Imagine getting late to a super important meeting because you can’t find one sock. Or think of a recipe you could have outdone if you hadn’t forgotten where you kept the red chili spice. Sounds unsettling, right?
We all like things in place and crave organization when it comes to our everyday life routine. Keeping everything organized saves us not only sweat but also time. Knowing exactly where a particular item allows us to maintain the flow of tasks and provides us the time to be more productive.
The question is, how do you organize hundreds of different items you need every day? The key is: categorizing.
The Steps To Categorizing Household Items
To be your partner in the process, we have prepared a guide to categorize household items. Run through the steps and declutter out.
1. SORT Your Belongings
The first step should be to sort while organizing any place, whether a room, store, or pantry. Alongside the literal meaning of sorting, S.O.R.T is an acronym used to aid the process of organizing. Here is how:
- Stay: This is about the items you want to keep while decluttering.
- Offload: The items you do not want to keep but are good enough to either sell or giveaway.
- Relocate: Moving items to their specific storage space like a coat to your wardrobe.
- Trash: Getting rid of things that are no longer in use and can’t be recycled or given away.
To go about SORTing, either use boxes by naming them from S to T or assign different corners in your room to each. The key here is to decide what to keep and what no longer serves you.
Pro Tip: Focus on one place at once. If you have many places to take control, don’t overwhelm yourself by jumping into them all. Get done with SORT-ing one room at once.
The sole reason why our drawers are overflowing is that we can’t let go of old, unnecessary items. The process can be overwhelming but stay focused and not let the charm of your belongings carry you away.
2. Group Similar Items
Once you’ve sorted your belongings and given away or trashed what you no longer need, it is time to get to the real task. We bet the items that you’d decide to keep will look no less than a piled-up pyramid. But fret not; grouping always helps.
In this step, you need to divide items according to their specifications. For example, keep clothes in one group and plastic items in another.
In the same manner, organize hair accessories and make-up separately. Using an organizer to keep these small items is recommended. Read on DIY Building Tools if you want to create one.
Once done, you can further divide the groups into subgroups. For example, from clothes, make a separate group for tops and separate for bottoms.
Grouping out items will set a picture of which item belongs where, which requires how much space, and which ones you are looking to have a face in your den. You’re almost there.
3. Categorize Items
Feel like coming a long way? Don’t worry; the destination will be better than the journey.
You are almost on the last task, performing which will give you ease for months to come. Once everything’s sorted and grouped, your final decision is to categorize household items. You have multiple options, choose how you want to organize your items.
- By Functionality
This is the top priority when you set out to organize your household; all you want is things in their place.
Relocate groups to their designated places. For example, mouth care, hair care, and body luxuries go in your bathroom. Don’t let your hair color lie on your dressing table.
- By User
Don’t want your sister to steal your dearest dress for a party? You definitely need to categorize by the user.
If you live in a shared space, choose this approach to separate items for each member. We hope you will not end up looking for your shorts in your nephew’s rompers.
- By Color
If you have an art corner, or tons of art supplies lying around, doing this should be the choice. Not only does it help locate your shades, but the place looks aesthetically pleasing.
- By Place
Items that are poles apart are the best separated. Take your tools to the garage and the cans to the pantry. Categorizing by similarity is the most practical way to set a neat space.
Having an Organized Home Through Categorizing
Every item in your household has a specific space in your home. Categorizing is also your friend when it comes to managing the space, especially if you have a small room or limited area. To not lose your nerves in the moment, you should organize your space efficiently.