Systems Take Organizing to the Next Level

The ability to notice details and the willingness to tweak little things creatively are crucial to achieving the perfect space in a project.

Organizing takes skill, patience, strategy, time, and attention to detail. Those are a Professional Organizer’s tools of the trade.

But Organizers are exceptional at developing systems that take organizing to the next level. Systems usually increase efficiency in utilizing the space available.

Consider the kitchen cabinet and notice all details involved in the process resulting in an organized, functional space. But organizing this cabinet also resulted in two efficient systems.

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 hard 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 use and management system.

• recipes photocopied, cut, and pasted on 4″ X 6″ index cards.
• index cards classified by dish type and organized in index card boxes.
• recipe boxes labeled with the recipe categories it contains.
• system benefit: mixing/matching cards create a week’s worth of healthy, varied meals.

6. created a supplement/med management system (note: system updated using the right kind of pill boxes)

• pills presorted in bags according to dosage/time of intake for each person.
• pill bags divided into baskets for each household member.
• system benefit: a streamlined process where everyone knows where, what, when, and how when getting their meds.

The development of systems improves efficiency in the use of your space. Therefore, designing 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.