Perfectly editorial images are often the downside to organization inspiration.
Truth: your spaces do NOT need to look like they are ready for a magazine shoot.
That is NOT the purpose of organizing. The bins, the baskets, the labels. All pretty, but not always necessary.
The real purpose of organizing, making it more functional and orderly. This is what saves your time in the future. The bins and baskets just make it pretty.
Most editorial shots look like a well stocked pantry of select items. In a fridge, it often looks like rows of all of the same product.
A recent picture that came across my feed looked like this: the bottom shelf had bins. Applesauce pouches in one, yogurt neatly set in another. A row of White Claws, Spindrift and individual juice bottles neatly in a row. The top shelf held multiples of reddi whip, almond milk, and bottled water.
Where’s the real food? This looked nice, but is not real life.
The real purpose of organizing: make it more functional and orderly.
Honest Editing.
The first step to organization is always to purge.
Editing your stuff is necessary no matter what space you’re looking to tackle.
Be honest with yourself. Cheating this step only cheats the result. Check expiration dates, toss ingredients you used for that one dish that you’ll never make again.
Categorize.
Sorting by type or function will help give your space the visual and functional flow. This is where you will be able to figure out what types of organizing bins may help make this manageable.
Keep like items together for ease of use, and the space makes sense. All of the salad dressings together. Other condiments together.
Stacking leftover meals in one area of the fridge, and keeping “ingredients in a separate area.
Editorial storage solutions.
I can’t deny that bins (particularly the acrylic kind) can help transform everyday items into feeling a little more put together.
Consider them the jewelry of organizing. But just like that jewelry, you only put it on after you’ve gotten ready (i.e. purged + sorted).
My fridge go-to’s:
- The lazy Susan. Collect your cottage cheese/pickles/salsa/etc to prevent digging or pulling everything out.
Drawer dividers. Placing these in the fruit/veggie drawers help keep produce from being a free-for-all. - Bins. This is a great collector for the snack foods that you keep in the fridge. The cheese sticks, applesauce pouches, yogurt – things that are “regulars” in your fridge.
- Food Storage. Investing in one brand of food storage helps keep the leftovers in manageable storage, and less like a game of tetris. Using the same brand gives a uniform look and is easier to stack.
When you are organizing, don’t let yourself get hung up in the editorial. Focus on the edit + function before you accessorize. Creating a system that makes sense for you will be the easiest to maintain,
I’m happy to help – what spaces do you struggle with?
Check out my free download on the top organization fails to avoid as you take back your space.
