Purpose-Driven Organizing

The Organizing Process

1. Designate a purpose for each room in the house: For the laundry room, it could be as simple as “The purpose of the laundry room is to wash, dry, fold, iron, and hang clothes and linens with minimal pileup.” You may have loftier aims for the kitchen, along the lines of, “The kitchen should promote a healthy family life with healthy meals, lively conversation, and plenty of display room for my kids’ artwork.” There are no rules for deciding what’s important to you and your household—the key is just to follow through by organizing according to what purpose you want each room to serve.
2. Decide what stays and what goes: Once you’ve outlined the main objectives for a room, walk through it with a pen and paper and list the categories of things that contribute to and detract from the room’s purpose. For example, if you want your family to dine and talk at the table rather than grab a plate and head off to another room, it makes sense to relocate the paperwork and magazines that cover the kitchen table.
3. Give away, throw away, or relocate distractions: Now sort the unwanted items into three categories: things that should be trashed or recycled (old magazines and newspapers, for example); things that are in good enough shape to donate to a local charity; and things that you should keep but store in another room in the house. (For advice on how to make these distinctions, see How to Purge Clutter.)
4. Find an appropriate place for everything else: Identify the best places for the remaining items based on where and how often they’re used. For example, don’t keep the napkin dispenser next to the toaster just because it’s always been there—if it makes sense to put the napkin dispenser in the center of the kitchen table, move it. (For more tips on where to move things you want to keep, see How to Make Space for Keepers.)
5. Shop for organizing aids: After you’ve chosen a location for keepers, you can make informed decisions about what organizing aids you need to make the job easier. Otherwise you could end up buying an electronic business card scanner when a simple Rolodex would make more sense for the small number of cards you’ve saved and your limited desk space.
6. Maintain your organization: Implementing an organizing system is only the beginning. You must keep it up over time, which requires commitment and discipline (see How to Keep Your Home Organized).