Space Cadette
organizing your corner of the universe
The Danger in Going Horizontal
Those pesky horizontal spaces are constantly beckoning us to cover them with something, anything. We must resist the temptation. Although horizontal spaces are what keeps gravity from sucking all our things into the planet's core, we have to use them correctly or we will be living in a sea of clutter.
- Keep It Off the Floor—Most objects should have a designated home that is somewhere other than the floor. Furniture is the main exception to this guideline, but if I could find a couch that hovered above the ground, I'd buy it. The floor should be kept clear for the purposes of:
- Safety—Someone could slip and fall while stumbling through a sea of toys or newspapers.
- Cleanliness—It is much easier to control the dust and dirt at floor level if the vacuum can reach all spaces. This is especially important for families with pets and kids, who spend a lot more time at floor level than adults, or for those with allergies.
- Easy Retrieval of Objects—Shoes lined up on the floor in a closet quickly becomes a footwear fiasco as they get stepped on while retrieving clothes hanging above, pushed aside by the vacuum, and then stirred up when looking for a matching pair.
For anything you want to put on the floor, there almost certainly is a better storage solution that gets the object up off the floor.
- Keep It Off the Counter—Kitchen and bathroom counters tend to become overloaded with things that are not used daily or even weekly. The more objects you have to clean around, the less clean the counter will be and the longer it will take to clean. Who wants longer, harder housecleaning?
- Kitchen Counters—Mount the paper towel holder under the top cabinets, or even better, inside a cabinet door. Store spices and cooking oils in a cabinet near (but not above) the stove—these small items get dirty fast from cooking splatter and are hard to clean when left out, not to mention losing their freshness when exposed to light and the heat of the stove. If you only use the bread machine twice a year, store it under the counter. If pulling it out to use it feels like too much of a hassle, it is probably not worth keeping.
- Bathroom Counters—Most of the things we use for grooming and hygiene are very small, but our bathroom cabinets and drawers tend not to be designed accordingly. Thus, the bathroom counter is covered with every bit of makeup, soap, and personal care supplies we own.
Store small daily-use items (like toothpaste, deodorants, and medicines) within easy reach in your top bathroom drawer (with a drawer divider inserted) or medicine cabinet. Store less frequently used items in containers under the sink, grouped by type. For example, a basket of bubble bath supplies can be pulled out when needed and then easily put away. If you have the time to take a bubble bath daily, then you probably aren't organizationally challenged.
Many decorative wall-mount cabinets are available for bathrooms. These have doors to conceal items (and keep them dust-free) and small drawers to hold things. For example, use one drawer for lipsticks, one for shaving supplies, one for first aid supplies.
Additionally, slide-out shelves and baskets can be installed under the cabinet to increase functionality.
Finally, if you use an economy-size item like baby powder or lotion daily, fill a small bottle to keep within reach and store the large refill under the sink along with the other refills like liquid soap, toilet paper, and tissues.
- Counter Decor—Decorative items on the countertop should be reserved for those who've perfected their organizational and house-cleaning skills. If you don't think you fit this criteria, stick with decorations that can be hung on the wall. Countertops are primarily a functional space that needs to stay extra-clean because they are used for food preparation and personal hygiene.
- Keep It Off the Table—Any table in the path between your main entrance and your kitchen or living room wants to become a dumping ground, but don't let it. Put your jacket in the closet, your purse and keys on a hall table specified for that purpose, and the mail somewhere specific. Naturally, you will set your grocery bags down and proceed to put groceries away because they will spoil if you don't. Think the same way about your mail. Open it immediately, sort it, and file it. Tables should be kept clear so they are ready at any time you want to use them for their intended purpose, like dining.
Our default way of thinking is in the horizontal plane. It's where we live. Our eyes are even positioned on our faces in a way that helps us see more horizontally than vertically. Just don't forget there are many roads to organization that are not on the horizontal.
Return to the Free Tips (http://space-cadette.com/freetips.php) menu.