Baskets and bins will NOT make you more organized. In fact, they have the opposite effect. Here are three reasons why.
#1 Bins Collect Clutter
Over the years, I acquired a lot of things. And then I organized a lot of things. Finally, I stored all the things. At one point, I contributed heavily to this statistic, “The average American home has 300,000 items.“
Moreover, my weekends were spent purchasing, organizing and cleaning things. If storage bins had worked, I would have gotten organized very quickly. But my storage containers perpetuated the clutter. I had to get rid of the stuff in order to get organized.
#2 Bins Hide Clutter
Bins, boxes, and baskets are clutter attractors. Ever notice how hard it is to keep an empty basket sitting around the house? Once you start eliminating the baskets and bins, stuff can’t hide. It forces hard decisions about, do I really need all this stuff?
#3 Bins ARE Clutter
Recently, I worked with a client who decluttered her entire house. She heard my Live Simply, Get Organized and Declutter with Simply Enough talk. It inspired her to downsize and declutter every room in her home. Through the process, she accumulated a pile of empty storage bins in the garage. Now, even the bins are clutter. But I’ll let you in on a secret….there is nothing more satisfying than getting rid of a bunch of empty storage bins!
Do you have a storage room, attic or garage full of boxes and bins? Are you too overwhelmed to know where to start? Try this.
- Identify 3 storage bins you haven’t opened in a while.
- Empty them, one at a time.
- Go through the contents. Item by item.
- Apply the 90-90 Rule
- Have I used this item in the last 90 days?
- Will I definitely use it in the next 90 days?
- No – Add to a donate pile.
- Yes – Determine the proper home for this item.
How many clutter collecting containers can you eliminate?
I actually couldn’t disagree more, storage bins massively helped refurbish my living space, and got me much more organized. I own a relatively small house built in the 50’s, so lots of remodeling was needed. I found myself just having heaps of stuff piled into boxes and random 30 gallon containers. I couldn’t find anything and the visually unappealing aspect of it was driving me crazy.
Now I do admit you have to use the bins properly… don’t just throw random stuff in there, maybe use ones that have a clear labeling window. Also, it helps to take a picture of the space you’re rearranging, and of course measurements, before you go shopping. It’s important for the bins to be matching and mostly the same size, to make the area look less messy.
To me, decluttering is mostly for rich people. They can afford to toss things that they haven’t used in x amount of years. If it’s just unusable junk, then fine – but perfectly usable things I have a tough time disposing of because it’s expensive to replace them if eventually you need them. I’ve found that just when I’ve considered getting rid of (whatever object … an old lamp, an extension cord, an old computer monitor etc), I end up needing one. Then I’m super happy that I have one on hand. Now that I have reorganized with bins, I can keep all of that stuff, but it is organized and visually presentable.
Hi Ashley – thanks for your comment. It sounds like you have done a good job organizing your storage and bins. And I agree, that the right sized bins that fit your storage space easily and can be removed when needed are indeed useful. It sounds like you did a great job of applying the 90-90 Rule 1) Have I used this item in the last 90 days? 2) Will I definitely use it in the next 90 days?
I don’t think that decluttering is necessarily just for rich people. I think it’s about keeping items “just for when” we use them vs “just in case” we will use. While there is a cost to replace an item, there is also a cost to keep and store items “just in case.” The 20/20 rule helps me with this often. Can I replace an item in about 20 minutes for around $20 if I need it every again? I recently did this and replaced an item I had donated last year with a much higher quality version than I had before. My needs had changed and the item was useful to add back to our home. But it validated my donation too.
Thank you so much for reading and for your comments. I appreciate it very much!!