Yes, even professional organizers have junk drawers.  We are not perfect… just recovering perfectionists!  I do practice what I preach and to prove it here are the steps I took to organize my junk drawer.  It’s rather elementary but I thought the photos would be interesting. And who knows, it just might motivate a few of you!

1. Before

This drawer is beneath my printer and has been a catch all place for office tools.

2. The Stuff

Here is what is in the drawer.  The top half of the photo shows the essential office supplies. The cords at the bottom left were also essential. The rest… how did that get in there?!

3. Bonus tip

If you have cords that sometimes need to go with you, store them in a zipper pouch for easy transport.  This pouch contains my cell phone and iPod chargers as well as a car adapter. When I am at the office they are in the desk, if I think I may need them, I just throw them in the bag that I am taking along.

4. The Configuration

For my drawer the six components fit like this.  I love that there are many ways to configure the interlocking pieces to fit any drawer!

5. The Result – ahhh, organization!

Now I bet that’s what you thought my junk drawer would look like!

Do you have a junk drawer that needs organization?  Rubbermaid has given me an extra set to give away.  There are 2 ways to enter to win:

1. Post a photo of your junk drawer or a comment about it on my blog. OR
2. Sign up to receive my monthly ezine by registering at www.organizedhabits.com.

Do this before midnight on March 5th and a winner will be selected at random and notified by email. (So be sure to include your email if you post a comment.)

Recently, I received some fabulous products made by Rubbermaid.  this set of drawer organizers come in many shapes and sizes. There are many ways to configure them to fit virtually any drawer in your home. They have an interlocking “lip” on one side to hold onto the next organizer, so no more separations where things are likely to disappear in the cracks!  They are black with a tan bottom.  Some of their components are featured in this photo. I used four different size organizers in my desk drawer and it fit perfectly. Really a well made product with great flexibility. I highly recommend them.

Using these organizers I was motivated to clean out my junk drawer…. See my next post for a blow by blow of that project.

Many times when I speak to moms groups or have mothers in my audience, there are always these sort of  questions:

1. How do I get my child to keep their room organized?
2. How do I organize all the stuffed animals?
3. How do I get my ADD/ADHD child to stay organized?
4. How do I get my child to let go of some things?

Bottom line – Is organizing your kids possible? Yes.

Will they keep things organized the way you want them? Probably not.

Think about the things your mother suggested you do in your room.  Did you always do it as she suggested? If you say yes to this question, then I guess you were the perfect child so you can skip this blog post.  We’ll address perfectionism another time…..

Your children are individuals who are uniquely created, having their strengths and weaknesses that may differ from yours.  They will also have different ideas about what being organized looks like. There is no “one and only way” to organize. What you can do for your children is to set some boundaries as far as your minimum expectations for their room and possessions. Give them time to get used to these boundaries; give them tools that will help them be successful.  And most important, be a good role model.  My friend, Kevin Bracy, reminded me yesterday that children can’t hear what you are saying because your actions are speaking so loudly.

So how organized are you? What are your children seeing?

As a small business entrepreneur, I was blogging back in 2005. Then after a somewhat diligent attempt, I dropped the project all together. NOW, however, blogging is more of a lifestyle than an obligation so I am happy to revive the old blog in an effort to change the world… Lofty goal, I know, I just want the world to purge, recycle, and get organized! In the era of materialism and consumerism, we have gotten out of control with our personal property.
The older folks are said to be collectors of tons of stuff because they lived through the Depression when times were hard, and the next meal was hard to come by. The next generations, learned by example, and began to take it to the next level. More is better, more is an indicator of wealth. So we collected collections, started shopping online and at big box stores, working longer and harder and, alas, now we have STUFF everywhere! The stuff in our lives makes things more complicated, stresses us out, and steals the joy from our lives.
There is hope for the future. I want to be part of the solution by providing ideas and tips to help Americans reduce what they have. We have taken years to accumulate the collections and clutter so now we must focus on eliminated the superfluous one step at a time. I hope you come back often for small nuggets of organizing knowledge to help enhance your life through the elimination of the stuff.

I have worked with many clients who actually know about storage, organizing by task, grouping by type, and even those who recognize the importance of labels and filing. These same people still seek me out with organizing questions and projects. Why? Because they have an overabundance of things!!!

It used to be that the children of the depression era, as grown adults, would keep large amounts of food on hand and over collect things that they liked or missed during their childhood. The rationale behind this was based on the fact that they grew up with so little, suffered in poverty, and never knew where their next meal would come from, so having abundance on hand was a type of peace of mind. I can appreciate the psyche from which this developed but it has carried forward into the future generations.

Now the grandchildren and the great grandchildren of the depression era generation suffer with an overabundance of things. This is because they had clutter and overabundance filling their homes during childhood. Clutter and hoarding was present their whole life. This has been further compounded by media advertising mentality of “more is better”, “you’ve got to try this” and “sale, sale, sale”. These are the battlecries of our generation. The result is rooms, houses, garages, and costly storage units stuffed with things that can’t possibly be consumed or used for their originally intended purpose. And now our children are experiencing this!

Children in America have plastic totes, toy boxes, closets and playrooms packed with so many toys and clothes that the children don’t even know all that they have! They can’t possibly need 4 jean jackets and all those stuffed animals!

We have got to let it go! Releasing the clutter and seeking help for our hoarding tendencies, if not for ourselves, then for our children.

Picture this: You are 86 years old and your family has to move you to an assisted care facility because of health problems. After you are moved into your new place and all your family has doted on you and helped to make your transition smooth, you settle down and begin to enjoy the scenery. In the meantime, your family has to deal with “the stuff” in your home, the things that could not go with you to your new home. There is a garage that hasn’t had a car in it for 20 years because there wasn’t room for even a spare tire. Your filing cabinets are bursting and paper can be found in boxes and dressers. All of your collections would take 3 months just to post on eBay! And even though you were the only one in the house for the last ten years, your clothes exceed the closet capacity of all the bedrooms, and there are more clothes in the garage. Family pictures are found throughout the house, some in albums, some in boxes, and some in bags. Am I painting a familiar picture?

This scenario will become more complicated, worrisome and difficult to face when you die and your family has to struggle with their grief and your stuff! Realize that this is the legacy that you will leave your family if you continue to hang onto the clutter!

Letting go of items may seem difficult, I know. But consider the fact that many of these things piled in storage units, under beds, closets and plastic totes are not being viewed, touched, or loved anyway. Some things may have served a purpose earlier in your life but now your life has changed. Since change is good, consider taking a photo of the items and writing about them in a scrapbook or journal so that your memory can be preserved. Share your old treasures with the less fortunate or those who are just starting out. Let them be useful instead of hidden and dusty. Make it a goal to clear out one area at a time. I recommend keeping a list of the donated items; you can often use them as tax deductions. As you go through life, give away some prized possessions (early) to those friends and relatives who have admired them. Then you will be able to see them enjoy your gift instead of hoping they like it after you are gone from this earth. If you are hesitant about letting go of something, try this: Put the item in a box in the garage or other storage area. Seal it shut and write the date on it then mark your calendar for six months later. Then on the six month date, ask yourself: Have I missed the item or can I get by without it? If you forgot about it and life went on a usual, then it is time to let it go.

I know many of you can organize, but can you let go? I hope so for the sake of your family members and your sanity. Visit my web log next week and I’ll address what to do with kid clutter.