Beautiful Fiction

I have NEVER, repeat, NEVER organized a pantry that looks like this. Why?

Because the idea of visual perfection is folly in your active home! When will you EVER have a shelf of uniform clear bins with the perfect amount of rainbow colored packets of who-knows-what? If this does not resonate with you then GREAT, because we are simpatico. We should work together!

In active spaces like a pantry or closets, contents ebb and flow. Similarly, inventory and organization must EASILY adapt to those ebb and flow changes. I tell my clients that the guiding principle for organizing almost anything is: EVERYTHING should be SELF DOCUMENTING! When you look at a space, you should be able to VISUALLY and intuitively understand what you see. Use labels sparingly.

And while this pantry photo is pure FICTION and unrealistic, I will admit that it is visually pleasing to me. Here is what I promise: when you organize a space, it will likely not LOOK like this pantry. Instead, it will FEEL like this pantry. #itsafeeling.

After twenty years of working with clients, I have learned that being organized is a FEELING. It's that feeling you get when you open your closet and everything looks comfortable and fashionable to you. When getting dressed feels more like "shopping at home," instead of digging through a messy sale rack. What being organized is NOT: a photo of perfect bins each with a label.

So remember, focus on the FEELING you get when you recognize everything in your closet, pantry, basement, garage as something you want to see.