Well, the Olympics has been over for a week….did you find this week easier to fling or harder because of the topic (books and magazines?)….

I know I am slowing down…the beginning categories were easy….clothes, dishes, who CARES about that stuff!!! LOL.  It’s these last few weeks that I have not done well….I may need you to check on me and make sure I am walking the walk, ok? Can I hear some success stories?

I think I have, for the most part, resisted the urge to send you out to BUY things to hold all the stuff around you. I believe my thought process was something more along the lines of, ‘lets not buy more containers to store stuff we should be flinging, lets FLING!’ I tried to not fall into the ‘this will make everything easy, if you purchase XXXX"…’ trap.

There is always a breaking point, but the idea was not to get so sucked into the storage sales, the organizational sales that retail pushes on you at the beginning of the year. (Did anyone notice that one of the campaigns run for Sunday coupons was actually about tossing old medicines and clearing out medicine cabinets and re-stashing with all the first aid needs of your family?)

My breaking point is now. And since I have cleared all the shelves at the CVS’s near me, I can share this without fear of MY plans running amok!!

I love containers, boxes, bags….anything decorative that holds stuff. I break down and buy this cute little box or that adorable little basket.  The problems are two: They don’t all play well together. This box doesn’t fit on the shelf with that basket, or looks odd or doesn’t stack well.

The other, and far more difficult issue is that I prefer to have EVERYTHING out. Yeah, a bit of a conundrum. I love the boxes, and the way they make the area look pretty, crisp; and technically they are so helpful to organizing, but I need to have everything at my fingertips! I am a visual person–if I don’t see it, I don’t HAVE it.

Problem number two is a personal issue, that I will have to resolve (Tweak. I play at finding the best way constantly.)

But problem number one will simply require money, and a bit of decision making.

I had to lay out money to buy ALL of the particular storage totes that I decided worked best for me. (Yes, I found a sale.) But the fact is that these containers all stack neatly, are that milky clear color, and easily accommodate the items I want to store.

By the way, this storage is for the studio. I know, we haven’t gotten there officially. (and that many of you don’t have a studio…) …But I have LOTS of stuff going on in there.

Some of the containers I currently use in this room may be repurposed in other rooms, were decorative trumps function. Some others will be flung. This is going to be a LONG Fling in here, when we get there.

Thoughts on storage:

• Big Lots, CVS, the Container Store, JoAnn Fabrics (the superstore sized ones), Target, Bed Bath and Beyond. There is no ONE place that is going to solve everything for everyone.
• Just because I am modifying storage doesn’t mean what I have doesn’t count. I can gather the pieces that are similar and use them in some areas, because these pieces DO work. It’s the areas that are NOT working that I am playing with change.
• Price DOES matter. (At least the full price.) Some of the ‘off’ brands may be great, but the larger items, the ones with drawers, the better (stronger, probably more expensive) brand is a better idea. Mostly because the drawers will not cave from weight, etc.
• Plastic, wood, hat boxes, baskets: You need to decide on the type of storage and what will GO into the storage container. You are not limited to one type of storage, but resist the urge when shopping to buy a BUNCH of things that don’t work together. That’s what you (I) already have.

The next big task is to avoid simply moving things from box one to box two without flinging. It means that the look of the room is going to be worse while in progress. Accept this.

A labeling system and a shelving system to hold all your boxes needs to be assigned. I own a P-touch, or if you have nice handwriting, a Sharpie and some labels is fine. Something consistent would be better. (just the visual aspect of it….you will feel more organized at the end, don’t you think, if it looks crisp?)

After that?? It’s really up to you. I don’t know WHAT room you purchased containers for, I don’t know HOW you prefer storing things.  Just remember to FLING it first, and store only what is worth storing.

Make this a week to tweak what you have finished, look around the areas you have flung to see if it stayed flung or has it gathered stuff again—basically, ponder how things are going. Shop for some storage, if you find that is a place where you are lacking, and think about beginning your own version, at your own time, of Spring Cleaning. (I am SO not helping out on this one, sorry!!!)