Archives for June 2011

Organizing advice from classical Greeks

More than 2,000 years ago, famous Greek philosopher Socrates and a man named Isomachus were having a discussion about how Isomachus wished his wife would run their home (the conversation is recorded by Xenophon in chapter eight of his writing Oeconomicus). Isomachus told Socrates he had asked his wife to keep house by finding a place for everything and having everything in its place:

My dear, there is nothing so convenient or so good for human beings as order … An army in disorder is a confused mass … And so- my dear, if you do not want this confusion, and wish to know exactly how to manage our goods, and to find with ease whatever is wanted, and to satisfy me by giving me anything I ask for, let us choose the place that each portion should occupy; and, having put the things in their place, let us instruct the maid to take them from it and put them back again. Thus we shall know what is safe and sound and what is not; for the place itself will miss whatever is not in it, and a glance will reveal anything that wants attention, and the knowledge where each thing is will quickly bring it to hand, so that we can use it without trouble.

It’s delightful to read organizing advice that has been with us since Socrates’ day. There are a number of fun bits and pieces throughout the text that read like they could be straight out of an Unclutterer guest post: “even pots and pans may look fair and graceful when arranged in order.”

However, I should point out that the text was clearly written in a different time. The actual purpose of the text was to help men of Athens institute Socrates’ teachings in their homes, mostly by giving advice on what men should tell their wives and servants to do. The conversation above happened after Isomachus and his wife were just married, and Isomachus believed she would win his respect and esteem if she followed his instructions.

The irony in all of this is that Isomachus’ wife did not approve of his manner for keeping house (Isomachus references that she was messy), and Socrates exclaims: “Upon my word, Isomachus, your wife has a truly masculine mind by your showing.” I must admit, this made me laugh, and reminded me a great deal of our recent post addressing “Gender stereotypes and uncluttering.”

Apparently, nothing is new, not even stereotypes about men being messy or 5S Lean advice on a place for everything and everything in its place.

Thanks to reader MRussula for bringing this gem of Greek literature to our attention.

Posted by Erin on Jun 13, 2011 | 7 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2010

2009

2008

Posted by PJ on Jun 12, 2011 | Comments Off | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Gift bag storage

Reader J submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

We just purchased our first home and we are in the process of organizing everything. One thing that I have no idea how to handle is my large collection of gift bags, gift boxes, ribbons, bows, etc. I had them shoved into plastic bins at the bottom of our guest room closet at the old house, but the bags stick out everywhere, and items jump out of the boxes every time I try to retrieve something, and generally make the entire process of gift wrapping a pain. I need to get to these bags a few times a year for birthdays and holidays.

One of the more creative solutions I’ve seen is a dedicated filing cabinet drawer for storing wrapping supplies. Gift bags were kept upright, like file folders, and so were the flat gift boxes. Spools of ribbon were threaded through a bar that had been cut out of a hanging file folder, and were suspended across the drawer. Bows were stored in a few hanging file pockets, organized by type. Finally, magnetic strips had been attached to the backs of a pair of scissors and a tape dispenser, and these items were suspended from the side of the file drawer. Until the drawer was opened, I had no idea what was contained inside of it.

There are also storage totes made especially for gift bags and boxes. Once you move the bags and boxes into their new storage solution, it might be easier to contain the remaining bows and ribbons in the bins you already have.

You could also hang all the gift bags by their handles from an open ended pants hanger. The bags would take up some space in a closet, but this solution would again free up room in your current storage bins so you could better organize the other items.

Thank you, J, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. Definitely check the comments for additional ideas from our readers. My hope is that one of us will be able to find you a perfect solution.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Jun 10, 2011 | 34 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: Kitty approved

This week’s Workspace of the Week is DelightfullyHostile’s anything-but-hostile home office:

The office is not in use to the same degree as last week’s featured workspace, but I like how a cat makes an appearance in this week’s selection. It’s a nice reminder that offices are designed and used daily by real people, and, in this case, also a sunny hangout spot for an adorable kitty. I like the floating shelves that aren’t too crammed with items. I like the prominence of the shredder, which looks ready to be used at a moment’s notice. I’m a little confused that there is no scanner, but it could be small and inside one of the drawers. Or, maybe there is a filing cabinet for paperwork not in this image if they don’t keep documents in physical form. Irrespective of scanner or filing cabinet, this small home office is terrific and looks like it is a nice place to sit and check email and maybe pay a few bills. Thank you, DelightfullyHostile, for sharing your workspace with us.

Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.

Posted by Erin on Jun 10, 2011 | 16 Comments | Tweet This

A family of 3 in 320 square feet

Small living comes with many benefits, and Debra, Gary and their son explain how it works for them in this video of their 320 square foot home:

Their home was made by Slab Town Custom Homes in Mountain View, Arkansas.

Posted by Erin on Jun 9, 2011 | 73 Comments | Tweet This

Unitasker Wednesday: Square Pie Iron

All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!

To corrupt a line from the movie Wedding Crashers –

That’s what camping trips are known for: Sleeping in a tent and making pies!

When I go camping (which is probably once a decade), I’m insistent on making pies! Don’t you? I know you do. Everyone makes pies while camping. Pies and camping are a perfect pair, and the Square Pie Iron makes it possible:

I love this device’s product description on Amazon:

The classic, all-time favorite square pie iron loved by family campers & scouts and for 45 years. Made from solid cast iron with dependable chrome plated steel handles, you won’t find a better design on the market.

My favorite part is, “you won’t find a better design on the market.” Because, and let’s be honest here, a round pie would certainly be a better design. Am I right?

Posted by Erin on Jun 8, 2011 | 73 Comments | Tweet This

A year ago on Unclutterer

2010

Posted by PJ on Jun 8, 2011 | Comments Off | Tweet This

Finding solutions to disorder by identifying the causes of disorder

Sometimes the solution for solving a clutter problem is simply identifying the cause of the problem. It sounds obvious, but you may be surprised by how often the cause of the problem isn’t considered when looking for a solution.

I hear complaints all the time that a spouse/partner/roommate/kid (someone else, never the person complaining) leaves items strewn about the house. The complaint usually sounds like, “my husband leaves his dirty clothes on the floor,” or “our son leaves his toys all over the living room.” The spouse/partner/roommates/kids are always named as THE problem.

Granted, the spouse/partner/roommates/kids may be making the mess, but they are not usually the exact cause of the problem. Usually, the problem is caused because:

  1. a convenient storage solution does not exist (the hamper is in the closet, but the husband changes clothes in the bathroom),
  2. no organizing solution exists (there isn’t a hamper),
  3. the person has not properly been trained on how to use the clutter/storage solution (the child has never been shown how to pick up his toys or been expected to pick up after himself),
  4. or the person has a different tolerance level of disorder than the person making the complaint (clothes and toys on the floor may not be perceived as clutter by the person making the mess).

When you properly identify the cause of the problem, it’s much easier to solve it. Based on the examples we’ve been using throughout this post, the problem might be alleviated by:

  1. Getting two more hampers — keep the one already in the closet, but add one to the bathroom and put another in the bedroom next to your husband’s side of the bed.
  2. Buy a hamper and put it where your husband usually drops his clothes on the floor.
  3. Teach your child how to pick up her toys and give her three minutes at the end of every play session to practice this skill. Read more from our archives: here and here.
  4. Have a respectful conversation with your spouse/partner/roommates/kids about your standards of order and their standards of order, and establish agreements and expectations about future behavior. Read more from our archives: here.

Are you identifying the real causes of clutter and disorder in your life? Doing so can help you to more easily find the solution.

Posted by Erin on Jun 7, 2011 | 21 Comments | Tweet This

Strategies for keeping clutter off your dining table

If your home functions anything like mine, your dining table isn’t used just for eating. In addition to providing a dining space, our table is used for meal preparation, my son’s coloring surface, an alternate work station if my husband or I need a change of pace from our desks, a hang out spot to sit and read, and dozens of other purposes. Keeping clutter off the table so it’s ready for eating or whatever chore we want to throw at it can be a challenge, and these are some of the strategies we use to keep it clear:

