Way Back Wednesday: Yes, it Has a Home

Today's post is the third in a series on using the STYLE process to take your organizing to the next level. 

By now you know that a positive outlook and confidence in your own abilities (Start with Successes) are necessary ingredients as you develop a plan based on your personal and organizational styles. And if you Take Small Steps, using simple strategies like Give it Five! and Don’t put it down, put it away! you'll see steady progress and avoid feeling overwhelmed.

Which brings us to Y: Yes, it Has a Home.  

A home is, quite simply, where something “lives.” While containers are key to establishing homes for our stuff, they're only half the equation. In order to establish working organizational systems, we need to create logical homes for our things. A logical home is one that:

• is close to where the item is most often used;
• is the right size for the item;
• takes into account how often the item needs to be accessed.

Makes sense, right? But when we're overwhelmed or in a hurry, we often forget these guidelines. Instead, we put things wherever there's room, wherever we happen to be or just...wherever. 

Ready to break the "wherever" habit? Here are a few more ideas to get you started. 

• Store things that are used every day in places that are easy to access.
• Choose a storage solution (container and location) that makes it as easy to put things away as it is to put them down.
• Store things where you use them...or drop them...or naturally put them.
• Store similar items together, and consider storing complementary items (things that go together or are used together) near each other as well.

Finally, let your styles be your guide by choosing homes that work with your natural habits. Already have a go-to drop spot? Make it a permanent home for the items that live there.

Happy habit-making!