I love this organization system brought to us by our very own Dollar Store Diva!
I am a woman of many interests; I am also a visual learner with a touch of ADD. The combination of these facts has created large amounts of stress for me during my 44 years of keeping a home and raising six children.
No doubt you already know the oozing-with-organizational-wisdom-adage: A place for everything, and everything in its place.
Unfortunately, my husband and I could summer in Europe on all the money I have spent over the years on my latest and greatest, “A place for everything, and for everything a place.”
And I still couldn’t find my hot glue gun when I needed it.
From my years of sincere—albeit fumbling–organizational attempts, I have learned the following four things about what is required in a system that would work for me:
1) When I put something away in its “place”, it can’t involve having to make a decision. If I have to decide where to put it, I’ll just put it in a pile somewhere. Piles don’t work for visual learners. And somewhere is usually re-discovered only after a desperate hunt.
2) The storage location has to be easily accessible. If it involves lifting lids or sifting through drawers, it won’t happen. I get too easily overwhelmed and ever so sidetracked by the other lovely things I find in the drawer.
3) I can’t use a bin or a crate because I plop things on top of the bin to be “decided on” later. [See #1] The pile on top of the bin adds another step, which means, of course, that I will get overwhelmed or sidetracked. [See #2]
4) It requires labels. Because I am visual, I have to be able to “see” where things are.
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Then, one day in my classroom, I had a
~~Light-bulb Moment!~~
I teach adult ESL. My students speak almost no English, so I use a large assortment of visualized vocabulary cards and bulky hands-on learning supplies. My classroom file cabinet is filled with thick files, bulging awkwardly with educational “stuff”. And it works perfectly for me. A labeled easily-accessible place for everything, and for everything a labeled easily-accessible place.
Oh, my goodness!
Why couldn’t I do this with my “stuff’ at home?!?!
The possibility was dizzying.
Am I the only person who has always thought of file folders as a storage space for flat sheets of paper? Before this light-bulb moment, it had never occurred to me that I could use file folders for the crayons I could never find when my grandkids came to visit, or the double-sided tape that was continually “misplaced”, or vacuum cleaner bags, or hole punches, or my beloved Envelope Punch Board?
I did a happy dance and went to work immediately.
#1–I ordered Pendaflex extra-capacity hanging file folders on Amazon. (Free shipping with Amazon Prime!) I could find some cheaper files, but after reading the reviews, I decided to spend the extra few dollars. I’m glad I did.
The purchase of these folders has given me a new lease on life.
Honest.
#2–I realized that some of the supplies I was putting into the files could easily slip out (things like craft clothespins, bells, adhesives…), so I decided to invest in some file pockets.
5-1/4″ File Pockets –OR–
#3–Because I had years of papers and craft supplies, it was less than fun at first. I had a recycle bin and give-away bag right next to me to eliminate every single item I could. I started a temporary folder whenever something I uncovered called for one, and I labeled the folders with post-it notes.
#4–After I had eliminated more than you could possibly imagine, I started to bring order to the temporary files I had started. At this point, I took advantage of the Pendaflex templates for file folder inserts and printed out the labels.
I used a combination of regular hanging files, the large-capacity hanging files, and the pocket folders.
So there you have it. For me, this has been revolutionary. Now when I have something to put away, easily accessible cabinets are in the basement, there are no decisions to make because they are carefully labeled, and there is nothing piled on top to sidetrack me from slipping the stuff into the file.
Post Script — The irony of this post is that while I was writing it, I was also packing for a trip to Florida. I most certainly wanted to take my camera to capture the wonder of our escape from -7 degree New York weather.
And, guess what (you may chuckle if you want to)–I couldn’t find my fancy-dancy camera’s battery charger ANYWHERE! And the battery was 100% dead.
I looked everywhere. My husband looked everywhere. We finally headed south with no camera.
Oh, if only I had had a fat file folder marked: Battery Charger.
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For those of you who haven’t met her, the Dollar Store Diva happens to be my Mom who has a special power. She can transform Dollar Store and other inexpensive finds into super fun gifts that would brighten anyone’s day!
I’m going to try this since “visual learner with a touch of ADD” describes me to a T
Go for it, Jenn!
What a great idea! I think I’m going to modify it by using cereal boxes on a bookshelf!
I especially like the idea that cereal boxes are free! Thanks for sharing, Lisa.
Wow!! I love the idea!! I’m excited now lol! I am totally ADD. Super creative but organizationally impaired. I recently put my clothing drawers in alphabetical order. My hubby asked why and I said I couldn’t remember which drawer was which. He said “How can you not remember where you put your underwear?! And I said “I stopped asking myself that and went alphabetical. Problem solved!”
People who don’t struggle with the same issues have a hard trying to comprehend how we can’t remember where we put our underwear!
Thanks for sharing.
OMG! I’m totally doing this. Brilliant!
Theresa Jane
Thank you, Theresa!
You must be my long lost twin sister as I have the exact same struggles as you have had. I have even taught an adult ESL class for the past 3 years! I am so excited about trying your ideas of using the fat file folders as you have no idea how many times I have lost my scotch tape! Thanks so much for sharing your ideas.
It’s my privilege, “Sis”!