  • Have a mail processing station by the main entrance. First and foremost, the dining table is not a place for mail. Create a mail processing station by your main entrance where you can sort, shred, trash, recycle, and properly handle all of your mail.
  • Install hooks for coats and bags by the main entrance. Similar to the previous point, the dining table is not a place for coats, hats, bags, and briefcases. Hang hooks for coats and bags near your main entrance so these items don’t end up on the table.
  • Keep a trash can near your dining table. If you have a formal dining room, you likely don’t have a trash can in this space. Find a way to hide one in a buffet or side table, or keep one very close by in another room that you can easily pick up and move into this space. You’ll be amazed by how useful a simple trash can will be for keeping clutter off your table. Earn an additional point if you can hide a recycling bin in the room, too.
  • Organize your buffet or sideboard to meet the needs of the space. So often sideboards and buffets are full of china that is rarely used or silver service you pull out just once a year. If you want these special event items, store them someplace more remote (the high shelves of kitchen cupboards are usually good locations) and use your sideboard or buffet for things you actually use in your dining room. In addition to storing place mats and napkins, our sideboard holds crayons and coloring books, a pair of scissors, an extra set of my reading glasses, table cleaning supplies, a few pens and pencils, a spare power cable that works with all the laptops in the house, an extension cord, and a radio.
  • Set the table as the first step of meal preparation. If you don’t plan to use the table while you’re making the meal, set it with plates, cups, silverware, etc., as your first meal preparation step. This way, when housemates come through the dining room, they won’t deposit items not related to the meal on the table. Setting the table is also a wonderful chore for any child three or older.
  • Don’t pick up and drop stuff someplace else. Although it is incredibly easy to just scoop up what is on the table and set it on another surface, try your best to properly sort through items when you remove them. Throw out the trash, put toys away, shred the credit card applications, and file papers that need to be filed. The top of the sideboard or buffet is as bad a location to hold this clutter as the table was.
  • Wipe down the table and sweep the floor after every meal. To keep from getting ants, this step is imperative with a toddler in the house. However, it might not be such an obvious step if the people dining at your table aren’t in the habit of dropping half their food on the floor. Completely cleaning off the table after every meal makes it a welcoming space for the next meal or whatever other use you need. This is also a great thing to do after every alternate use, too.
  • Avoid having a catch-all container that lives on the table. In some homes the catch-all container is a circular rotating tray, in others it might be a decorative plate or bamboo platter. Devices that are made to hold salt, pepper, sugar, napkins, and condiments are great for containing small items — but they’ll end up holding other non-meal related small items if the tray isn’t removed from the table after every meal. Have a place in the kitchen for this service to live in between meal times.

What steps do you take to keep clutter off the table? Share your additional strategies in the comments.

Posted by Erin on Jun 6, 2011 | 23 Comments | Tweet This

Ask Unclutterer: Organizing and operating a central supply room

Reader Brenda submitted the following to Ask Unclutterer:

[I'm] looking for guidelines or rules on how to operate a central supply room.

I strongly recommend taking as much from Lean systems as possible when it comes to supply room organizing. If you are unfamiliar with Lean, check out The Toyota Way. In short, the basic philosophy of Lean systems is to trim the fat (waste, unnecessary processes, etc.) and improve the flow and quality of work. These systems apply wonderfully to office supplies because objects like reams of paper and toner cartridges can be counted, tracked, sorted, organized, and replaced systematically.

The five phases (5S) of Lean are: sorting, straightening, sweeping, standardizing, and sustaining. You can immediately see how these concepts apply to office supplies — sort them, straighten them (organize), , standardize them, sweep them (clean them and the room), and sustain the system (maintain).

Start by sorting items into groups by type. Do this in either an adjacent conference room or on the floor outside the room when employees aren’t present (like on a weekend). Group blue ball point pens with blue ball point pens, blue felt tip pens with blue felt tip pens, unsharpened pencils with unsharpened pencils, etc. Also during this time, create an inventory listing all the items, how many of each item you have, and the replacement information for that item (like a relevant catalog ID number from your supplier). If you could have one person creating the inventory in a database while someone else counts and reports, you can work relatively quickly.

Once sorted and inventoried, focus on the straightening and standardizing portions of the project by returning the items to the storage area. If you need to install shelves or bins, do so after evaluating how much stuff you have during the sorting phase. On the shelves, label storage bins and boxes very specifically so that there is a place for everything and everything is in its place (Staples: 26/6; Staples: 23/20; Manila Folders: 1/3 cut, 8.5″ x 11″; Manila Folders: 1/3 cut, 8.5″ x 14″; etc.). Consider using colors as visual cues for even more detailed subdivision — all paper products can sit in bins of the same color, all tools in another color. Make things as standardized as possible.

