with everyone spending more time at home, organizing your stuff is more important than ever.
BY CRIS PYLE
Ample storage space is all the rage in today’s modern new homes and major remodels. It’s incredibly popular to have walk-in pantries and walk-in closets and custom-made bookshelves. More room for more stuff. But how do you keep it organized?
From Marie Kondo’s KonMari method of keeping only belongings that “spark joy,” to Instagram-famous The Home Edit team who espouse containers, labels and rainbow sorting, home organization is having a moment. Whether it is being cooped up at home due to the pandemic or that annual back-to-school new-beginning feeling many of us have this time of year, decluttering is de rigueur.
To get you started, there’s Kondo’s book The Life-Changing Magic of Tidying Up and Netflix series Tidying Up with Marie Kondo. The KonMari method asks you to organize by category, not necessarily by location; hold each item and quicky discard and verbally thank the items that no longer bring you joy or assign a permanent place for those that make you happy. (Kondo’s method was inspired in part by the Shinto religion, and acknowledges the energy/spirit of things.)
If that all seems a little too woo-woo for you, The Home Edit’s Clea Shearer and Joanna Teplin may be your dream duo. Like Kondo, there is a book, as well as a new Netflix series Get Organized with The Home Edit. (Maybe it’s Netflix and their need for new programming that is really driving this craze!) With a huge celebrity clientele, The Home Edit got their start on Instragram, with their hugely grammable shots of color-coordinated foodstuff in perfectly merchandised pantries and ROYGBIV organized closets. Their credo is “Edit, Assembly, Upkeep” which in simple terms is a purge, followed by decanting, and wedding-invitation-worthy calligraphed labelling on all the things.
As a devotee to anything that makes me feel in control, I have spent time on YouTube trying to perfect the KonMari fold, bought the books and binge-watched the Netflix series. I’m not an expert (or I’d clearly have my own show on Netflix), but the biggest takeaway I can offer those on the path to organizational nirvana is that the final step is the most important – what can you manage day-in and day-out to keep your “system” in place? So, while I admire the beautifully labeled bins and containers, mine may be more like “floor cleaner” written on the side of the package in sharpie (in silver, I’m not a monster!) so I can see what it is from the side. If it works for you, it works.
Cris Pyle has over 15 years of experience in the residential technology industry, leading marketing teams on the manufacturer and association sides.