I found this a few weeks ago. I moved over a year ago and still have things in boxes. I seriously suffer from some kind of organizing deficiency. I bought two 4 drawer file cabinets on craigslist. I’m gonna give it a whirl. I think this is what I have been needing. (I may need another file cabinet…or two
)
My hope for you, Trish, is that those two file cabinets will change your organizational life as much as my cabinets have changed mine. Best wishes!
It’s like you’re me – but you’re not. The title alone caught me: organization – visual learner – touch of ADD. Then I started reading: 44, you have 4 more children than I do (whew!), and you’re a teacher!
This topic is EXACTLY what I have been working on this weekend. I am much more organized at work than home. Then, BAM, you said it, bring home the organization strategies I use at work!!!
Thank you infinity!
Anita
Anita, from one teacher to another, thanks for the comment. I hope that another thing that we will have in common is that this system works as well for you as it does for me!
Thank you, thank you,thank you! This good solve a huge storage/organisation problem I have as freelancer with a ridiculous amount of materials I have to store at my house.
We have lots in common when it comes to way of thinking and lack of memory for things we’ve put in “that safe place”.
I think I might buy some extra bulldog clips so I can clip zippy bags of small things into the files too.
I hope that this system will help you with all the materials you have to store in your house. The bulldog clips and zip lock bags sound like a great idea. Best wishes!
THANK-YOU!!!!! When you were describing your self it was like reading about me. Most people don’t get the inability to make a decision on where to put that item. And, the importance of easily accessible.
I agree with you, Jan. It’s hard for people who don’t have the same struggles as we do to understand the stress it creates in our day-to-day lives. Hope that this system helps to make things more easily accessible for you.
All of the comments are from people like me! Thank goodness for people like you who help us. I can’t wait to get rid of the piles!!
It is a pleasure for me to be a help to you, Mary Lee. Best wishes as you “get rid of the piles.”
This is brilliant. You and I must be cut from the same cloth. I love this. I also like the color of the file cabinet. Where did you get it? Or did you paint it?
Thanks for the word “brilliant,” Andrea–you made my day! Actually this is not a image of my own file cabinet–it’s a stock photo. But I agree with you–I like the color.
You have officially blown my mind!! I read this article because that is what I struggle with too, piles, buckets, bins, etc. I always think the next bin is going to be the one, finally, that sticks and keeps me organized, but it never happens I am very visual and “worry” about losing things because I can’t see them anymore. I have used sheet protectors at school instead of files because they are clear and allow me to slip in all of my learning activity materials into one spot. Makes putting out new centers a snap.(I teach first grade:) But I never thought of using the drawers as a place to put “things” that I lose frequently.Gonna try this today!! Thanks for sharing your thinking!
Karen, your opening line made me smile! I think your idea of using clear sheet protectors instead of files is a great one. Thanks for sharing.
i am fascinated by this idea. I’m thinking about it, that’s for sure! It also helped me to realize why my “junk drawer ” is finally staying organized. Not pretty, but you CAN find anything you need. I took a bunch of freezer ziplock bags. (They are sturdier.) And I labeled each one: tape, Sharpies, pens, batteries etc. Each group of things has its own bag. So, if you want a pen, just look through the bags and you can easily find it.
Julie, ziplock bags are a great idea for organizing a junk drawer. Thanks for sharing!
This is awesome!! I especially LOVE your list of 4 requirements. That is me exactly!! It’s taken me a long time to figure out the whole needing to see things idea. The trick is finding exactly what works for me. I’m definitely looking into tweaking your fabulous ideas to customize for my needs. Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!
You are so right, Lori–tweaking my ideas to customize for your needs is just the thing to do. Let me know when you come up with some good ideas!
That’s it. This is what I have been looking for. My house is perpetually cluttered, because I am in a never ending ‘reorganizing’ struggle to find order with everything. I tend to let things pile up because there is a lack of clear space for all the little space-takers, and every drawer is a ‘junk drawer’…this will help sooo much!!! It’s going on my list of projects to get to as soon as possible to get my house organized.
Oh, Tamm, I am thankful that this system has given you hope. I wish you great success in your desire to organize your home!
Thank you for posting and sharing your ideas. Really appreciated. I can’t wait to get it a try. I’m overwhelmed with my current unorganized situation – can’t find things, or piled on top of another pile, or stuff in any place I can find a space for. It’s awful! I think enough said. Thank you again!
Lyn, I’m so glad that I could share this system with you; I hope that it helps you as much as it has helped me. Best wishes!
I am excited about this, too! I have drawers in my file cabinet that are just FULL of things thrown in there for future sorting/placement- Things that could find a perfect resting place in a “fat file folder”!! My visual-learning, scatter-brained self thank you!
Your comment makes me happy! Thank you.
Oh my goodness, who would have thought?? Stick me in that category of people who thought file folders were exclusively for flat sheets of paper. I am so excited about this concept and I thank you profusely for sharing it. The possibilities are truly endless. I am hopeful now as I look toward the future and my new life as an at least somewhat organized person!
When I posted this, Jean, this was my dream that it would benefit others who face the same organizational issues that I do. Thank you for commenting.
Wow I am going to give this idea some serious thought! Thank you for inspiring me!
It is my privilege to inspire you, Judy! Best wishes.