Divide and Conquer

I’m certain we’ve already used this title because it’s so true throughout life, especially when it comes to organization. Even more so for closet organization. I’ve just attacked my folks’ front hall closet as we ready ourselves for winter in Cleveland and cohabitating with two retirees and a young family (as I continue to recover my health after major surgery earlier this year.)

Their coat closet wasn’t that bad. My mom did have three mismatched milk crates on the shelf above holding ski equipment, a pile of scarves, hats, gloves and more than enough Browns gear to adorn a football team. There were also what we call inappropriately stored things like a huge pile of film negatives, a hunting rifle they had no idea was in there, and a rarely used canister vacuum — I moved these and other rarely used things to the basement and attic. At one point my mother wondered why we couldn’t just leave the rifle in there and I laid down the law. It’s one thing if they didn’t have a basement and attic for such things, but they do!

The milk crates are a great idea, and frankly would have worked okay on the floor to divide and conquer shoes and boots, but they didn’t fit the space that well and I found four plastic bins that do fit perfectly. They’ll keep shoes and boots from becoming the big messy pile they were before and there’s a clear floor in front of them for everyday boots and other things that need to be stashed on the floor.

The milk crates — which were on their side so my Organic (NF) and Smart (NT) visual parents could see what was in them — weren’t easily accessible, so getting a different scarf or glove was near to impossible. Instead I bought them matching wire baskets, four across to mimic the four bins on the ground, and now they’re easy to get down and rummage for a different accessory and then put back up.

You might have noticed the almost empty hanging shoe organizer. These are great because you can see everything, and you can easily stuff your hat or scarf in them. And the lower pockets are perfect for kids. It’s almost empty because it’s not cold enough for hats yet. No need to fill up all these divided and empty compartments. The easiest way to stay organized is to always have empty divided spaced with which to conquer mess in the moment!