Domestic Engineer
I may be slow in getting things organized around my house but I am very thoughtful in my approach. I’m pretending that we just moved into our “forever” house and I’m using this time to put up safe guards to ensure that I don’t collect too many things again.
Going thru all the stuff that was moved into the new house is eye opening for me. I am now fully aware that I am really sentimental. It’s super sweet but where does that leave me? I am also fully aware that I am a romantic - not in the sense of being romantic with my hub - but rather, I fantasize that I would be THAT mom. The mom who could sit long enough to do arts and crafts with my kids. Or have home spa nights. Or have water balloon fights. Or use all my kitchen appliances to make the best meals ever. In the end, seeing all the things that need new spaces in our new home, confirms that I am such a sucker. I don’t want to be in this position ever again.
Sure, it’s natural for things to accumulate. We moved into a house that is a little bigger than our last house; which is both great and scary at the same time. I could easily fit all our stuff into this house because I didn’t even fill up our last house. However, as the domestic engineer of my house, my jobs, besides cooking, cleaning and raising kids are: 1. set up efficient routines. 2. make the best purchases. 3. create spaces that bring comfort and joy. and 4. set up the house so that everyone can do their part in maintaining the spaces.
All of this is very basic to all (professional) organizers but I thought I’d share the four kinds of thoughtful pinches that I am giving my family as I set up our home.
Efficient Routines:
I am putting things away in an order that makes any item easy to use.
When setting up the master bathroom, I was mindful of how early the hub gets up every day during the season. Placing items in easy to reach spots and only having out the things that he uses on a daily basis - makes his life that much easier in the mornings. Having to sift thru things to find what he needs is totally unnecessary. The same for the closet we share. I only put the items he uses daily in drawers within reach. If he needs to bend all the way down to get to the last drawer for his things, it will slow down the process. Keeping all the clothes he wears for work together is much easier than going from one end of the closet to the other, piecing together his outfit.
Setting up the kitchen took a moment. I wanted the “flow” to make sense for anyone who wanted to cook or use anything in the kitchen. So I actually pretended that I was cooking a meal when I figured out where to put things. I made sure the drawer by the stove and oven contains the pot holders and that the cooking utensils are within reach when the cook is using the stove. Another drawer contains easy-to-find metal straws because both my daughter and the hub have smoothies which require straws. The drawer by the sink contains the kitchen towels so that the family reaches for those instead of using paper towels. The cabinet by the fridge contains the glasses for the drinks. Placing our dishes in the cabinets took some thought as well. If we have to lift up the bowls in order to get a plate, chances are, we won’t use a plate. It’s too much work. Putting a slice of pizza on a paper towel is much easier.
Best Purchases :
Some of our best purchases are no purchases.
Speaking of paper towels. I pride myself on buying only one set of paper towels from Costco per year so the incentive for easy-to-reach dishes is a win-win for my family. It’s not about saving money; it’s about using less paper towels. We have plenty of cloth towels (they can last for years) and we’re keeping Mother Earth in mind with less trash. Besides, most of my kitchen towels are thoughtful pinches from traveling friends and family who gave to us as souvenirs. Might as well show off these fun towels and think of those who gave them to us.
Because my kids are old enough, I keep making up these scenarios in my head that maybe they will want to play more board games, watch dvds, decorate for every holiday and experiment in the kitchen. I came to the conclusion that these events can certainly still happen but holding onto everything in the hopes of “maybe someday” is pure fantasy. We can still do family things - we just don’t have to hang onto the “someday” items. Keeping them around only reminds me that I’m not THAT mom. We can’t keep everything (we have two versions of the game Operation) because then I will refuse to buy things that we may actually use.
Even the linen closet required some thought. I adjusted my “need vs. want” mentality and now we will store two extra sets of sheets per bed, not four sets. Even two sets is one too many but we live in a cold climate state so one set of flannel sheets is a must.
When I organized the kitchen pantry I wanted all my baking supplies to be in one section. I love to bake; baking always brings me joy. But in the past, I rarely baked because taking everything out to bake was such an ordeal. Now it’s all at my finger tips and if I’m running low on ingredients, I will know right way. This is a better plan than to have 3 sacks of flour and no sugar because I could never remember what I needed. In organizing the pantry this way, the breakfast items are also in one spot. Not only does my son know how to make his own breakfast now but I can easily see that two unopened boxes of GF Peanut Butter Chex cereal means that no one is eating it. Time to stop buying more of it.
Comfort and Joy:
When we see things crammed into a tight space, even if every item sparks joy, we will still have a feeling of uncomfortableness.
The goal of most homemakers is to have a home that comfortably reflects the things we care about the most. We want our houses to appear neat and in order but in doing so, sometimes we hide items that never get used. At our previous house I put all my small kitchen appliances away because they were eye sores and I wanted/needed a lot more space. The result was that I rarely used any of them. Although the house was tidy, there was less joy because I do like to cook and bake. In this new space, I am able to have the small appliances in a space where I could see them but if I wanted to shut the door to the pantry, I could. It’s comforting to know that I will use the appliances more.
Another moment of thoughtfulness came when I sorted out the coat closets. Putting all our coats in one closet is overwhelming. Separating them into seasons helps not only cut down on a full closet, but we are able to see what our needs are for the upcoming season. Lucky for us, we have an extra coat closet in the hall - most would reserve for guests. I decided to use the hall closet for our off-season items instead of keeping the space available for guests. In doing this, my family is able to dress according to the seasons and weather. Everyone is happier when we are dressed appropriately.
Family Effort to Maintain the Spaces:
The biggest lesson I learned from a professional organizer is that the system has to work or else the space will never be maintained.
I decided that as long as I was putting things away for the first time in our new house, I would make sure each self, drawer, cabinet, closet is not full. This is my way of safe guarding against hoarding. The barometer will be if these spaces are out grown, then we are keeping too much. For example, if we run out of hangers it’s an indication that we have too many coats or dresses etc. In the new house, we have a lot of closet space so if we have to put stuff under our beds, it’s an indication that we have too much. This concept is easy to teach the kids and the hub.
Again, I learned that we can spend lots of time putting things away in manner that looks great but doesn’t make sense when applying it to the lifestyle we live. If I put my daughter’s clothes away the way that I would want them, her room would be a mess within hours because her process of getting dressed is different from mine. The goal is to set my family up for success. This could mean a different system for each person in the home.
Take for example the kitchen, even though I’d like to think of it as my domain, it is the main place we use in the house. I’d love to think everyone will put things away after they use them or cook less messy than me, but that’s not realistic. The domestic engineer can set up the house to be successfully organized and at the same time, filled with joy.
Most organizers will preach if you bring something new into the house, immediately get rid of something old. Sure, we all try to do this. One trip to Target and we’d have to get rid of 90 items. Who has time to purge when we barely have time to put away the stuff we just bought? I took lots of photos and shared my feelings on videos as documentation of this moving journey. I think looking at all the piles of stuff that I had go thru for this move should be enough for this D.E. to purge often.
Pinches,
Barb
P.S. Our dog Grady is need of an efficient way to re-enter the house after his walks, so I’m simultaneously working on a solution for that as well. A successful dog is a happy dog!
