Reason to Hire a Decorator #3: Organizing

Yesterday I was sitting on the basement floor with my four year old, attempting to recreate a Lego flying object from one of his books.  The floor was littered with hundreds and hundreds of different pieces that he had been given to him by his 17 year old half brother.  As I was trying to find pieces that might work for his flying object, all I could think of was how much easier it would be to find a piece if all the pieces were organized by colour, size and function.

Source: ebay

So I will admit it, hand in the air with the other over my heart...I have an organizing fetish.  I'm addicted to having things in their place.  I love being able to find things where I expect them to be.  Some people call it crazy, but I think it is efficient.

As a decorator, one of the things I like to do when assessing a space is thinking who will use the space, how will they use it and is there sufficient (and proper!) storage for the things that need to be here.  With 5 people living in our small home, this is especially important.  Even for children, if they have a space to put away their things away, they'll do it.

Recently I added some labels to some existing baskets in my son's room.  I didn't change what was in the baskets, just labeled them.  An immediate change was noted...my son started to clean up his room at bed time, and he was playing with those toys more often.   

In the fall, I was able to convince my husband to tear out an existing useless cabinet in our kitchen and replace it with a PAX Ikea cabinet that we had used in our old house.  For some reason, the cabinet had not fit in any of the rooms in this house and had been sitting awkwardly in my daughter's room.  I measured the opening in the kitchen and with the help of a handyman, turned my horrible open closet to an efficient storage system.  All the drawers were already in the cabinet and they now hold recycling bins, garbage bags, a spice drawer, and baking supplies.  There is even a pull out shelf that holds all the wrapping foils and plastic wraps a girl could ask for.  Beer goes on the top shelf...both the full and the empties.

I was on a roll after this conversion.  One last little fix up was needed for my linen closet.  Storage is not plentiful in this little house, so sometimes I have to be a little creative.  In my linen closet, I have minimal shelf space, but when you close the door, there is a lot of space between the back of the door and where the shelving starts.  So, I started to store things on the door.  My favourite addition? A swinging towel bar that allows me to hang laundered, ironed table clothes.  Now the effort I put into ironing is not wasted when I stuff the table clothes into the closet.

Look around your space.  Could you use the help of a decorator to put things where they belong and make your home more efficient and beautiful?  It'll make you happier...I guarantee it. 

Until next time,

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