>this week, comes from Lisa Woodruff, who is the owner

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<v Speaker 1>of the Organized three company. Lisa helps people get their

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<v Speaker 1>homes in order, with a particular focus on those who

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<v Speaker 1>may have organizational challenges. Anyway, Lisa has many folks coming

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<v Speaker 1>to her with the complaint that they need to get organized.

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<v Speaker 1>They often point to an overflowing attic or basement or

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<v Speaker 1>guest room as an example of their problems. They want

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<v Speaker 1>to tackle this ridiculous looking space with the boxes teetering

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<v Speaker 1>on top of each other and the Christmas lights wrapped

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<v Speaker 1>up somewhere around the old vacuum cleaner. Lisa, however, does

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<v Speaker 1>not want to start in your attic. People often think

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<v Speaker 1>of storage spaces first when considering tackling an organization project,

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<v Speaker 1>she notes in her company's publication The State of Home

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<v Speaker 1>Organization in twenty one Century America. But in reality, these

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<v Speaker 1>spaces should be tackled. Last, The fact that these spaces

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<v Speaker 1>are not accessed frequently suggests that other spaces in the

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<v Speaker 1>home should be prioritized. In other words, you deal with

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<v Speaker 1>your bathroom counter and your own purse or backpack or briefcase,

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<v Speaker 1>or the place where you take off your shoes in

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<v Speaker 1>your house every single day. As long as you know

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<v Speaker 1>where your birth certificates and car ownership information is, which

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<v Speaker 1>we talked about in an earlier episode, then your messy

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<v Speaker 1>basement just isn't that pressing of an issue. If stuff

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<v Speaker 1>has been in boxes for five years, it can stay

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<v Speaker 1>in boxes for a few more months, So it is

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<v Speaker 1>best to start elsewhere. Lisa suggests starting with your own

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<v Speaker 1>personal spaces. These are spaces that are owned by a

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<v Speaker 1>single person. Think your own section of a closet, your

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<v Speaker 1>bathroom supplies, your car, your purse or wallet or backpack,

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<v Speaker 1>your own bedroom if you don't share one, or at

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<v Speaker 1>least your side of the bedroom. If you do, why

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<v Speaker 1>start there, well, because you can. Individuals often have a

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<v Speaker 1>high degree of autonomy and independence in creating and maintaining

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<v Speaker 1>organization systems in these areas. Her report notes these locations

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<v Speaker 1>are unlikely to be disturbed by other family members. They

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<v Speaker 1>create a home base from which to launch into our day.

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<v Speaker 1>These spaces are often a sanctuary to return to after

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<v Speaker 1>the chaos of the day, So tackle your space first.

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<v Speaker 1>Once that's done and you know where things are that

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<v Speaker 1>you need, you can move on to common areas. Now

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<v Speaker 1>it's important to have somewhat more limited ambitions. Here. You

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<v Speaker 1>can organize, but you need other folks to buy into

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<v Speaker 1>your organization. Lisa suggests that any organization systems here be

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<v Speaker 1>extremely functional and easy to maintain, and don't expect them

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<v Speaker 1>to last forever. The system to corral little kid toys

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<v Speaker 1>in your living room won't work once you have teens

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<v Speaker 1>who have electronic gear. Finally, you can move on to

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<v Speaker 1>storage spaces. Just do your best to group similar items

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<v Speaker 1>and don't create too precious of a system. After all,

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<v Speaker 1>you won't be the only person going in here and

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<v Speaker 1>accessing things, and these spaces will easily become a dumping ground.

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<v Speaker 1>There is probably going to be a big other category here,

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<v Speaker 1>but done is always better than perfect, And remember when

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<v Speaker 1>you get overwhelmed by the attic, you can always go

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<v Speaker 1>look at your own cleaned up closet and bathroom counter

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<v Speaker 1>and feel better about life because it's better to know

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<v Speaker 1>where your shoes are then where that special decorative bull

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<v Speaker 1>you put candy in each Halloween happens to be, particularly

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<v Speaker 1>if it's June. In the meantime, this is Laura. Thanks

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<v Speaker 1>for listening, and here's to making the most of our time. Hey, everybody,

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<v Speaker 1>I'd love to hear from you. You can send me

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<v Speaker 1>your tips, your questions, or anything else. Just connect with

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<v Speaker 1>me on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram at Before Breakfast pod

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<v Speaker 1>that's b E the number four, then Breakfast p o D.

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<v Speaker 1>You can also shoot me an email at Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>podcast at i heeart media dot com that Before Breakfast

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<v Speaker 1>is spelled out with all the letters. Thanks so much,

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<v Speaker 1>I look forward to staying in touch. Before Breakfast is

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<v Speaker 1>a production of I Heart Radio. For more podcasts from

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<v Speaker 1>my heart Radio, visit the i heart Radio app, Apple Podcasts,

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