TLC Meets STYLE

 A few weekends ago, I opened a cupboard in our downstairs hallway to get something and something else – I don’t remember what – fell on the floor. Mind you this was not a Fibber McGee closet packed to the gills in a haphazard fashion. It was organized -- or at least it had been -- but my drop and run style had begun to contribute to its deterioration.

So, I decided to straighten up a little. Well, you know how that goes. I started by pulling out the things that weren't where they belonged, then began to dig deeper in a quest to see if the original plan was still a good fit for the space.

Before I knew it, I had the contents of nearly half the closet spread out on my dining room table. Once I could see everything that needed more definite homes, I began to put things into categories. Then, I raided the container stash in my basement and selected the ones that both fit the space and were the right size for the things I needed to store.

Easy peasy.

Several hours later, I had reconfigured about half of the closet. I tossed a bunch of stuff I no longer needed, moved infrequently used items things out of this particular prime real estate into new locations, and updated the plan for the space based on what it now needed to hold.

STYLE in action. What did that look like?

Start with Successes: I began by leaving the things that were working alone. This kept the task manageable. Besides, there was no reason to start from scratch when some of the systems were working. That made it easier to...

Take small steps toward improving the space, and then...

Let it go! Laying everything out and sorting by category made it clear what belonged and what didn't. That made it easier to remove anything that didn't need to be in prime real estate and toss any duplicates, outdated/expired items, and things that I no longer needed. Then, I could fix the issues and say,

"Yes, it has a home!"for everything in the closet. Most of what I removed from the closet at the outset needed a home, and some of the things stored there no longer needed to be there. Letting go of the latter made room for the former, and adding new containers made the whole thing work. And that brought me to...

Easy upkeep. The prize at the end of the process. :-)

I love the changes I've made. Not only does everything look better, but it's easier to find things and just opening the closet doors makes me smile. And the best part?

Nothing falls on the floor when I open the door.