Any work done in the central supply room should have detail instructions posted nearby. (In Lean terminology, these are sometimes referred to as kanban billboards.) If someone has to ask how to make a photocopy/replace paper in the photocopier/shred papers/unjam paper from the shredder/etc. it means the processes are not properly outlined or posted. Make these posters as part of the straightening and standardizing processes.

For the sweeping/cleaning process, have a weekly time on the schedule to re-organize, evaluate, run a detailed inventory, and clean/dust the room. In Lean systems, the word Kaizen is usually associated with this process. The belief with Kaizen is that there is always room for improvement, so you should be continuously looking for ways to make things better. If the central supply room experiences extremely high traffic, this chore may need to be done once or twice a day.

One person should manage this room and be responsible for keeping track of inventory, ordering supplies, and organizing, evaluating, and cleaning the room. Although one person will be in charge of the room, you’ll still want to allow other employees access to the room. So other people will be able to be good team members and help the supply room manager (teamwork plays an important role in Lean), use pull cards, which notify the supply room manager that new products need to be ordered. (These pull cards are also a type of kanban, and will often be referred to as such.) These cards are slipped into stacks of items, usually before the second-to-last or next-to-last supply, and say something obvious like, “Time to reorder,” on them and include the product code (definitely include the product name or the supply manager won’t know what to order). There should be a collection bin for these pull cards where employees can deposit them to notify the supply room manager. Implement as many standardized processes as necessary to make things easier on employees and the supply room manager.

For sustaining and maintaining, train all staff members how to appropriately use the new central supply room. The person running the supply room will be constantly frustrated if this training is not done well. Training may have to happen more than once, and employees’ abilities to properly use the storage area should be regularly reviewed.

Thank you, Brenda, for submitting your question for our Ask Unclutterer column. I hope implementing a Lean system will help to bring order to your central supply room. Also, check the comments for even more insights into using and implementing Lean systems for office supplies.

Do you have a question relating to organizing, cleaning, home and office projects, productivity, or any problems you think the Unclutterer team could help you solve? To submit your questions to Ask Unclutterer, go to our contact page and type your question in the content field. Please list the subject of your e-mail as “Ask Unclutterer.” If you feel comfortable sharing images of the spaces that trouble you, let us know about them. The more information we have about your specific issue, the better.

Posted by Erin on Jun 3, 2011 | 7 Comments | Tweet This

Workspace of the Week: His and her shared office

This week’s Workspace of the Week is Jake and Lindsay’s shared office space:

I especially liked this office because we get to see it in action. It’s nice to see how people use the space, and to be reminded that these are actually places where work is accomplished. I also enjoyed the colorful bulletin boards above Lindsay’s desk, the pen storage containers, and the task lighting (which I assume is usually pointed at the task, not the bulletin board). Jake’s custom shelf for his monitor is a great touch for raising the monitor up off the work surface and providing additional storage and use space beneath it. It’s nice that both desks include the Expedit bookshelves from Ikea, so each worker has his and her matching storage. Thank you, Jake and Lindsay, for sharing your offices with us.

Want to have your own workspace featured in Workspace of the Week? Submit a picture to the Unclutterer flickr pool. Check it out because we have a nice little community brewing there. Also, don’t forget that workspaces aren’t just desks. If you’re a cook, it’s a kitchen; if you’re a carpenter, it’s your workbench.

Posted by Erin on Jun 3, 2011 | 5 Comments | Tweet This

Uncluttering the American dream

I grew up in a part of the country where land is comparatively inexpensive and housing prices are tame. In my hometown of Topeka, Kansas, you can buy a decent single-family home on a nice lot in a low-crime neighborhood for around $100,000. This isn’t a new phenomenon resulting from the downturn in the U.S. economy; land and housing has always been reasonably priced there.

As a result, people in my hometown tend to buy their houses because mortgage payments are less than what they would pay in rent. This makes financial sense, especially if someone plans to be in a home for more than five years, has a 15 year mortgage (or smaller), is paying less than 5 percent interest on the loan, and property taxes and home owners’ association dues aren’t insanely high. However, not all of the country has housing prices and conditions similar to those in Topeka.

