Organizing

Originally published in the Ketchikan Daily News, December 2018; written by Lisa Pearson.

It’s Christmas Day. The presents are unwrapped; carols are playing on the stereo; you sit on the sofa with a cup of eggnog, watching the children sprawled across the floor playing with their new toys. And as you look around the living room, the traditional Christmas thought comes to mind: where are we going to put all this new stuff?

There are three approaches to post-holiday clutter. If you are blessed with plenty of storage space, and the new gifts can take care of themselves, you may only be interested in putting away the Christmas decorations. For this, I recommend “Get yourself organized for Christmas: simple steps to enjoying the season” by Kathi Lipp. The majority of this book is focused on getting organized before the holiday, but she finishes up with a chapter on picking up and laying an organizational foundation for the next year. For instance, if you stock up on bows during the after-Christmas sales, write a note on next year’s calendar reminding yourself not to purchase more.

You might also be someone who is reluctant to get rid of anything, and feels that the clutter can be managed with better organization and storage. Our new book “Organization hacks: over 350 simple solutions to organize your home in no time!” by Carrie Higgins has lots of great suggestions. Her storage-themed craft projects range from the simple (a self-adhesive magnetic strip on the inside of the medicine cabinet to hold loose bobby pins) to the more complex (making custom drawer dividers out of foam core board). My favorite project was creating compartmentalized trays for tree ornament storage: clear plastic cups glued on to sheets of cardboard, with each cup holding an ornament, arranged in layers in one of those ubiquitous plastic totes we all seem to have kicking around.

If you’re looking for more stylish storage solutions than plastic drinking cups and foam board, thumb through “Remodelista: the organized home” by Julie Carlson and Margot Guralnick. Their design aesthetic is very ‘Ikea’, and they try to avoid plastic as much as possible. The book has lots of photos and tips for creating a similar minimalistic look in your own home, as well as a gallery of essential storage gadgets and where they can be purchased. There is also an appendix of plastic alternatives and a guide to donating or selling unwanted items.

For those of you who feel that a few extra totes and hangers are not sufficient, and that your level of clutter has reached a critical point, we have books that offer a more in-depth approach. “Decluttering at the speed of life: winning your never-ending battle with stuff” by Dana White and “Real life organizing: clean and clutter-free in 15 minutes a day” by Cassandra Aarssen both take a motivational approach to cleaning. They help the reader take stock of their possessions, their lifestyle, and their willingness to change.

Aarssen sorts people into bug-themed organizational styles because we’re all clutterbugs, (get it?). Each style is then given a custom set of tips and tricks which work well with their personality. She includes checklists, planners, and goal sheets as well as photo examples. Her book is less about concrete steps to get organized, and more about the mindset you need to declutter. She makes a valuable point that – much like exercise – a few minutes a day of cleaning is better than avoiding it altogether.

Dana White’s book is very practical; it’s like having someone walk through your house with you, holding your hand as you get rid of those sweaters that were never flattering, those books you will never get around to reading, and those kitchen gadgets you will never use. This is a tough-love book and will make you think about whether you are really ready to clean out the clutter or whether you would rather stash it all under the bed and procrastinate until next Christmas.

Whatever your standards of cleanliness may be, the Ketchikan Public Library wishes you and yours a happy, stress-free holiday season. We will be closing at 3 pm on Christmas Eve and will re-open at 10 am the day after Christmas.