Different Spaces, Kindred Problems: Organzing Kitchens, Garages & Attics

It starts with one little box of knickknacks getting tossed into the garage or mismatched plastic containers and lids shoved into a pantry drawer. Then before you know it, you’re overrun and overwhelmed by the things you once thought precious and worthy of keeping tucked away in a kitchen cabinet, in the garage or in the attic.

Taking steps to organize what is of value, safely store what you need and eliminate what you never use helps ensure that the stuff you own doesn’t own you. It can also save time, helping you retrieve what you need, when you need it.

Kitchen

The combination of necessary and superfluous devices kept in the kitchen can make this popular room particularly challenging. Start by taking an honest look at what bowls, pots and cooking utensils are your go-to pieces. As a guide, Ellen Faye, owner of Ellen Faye Organization in Cherry Hill, New Jersey, and board member of the National Association of Professional Organizers, likes using the 80/20 rule: 80 percent of what we own is used 20 percent of the time, while the remaining 20 percent is used 80 percent of the time. “If you use one pan or bowl all the time, you don’t want it to be hard to get. If you use a certain platter or dish for Thanksgiving or special occasions only, you can put in a corner of the pantry or on a higher shelf,” Faye said.

Whether it’s that sloppy drawer loaded with food-storage containers or a cabinet piled with random mugs and glassware that threaten to tumble on the innocent guest who dares to open the door, tackle your kitchen’s stress areas by taking everything out and putting back only what you use all the time, Faye recommends. “Donate the things you never use. The ones you aren’t sure about, put them back -- but not in prime real estate,” she said.

When arranging cabinet shelves, start with the lowest one first, placing items of like size together, says Penny Gimbel, NAPO member and Scottsdale-based designer and organizer for Classy Closets. Then place the next shelf as close as possible above those items and so on. This helps maximize vertical space.

In an upper cabinet, place juice glasses and cups on the low shelves so you can reach the ones toward the back. Arrange the upper shelves 1 or 2 inches apart to store platters or serving trays. For her clients, Faye likes creating stations or zones for specific tasks. For example, if you like to bake, put all of your baking items in one cabinet. If you have coffee every morning, store filters, scoops and mugs in the cabinet right above the coffee maker.

As for that nightmarish Tupperware drawer, remove any container or lid that doesn’t have a matching partner and find another use for it or toss it, Faye says. Try to stick with one brand and only buy three or four sizes for simplicity and congruency. And if you like to treat your kitchen counter as a landing spot for mail and paperwork, Faye suggests designating a little spot for this by using a front-loading letter tray so “you have a place for all that kitchen paper clutter to go.”

More Quick Tips for Easy Organization

Penny Gimbel, Scottsdale-based designer and organizer for Classy Closets, offers some easy organizing tips to give you start in any room that needs an overhaul.

Purge: Take a look at what you have and figure out what you use regularly and what items you need to keep. Those that don’t make the cut can go into the trash or “donate” pile.

Think vertically: Consider bookcases, portable shelving that can store three or four shelves of cups or bowls in a tall kitchen cabinet, or hanging organizers that can go on the back of a door.

Plan before purchasing: Evaluate what needs to be organized and stored and the space that you have available before buying bins, shelving and other organizers. “Do not buy products ahead of time, so you buy only what you need and what will work in your home.”

Commitment: Reserve a Saturday morning, weekday evening or any block of time that works with your schedule and stick to it.

Focus: Instead of forcing yourself to complete the entire kitchen or garage in one day, pick one area of the room and really concentrate on it for an hour or two. “Don’t feel you need to organize everything all at one time. Focus on one area at a time and do it well.”

Garage

Often used for storing everything else but your car, this area of the house can easily be overrun with a hodgepodge of valuable tax documents and rusty tools that haven’t seen daylight in years, forcing you to park your pricey car outside.

Start by defining how you want to use your garage. Do you want to fit one or two cars in it, or are you OK leaving your car parked in the driveway? Once you have your desired storage space mapped out, determine what has value and what can be donated or discarded, says Amanda Thomas, founder of Moxie Girl Household Assistants, an organizing and cleaning company in Phoenix. “Get rid of the old paint, rusty tools and hinges for cabinets you don’t have anymore,” she said. “Those boxes that have been sitting in the garage unopened since you moved in six years ago? Don’t even open them. If you haven’t needed the stuff in six years, or one for that matter, you probably won’t before you move again.”

Store what you need in sturdy plastic bins with lids to keep dirt, moisture, bugs and other undesirables out, Thomas says. Group like items together, and label the boxes for easy retrieval. For example, holiday decorations in one box and loose screws, nails and bolts in another.

Keeping as much as possible off the ground will help avoid clutter and potential tripping over unseen boxes or piles. Thomas likes using wall-mounted racks, cabinets and even bike hooks for tools and equipment. “The less you allow on the ground, the neater you will keep the garage. Not a proven fact, but we see it help in all our clients’ homes,” Thomas said.

In cabinets with adjustable shelves, insert the back pegs one hole lower than the front ones so the shelves tilt backward, Gimbel says. “This way, you create a bin, and you haven’t spent any more money. Things like tennis balls and gift wrap don’t roll forward,” she said.

Attic

Just like the garage, this part of the house tends to be the catchall for important and rarely used items, plus those that we aren’t quite sure about but we keep around just in case.

The difference is, unlike the garage, this room tends to be neglected most of the year and visited only when you’re looking for an old high-school yearbook or the mysterious misplaced gadget that you can’t find downstairs.

Because of this, make sure what you store here is safe from pests, the sweltering summer heat and the freezing cold air in winter. Again, opting for strong plastic bins with secure lids accomplishes this task much better than cardboard boxes that easily deteriorate, Faye recommends. Place labels marking the contents on both sides for easy identification.

To maximize the space, Faye suggests looking at shelving systems designed specifically to go into rafters. Make sure the attic floor is properly supported before walking on it, and carefully check for weak spots or holes. If you have open insulation, Faye warns against placing anything directly on it. Install wood flooring over it to create more storage space. And a safety caveat: If you have fans or any kind of cooling or heating system up here, be sure that nothing is stored within a couple of feet of them.

When you have your storage area secured, Faye suggests lining the perimeter of the space, grouping like items together. “Put all of your Christmas things in one zone, baby things in one zone, mementos in another zone and all off-season clothing in another,” she said.

Because the attic tends to magnify the outside temperature, Faye tells clients to tackle this room when the weather is temperate and not extreme. “Do it in the spring or fall and not when it’s too cold or hot,” she said. “I hear people say all the time that they are going to go up there and clean out the attic this summer and it never happens because it’s too hot.” It may not be easy, but creatively using storage devices and streamlining your inventory will get your kitchen, garage and attic organized, safe and always under control.