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The Simple Life

Organizing like a gardener

By Lisa Phillips

Springtime is right around the corner and many of us would rather be outside working in the yard than inside facing the clutter in our homes and offices. However, by taking the same techniques that you use outside and bringing them into your cupboards, closets, and desks, you can have less clutter inside and a thriving landscape outside. The key is transferring what you enjoy doing to tasks that you don’t like to tackle.

Start small:

: In the garden, it is easy to pull a couple of weeds every day. If you let it go for weeks, it becomes a grueling all-day task. It is the same in your homes; do a little every day before it becomes an “all-day project.” Picking up your clothes every night will keep you from doing an entire closet makeover next weekend. Gardening and organizing are the same; the sooner you do it, the faster it goes and the easier it is.

Place like items together:

In your garden, you plant all the tomatoes together, all the cucumbers, etc. It is the same in your home. All the winter coats go together, all the silverware, all the shoes, etc. “Like with like” is a basic organizing principle. By following this principle, you will know where things go and where to look for something.

Prime location:

There is a strategy on crop placement in a garden, just like there is a principle of location for the items in your home. Put the most used items in the easiest places to reach and store less used items away until you need them. Silverware is used every day so it gets a front drawer, while the waffle iron is used occasionally and gets stored in the top cabinet.

Less is more:

When you have an overabundance of tomatoes, you naturally share the crop with others who will enjoy them. Think of the tomatoes like the clothes in your closet. When you have items you no longer need or want, share them with someone who can use them. “Weed out” what you no longer wear, like, or have room for.

Too much:

When landscaping efforts overwhelm you, consider hiring someone who is skilled to do the bigger projects. It is the same with your homes and offices. Don’t be afraid to ask for professional help when the task becomes too big for your time, skill, or energy level.

Success:

Every garden is different based on the satisfaction it gives you and your family. What you plant in your garden may be different than what your neighbor is planting, yet that does not mean one of you is right and the other wrong. It is the same in organizing your space. If you like what you have in your home, if you can find it and put it away, and it works for your family, good for you! Spring cleaning is a great time to spruce up your outside and inside living spaces. When you tend to your home like you tend to your garden, not only are you using principles that work for both spaces, you are living the life you want and desire.

Lisa Phillips in the owner of SimpleWorks. She can be reached at lisa_phillips@bellsouth.net or 981-7733.

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