Organizing a Cabinet

by Beth Beutler

Once you get started in organizing projects, it's easier to stay motivated.

Back over Thanksgiving, I decided to organize a large cabinet in my home office. I had intended to do two, but only got to one. But that’s okay!

Basically, the cabinets had become collection spots for lots of "stuff." So I removed everything from one shelf or section at time, putting it on a table set up in the room. (See the photo of all the stuff to sort through!)

Then I wiped down the shelves, and returned items little by little, discarding or putting in a "give away" bag things I didn't think I'd need. I did NOT do detailed sorting. For example, a have a number of CD-Roms and DVDs that I probably could have discarded. Since they did not take up a lot of space once arranged neatly in a CD holder, I decided to avoid the mental energy it would take to decide what to do about each one. I also kept one bin of miscellaneous technology items such as cords and SD cards. You see, my personality handles details to a certain degree, and then I get tired and overwhelmed to pursue deep details. So I am content with having things reasonably contained. Then if I get the urge, I can take one container at a time and really sort through it. That wasn't my purpose in this project, particularly since it was also time to do some Christmas decorating.

Several days later, the cabinet was much better. I had freed up space, grouped things more logically, and even found items I could repurpose for better use elsewhere. For example, the miscellaneous technology items mentioned above had been in a three drawer plastic organizer, which would have better use on my craft table. Thus, I transferred those items into one bin and moved the drawers to the craft table. For the win!

Organizing doesn't have to be overwhelming, if done in small parts, if 1) you start with an empty cabinet/section, and 2) you only sort and make decisions in a way that matches your natural bent.

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