32 March 14 • 2019
jn

understand and follow. The whole family 
will be more efficient because you’
re not 
wasting time looking for things, missing 
deadlines and creating a chaotic living 
space. This kind of smart organization 
creates a sense of calm throughout the 
home — something we all need more 
of.
” 

FOUR STEPS TO ORGANIZATION
The pros weighed in with four steps to 
help you to sort, edit and discard your 
way to organizational bliss in any area of 
your home:
“First, it’
s always best to empty the 
entire space you are trying to re-orga-
nize,
” Wolf says. “Take all of the items 
out of the closet or space you want to 
redo and start with a clean slate.
”
Then, Wise, a former automotive sup-
plies executive, suggests a tried-and-true 
method for going through your items, 
whether a small kitchen utensil drawer 
or a full basement. 
“You get three boxes for vetting your 
things and label them either ‘
keep,
’
 
‘
donate’
 or ‘
discard.
’
 As you sift through 
each item, you decide which box it will 
go in; and when you’
re done, you need 

only organize the ‘
keep’
 items. You 
remove the other two boxes — giving 
them to charity or your trash or recycle 
bin.
”
The third step? “Organizing your 
‘
keep’
 items by putting similar items 
together into piles to see if you have 
multiples or a surplus of a given item. 
Then you can further edit your pile, 
keeping the best in each category. There’
s 
no sense in keeping five potato peelers 
in your kitchen drawer, even if they are 
all good, and the same goes for items in 
every area in your home,
” adds Wolf, a 
member of Aish HaTorah Detroit. 
Lastly, the experts say put all your 
newly organized items back into the 
space, taking extra time to color-code 
and label everything if you are using bins 
or boxes. Remember, prime real estate 
in your home should be saved for the 
most often used items, Wolf suggests. 
“
And you should also make your space 
work for you, not the other way around. 
Always adjust shelving heights to what’
s 
workable for you. If your space has high 
shelves, get a step stool to keep near 
them. You’
ll be more likely to put your 
belongings away properly and stay orga-

nized that way.
” 
Stores like The Container Store, At 
Home and Organize-It are popping up 
all over Metro Detroit with aisles of orga-
nizers and closet accessories that inspire 
us to put stylish structure in every room. 
The experts say their personal favorite is 
still Target for the best selection of bins 
and organizing products. 
“
And Bed Bath & Beyond is another 
great go-to because of their selection and 
coupons,
” Wolf says. 
Whether it’
s a grand scale walk-in 

closet or a more moderate makeover, 
one thing that can’
t be denied is the diffi-
cult feelings that come up when it’
s time 
to de-clutter. 
“
A professional organizer can help take 
the emotion out of deciding what to keep 
and what to part with because they have 
no attachment to the items.
” Wise says. 
“We help clients make decisions and stay 
on track. It’
s so easy to get sentimental 
and distracted and not stay focused on 
your ultimate goal when doing it on your 
own.
” ■

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