Since I am not exactly a paragon of organization, I’ve called in for outside help.  Hatch reader Sheryl Drinkwater is an architect and one very-well organized lady!  She’s agreed to share a project and some advice.  I should disclose that we hook our helpers up with $50 gift certificates at the site as a token of our gratitude.  What I like most about Sheryl’s kitchen redo is how much thought went into cabinet layout, function and location.  You can just admire one drawer or cabinet and use that as your inspiration if you are taking baby steps in your own projects.  The most important thing is not to get overwhelmed!  Thanks Sheryl! -Becky

You can use the excuse of a New Year’s resolution dropped by the way-side, but getting organized is very liberating. As an architect in Berkeley, California, I have assisted many residential clients get a new lease on their kitchens.  Doing a kitchen remodel is ground zero for the chance to get yourself organized. Once you rip out a kitchen, you really have to take a look at everything you have stashed away and say, “hey, do I need this?” Last summer, I had the opportunity to ask myself this question when I gutted my own kitchen.

For my kitchen remodel I asked cabinetmaker Thomas Wold   for some help.  Together we came up with a concept for the look of my kitchen and also designed specific ways to get some of the many items in my kitchen organized. (see detail photos). 

Being organized isn’t about being a fanatic.  It is really just about having a place for your stuff.  I have really felt this way most of my life – without really formalizing it – I need a clear space to live in, it helps me to think clearer.  Karen Kingston, wrote a book that I found really illustrates this concept well, Clear Your Clutter With Feng Shui .  This is not a plug for this particular book, any book on clearing clutter can help.  It is not necessary to hire a Feng Shui consultant either.  Some of her concepts really spoke to me though. Just consider these two ideas. 

The first suggestion addresses the impact on having clutter in your life.  Kingston relays scenarios of real people, who after arriving at their homes, can sense an energy field of clutter.  Clutter in your life, whether it’s under the bed, in your basement or in your office will affect the quality of your life, she states.  For example, f you feel weighted down and cannot get out of bed each morning, take a look at what is under your bed and how it is organized. 

The second suggestion is how to clear your clutter. Kingston gives instructions for a system for actually clearing out the mess. Here is how I do it.  I think about

1) Do I really need it?  (If I don’t use it, need it or it’s broken, etc. I get rid of it.) and

2) Everything should have its place. (I put my laptop and my mail in the same place each day.) 

This system can happen in one day or it can happen over the course of the year (until next year’s resolution).  Spend a little time each day to organize your space.  Have 5-6 boxes labeled and stored for the things that you are getting rid of.  The boxes for placing items should be labeled like “donation,” “to a friend,” “return to owner,” “recycle” and “trash.” 

Of course there will be resistance by others, procrastination, despair.  But, you don’t have to be a fanatic. Find a degree of organization that works for you.  My husband, feeling a little like he was going to be put in a box, recently referred a book to me by authors Eric Abrahamson and David H. Freedman, that really gave me something to think about as a designer and self proclaimed organizer.  It is called A Perfect Mess, The Hidden Benefits of Disorder . This book claims that “organizational efforts tend to close off systems to random, unplanned influences that might lead to breakthroughs.”  The layout of the book was remarkably organized. 

Sheryl Drinkwater, Architect, Berkeley CA 510.848.4439

PICTURED ABOVE:

Dishes stored next to dishwasher

Rice and Flour Storage

Paper Recycling and Dog Food

Centralized Glassware

Baking Sheets