I’m in a hurry to get to work, and I rush out after throwing back one last slurp of coffee as I head for the door. My taste buds are happy — but my lip gloss is not.
Will I arrive at work looking like a washed out, middle-aged woman? (You know what I’m talking about — that rather sickly appearance that is the result of having all of your makeup on but no color on your lips…) The answer to the question is no, I will not; because I keep some lip gloss in my car.
And that is today’s “genius” organizing solution — the idea of keeping multiples of things that you use often and storing them in all the places you might need some.
Back to the lip gloss. I have some in my bathroom where I put on my makeup. I have lip balm (good in a pinch, even if it doesn’t have color) in my purse. I have another lip gloss in my car. And another one in the home management center in my kitchen. And yet another in my computer bag. And more lip balm in my nightstand.
Every day there is a new organization hack to help calm the chaos.
Find links for all 31 days here — 31 Days of Organizing Tips
Example #2: cleaning supplies. I mentioned this yesterday. It’s much easier to make quick touch-ups when you have a bottle of window cleaner (or whatever you like to use) and some cleaning rags in every bathroom and in the kitchen. Then when you see that spot on the mirror, you don’t need to hike to the closet across the house to find the cleaner and rags; you can just pull them out from under the sink and have at it. It’s also easier on cleaning day to just start right in without having to gather supplies from all corners of the house.
Example #3: pens, pencils, notepads. Our main supply is in my home management center in the kitchen, but I also have some in my nightstand. Because I get a lot of good ideas when I’m not in the kitchen, but by the time I walk there to write them down, I’ve been distracted by five hundred other things on the way, and whatever I was going to write down has been forgotten. The kids each have their own supply in their room, also. And I try to keep a pen in my purse (although it often gets left places, lol).
Here’s another item I keep several of: phone charging cords. You can never have too many of those, lol. I have one at my nightstand, one in my car, one in the kitchen, and one in my computer bag. The one that goes in the car is green, which is also the color of the car. The one that goes in my computer bag is pink, which is also the color of the bag. This helps me know where they belong, should they get separated from their home — and it also motivates me to keep them there, rather than pulling them out to use elsewhere. This is one time when I think color-coding is advantageous. :-)
In the kitchen, I have two sets of measuring cups and two sets of measuring spoons. They are not stored in different places, but it sure is convenient to have more than one set of each of these when you are cooking or baking.
Another time when having multiples of something comes in handy is when you purchase travel sizes of shampoo, conditioner, lotion, hair spray, etc. and just keep them in your suitcase all. the. time. Then they are there waiting when you start packing for travel, and you don’t have to think about what you need to take.
Feminine pads, y’all. It’s reality, am I right? Keep some in your purse, some in your car, and some in each bathroom. You won’t regret it. :-)
What example number am I up to now, anyway? LOL. What about flashlights? One in the nightstand, one in the kitchen, one by the front door, one in the car…
Umbrellas.
Salt & pepper. Some in the cabinet by the stove, some on the table.
Gloves — in the pockets of every coat.
Scissors and scotch tape. These should be EVERYWHERE, lol.
See what I mean? There are items that we use so often that it makes sense to have more than one of them. This prevents wasted time spent looking for the only one we have. It prevents the frustration of LOSING the only one we have, because we know we have at least one more. It prevents wasted steps going to another room to get the item, when it is used just as frequently in the room we started from.
What things do you use again and again? Maybe it would be helpful to go out and buy a couple more of them!
Ann has written Cure the Fear of Homeschooling High School: A Step-by-Step Manual for Research and Planning, Save Your Sanity While Homeschooling High School: Practical Principles for a Firm Foundation, and recently Taming the Transcript: The Essential Guide to Creating Your Teen's Homeschool Transcript from Scratch (without overwhelm). She also founded the popular Facebook groups It's Not that Hard to Homeschool High School and It's Not Hard to Homeschool K-8, and in addition she voices the It's Not That Hard to Homeschool High School Podcast.
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Love this! Love this! Thank you!