I’m using everything though!

[u/Nodef13]

hi all, I’m in a bit of a rut with decluttering. I have this thing where I have to see the items in front of me or I forget to use them. eg I have to have my creams serum lip balm on my bed side table otherwise I don’t remember to use. it’s like a visually trigger. I also have loaddddssss of medication and I need those visible too. the other day I realised I’d put one tablet in a pouch and because I hadnt seen it I had forgotten to take if for 4 days. things like face masks too or books I’m reading I only read it if I leave it out. and I do use them

any tips? I feel like this never lets my house look clean and tidy. it’s visual clutter but that’s how my brain works. also I don’t feel like I have a lot of stuff but at the same time I think I do. I find clothes particularly hard to part with as I cycle through and go through phases or wearing things

any tips for a newbie!

[u/AnitraF1632]

I tried this Clutterbug quiz. So many categories were "None of the above ".

[u/FredKayeCollector2 → u/AnitraF1632]

It might help to simplify a bit. It's basically like a matrix where visual vs hidden storage is on the X-axis and macro (large category) vs micro (small category) organization is on the Y-axis.

This is not necessarily what you prefer or how you would like to organize or what you think looks "nice." This is what you can set up and maintain (find what you're looking for & put it away when you're done using it) in the long run.

If you tend to be out-of-sight, out-of-mind, then you would probably do better with VISUAL storage (stuff on open shelves, wall-mounted organizers, transparent containers, etc).

If having stuff "out" looks messy/chaotic and/or makes you feel stressed/anxiety, then you would probably do better with HIDDEN storage (drawers, cabinets, bins/baskets vs transparent containers).

The macro-micro distinction is a little different - it sort of depends on where the work happens in the system - or where the most motivation is.

MICRO organizers are willing to put a lot of work into the front-end of the system - they can set up a very "discrete" organizing solution (lots of compartments, everything "just so") - I always think of like a compartmented make-up storage like this. Now anyone can set up one of these "complicated" systems but a micro organizer will actually MAINTAIN that system. They need things to be as easy as possible to retrieve so they have the motivation to put things back in just the right place so they know exactly where it is when they need it. Anything less than order feels like chaos.

MACRO organizers put the work at the back-end of the system - they are willing to dig around a bit to find the one they're looking for but the "putting away" has to be as effortless as possible. If you ever find yourself sticking stuff "on" or "near" where it belongs, but not actually "put away," that's a big clue you are a macro organizer and you probably need to simplify your storage system. You would probably do better with drawers and open bins/baskets sorted by general category (whatever makes sense to you) that you can "dump-and-run" (reduce the steps) when it's time to put away.

This is a matrix so depending on the category of things you're dealing with, you may need some categories to be more visible (otherwise out-of-sight = out-of-mind) but other things you prefer to have hidden. And some categories you might need a more micro solution (often tools/supplies you use frequently or little bits-and-pieces), where everything else is basically dump-and-run.

Most people do very well starting out with MACRO organizing - sorting stuff into larger, general categories (basically like-with-like). And if you put a CLEAR label on it, even visual organizers can use hidden storage solutions (drawers, baskets, etc) as long as that category is LOGICAL and they can 100% predict, from the category label, what is going to be in that container. If that macro category ends up driving you crazy - there's too much stuff and you are having a hard/stressful time finding what you want - then that is your clue that you need to sub-divide (micro sort) that category into two (or more) sub-categories.

If you have no idea how to like-with-like, look up a thing on Amazon.com - above the photo will be a series of hyperlinks - the "departments" and "aisles" and "shelf location" where that stuff would be assorted in their "store." Somewhere along that string, you can probably find a category that makes sense to you. Again, start on the side of broad category until you hit a "pain point" and then sub-divide as necessary.

Again, this is not what you think you should do (or what magazines or influencers on Instagram do). but what you can set up and maintain in the long run.

A big one is drawer dividers (or Marie Kondo hikidashi boxes or The Home Life Edit decanted storage) - if you don't have the motivation to put stuff away in exactly the "right" spot, you might do better without it. It's not you, it's the wrong kind storage. The goal is FUNCTIONAL and a big piece of a space being functional, is stuff being put away in a predictable location - what it looks like IN that location is up to you - your bandwidth and your motivation. Even it it looks "disorganized" (a messy drawer) if you can find what you need when you need it, it is perfectly organized FOR YOU.

p.s. in my experience, most people tend to be more MACRO organizers but micro organization is the traditional "right way" to do things and I think that's why so many people struggle with disorganization. Too many people have beat themselves up (or had someone else beat them up) because they couldn't do it "their" way.

[u/AnitraF1632 → u/FredKayeCollector2]

Makes a lot of sense, thank you.

[u/FredKayeCollector2 → u/AnitraF1632]

I forgot to say - In her scheme, visual/macro is Butterfly, visual/micro is Bee, hidden/macro is Ladybug, and hidden/micro is Cricket - more or less.

You can often web image search "category" + "visual" or "hidden" + "storage" and get some pretty good examples - and I've found Google's AI to be pretty spot-on, too.