The part of the country where I live is a completely different monster. A comparable house you could buy in Topeka for $100,000 sells here for $650,000 or more based on its proximity to the Metro and downtown and its school district. Buying a house doesn’t always make financial sense, and it certainly doesn’t for my family right now. We have become renters, and are very comfortable with this decision for numerous reasons.

We’re not alone. Slate ran the article “The Rent Isn’t Too Damn High” on Tuesday explaining the economic trends that are turning many people in the country into renters. Simply stated, the American dream may no longer be the American dream. Since the “the national rate of return for homeownership was 1.3 percent” during 1975 and 2009, while “For stocks, it was 3.375 percent,” owning a house has been a far cry from a decent investment.

Additionally, many people don’t want the stress of worrying about a furnace, a roof, or a sewer line. Many jobs are no longer tied to a specific location, and moving every few years can be a very attractive possibility for renters. Sinking money into a house for upkeep and interest on a mortgage can be more than one would pay in rent over three or four years. And, with housing prices on a roller coaster ride, it can be easy to be under water on a mortgage and get trapped in a property that might not meet your needs.

Since I grew up in a community where owning a house is less of a financial risk than it is where I live currently, it took some time for me to see the benefits of renting. I get it now, though, and I’m loving our current situation. We don’t have plans to move across country in the immediate future, but we easily could if we wanted to. We don’t expect the air conditioner to go out on our rental house, but if it does it’s our landlord’s burden to fix, not ours.

Renting isn’t for everyone, and owning still makes sense for a lot of people, but it’s the right decision for us where we live and the point where we are in our lives. Owning a house is no longer a dream of mine, nor is it for many Americans.

Posted by Erin on Jun 2, 2011 | 56 Comments | Tweet This

Unitasker Wednesday: Eggies

All Unitasker Wednesday posts are jokes — we don’t want you to buy these items, we want you to laugh at their ridiculousness. Enjoy!

This week’s unitasker is far from being the worst contender we’ve ever featured. In fact, if you don’t eat egg yolks, I could see its usefulness. However, for someone like me who “hard boils” eggs by baking them in the oven (the method popularized by Alton Brown in I’m Just Here for the Food and on the “Hard Cooked Heaven” episode of Good Eats), a device to crack eggs into for making shell-less hard boiled eggs is pretty much useless. This little plastic thing would melt in my oven.

I primarily picked this device as this week’s unitasker because, like so many awesome infomercials, I couldn’t stop laughing while watching the clumsy human failing at making eggs (you can catch the infomercial on the product webpage if you haven’t seen it on television). Apparently, without the Eggies, “You’ll be peeling all night!” Poor, poor you. I feel so awful for you. Especially since “Peeling just one egg the regular way can take forever!” FOREVER! (No hyperbole used in this infomercial. Nope. None.)

Thanks, Emily, for sharing this with us.

Posted by Erin on Jun 1, 2011 | 44 Comments | Tweet This

You don’t have to turn off your emotions when uncluttering

We sold our house yesterday. We signed a lot of papers, handed over the keys, and said an official farewell to a place we loved.

The rational part of me accepts that a house is just concrete, bricks, glass, steel beams, and wood. As George Carlin once pointed out, a house is simply a container for you and your stuff. The emotional part of me, however, has a difficult time separating all the wonderful memories created in the house from its drywall. The house we sold is where we brought my son when we brought him home. I wrote my book in that house. There are six and a half years of my family’s laughter and happiness within those walls.

As with almost all possessions, though, there comes a time when an object stops meeting your needs. Something that was perfect for you in the past, is no longer a perfect fit in the present. And, as difficult as it is to let go, it’s the right thing to do to be able to pursue the life of your dreams.

Even though I’ve been living as an unclutterer for close to a decade, I still haven’t come to the point where I can completely turn off my emotional attachments to sentimental things. I’m not an automaton. I still mourn a little when I say goodbye to objects that have passed through my life, but now I can at least bid them farewell when it’s appropriate.

There is nothing wrong with feeling a little sting when saying goodbye to objects you have loved. Just don’t let that sting keep you from parting with something that no longer fits with your life and the life you desire. When uncluttering, if you need to take a few minutes to mourn the end of ownership of an object, take a few minutes to mourn.

Posted by Erin on Jun 1, 2011 | 21 Comments | Tweet This