Systems Take Organizing to the Next Level

Maristella Bertram
2 min readApr 26, 2023

The Kitchen Cabinet Situation

  • This cabinet had lots of cookbooks and recipe binders.
  • It also had a myriad of serving items.
  • The books were stacked sideways because some did not fit the space.
  • Recipe clippings were sticking out of books and binders.
  • Nothing was labeled or had hand-written Post-it notes.

The Kitchen Cabinet Situation

  • this cabinet had lots of cookbooks and recipe binders
  • it also had a myriad of serving items
  • books stacked sideways because some did not fit the space
  • recipe clippings were sticking out of books and binders
  • nothing was labeled or had hand-written Post-it notes

Also

  • Recipes were difficult to remember, identify, or use.
  • Meals were boring, repetitive, and unhealthy.
  • Medicine and supplement bottles occupied the lower shelf of this cabinet.
  • Taking meds and supplements was inconsistent because of the sorting and opening of bottles required, and it was hard to remember who took what and when

The kitchen cabinet needed some tweaking to become a functional cabinet with valuable, organized content.

The Process

  1. Removed all cabinet contents.
  2. Sorted through contents and removed what was no longer wanted or needed.
  3. Adjusted shelves to fit even the tallest book.
  4. Allocated specific areas for things that stay.
  5. Created a recipe management system.
  6. Photocopied, cut, and pasted recipes on 4″ X 6″ index cards.
  7. Classified recipes by dish type and organized them in index card boxes.
  8. Labeled index card boxes with their corresponding recipe categories.
  9. System benefits: mixing/matching cards creates a week’s worth of healthy, varied meals
  10. Created a medication management system by sorting pills according to dosage/time of intake. Everyone knows where, what, when, and how to get their meds.
  11. Developing systems improves space usage efficiency.

Having systems that increase productivity and make life easier is one of the most valuable benefits of working with a Professional Organizer.

If you want to experience some organizing magic, let’s talk! We’d love to hear about you and see how we can help.

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Maristella Bertram

Maristella Bertram, MBA, CPO, owner of My Space Reclaimed, LLC, is a Board-Certified Professional Organizer, Redesigner and Stager.