Storage Bins

A common sense plan to getting it done

You've tossed out the garbage, erased dated voicemails, washed the car, and given the dog a bath. Perhaps that itching feeling that you can't shake isn't any ordinary signal to perform quotidian maintenance. Chances are it's the mounting accumulation of stuff threatening to burst the seams of your closet. Storage bins may be the best solution to this persistent hassle.

Publicize your intentions

Organizing takes some personal judgment calls concerning available space and what's to be stored, but following a generic template can answer a lot of questions. Like dieting or staying in love, it requires stubborn commitment and a public declaration. Don't just tell your neighbors you plan on organizing your space - describe the plan. "Today we bought six giant plastic storage bins and we're gonna label 'em!"

Some generic categories for storage bins

• Charity: Find what's usable, but not used. Put it in a storage bin.
• Garbage: Sounds easy enough; but be ruthless. You should have cashed in on those baseball cards years ago, because they're worthless now.
• File: Important papers are tough. And now that everything is stored electronically, it is easy to slack on properly filing your papers.
• Seasonal: Unused clothes are nothing but decoys distracting you from deciding among things you are actually going to wear.
• The Kids: Depending on how many you have and how old they are, you may need a couple of storage bins. You'll want a separate box, hidden from them, of photos and remembrances that you want to treasure and they want to destroy.
• Rooms: Create an organizing headquarters with a storage bin for each room. Bring everything that seems out of place and chuck it in the storage bin. At your leisure, redistribute the goods, filtered of garbage.

Maybe you're just not that into it

Many people try to get this done quickly buy purchasing identical storage bins for each category. It stands to reason that your file storage bin should be significantly smaller than your garbage and charity storage bins. This is serious business: Don't trivialize it with a glancing effort. Sit down, draw organizational charts, label, color-code your storage bins, and tell the world you're in love with organizing.