Bin There

I love walking through Ikea and seeing all of the staged rooms with things stored neatly for all to see. It would be nice to live in a world where books all fit perfectly on our shelves, and all of our odds and ends stacked neatly. Clear containers make any room look like an old fashioned candy store. 

But the reality is that some of us just need a place to hide things. 

Organization is about putting things in categories. Categories bring calm. But it doesn’t mean that the category itself has to be picture-ready. In my office closet, I have a cubby shelf with four bins. Each bin is labeled: Office Supplies, Wires, Computer Accessories, Tools. It looks great, if I do say so myself. Then you pull out the bin…

It’s not like the boogie man pops out, but it can be a scary sight. But, no matter the mess, I know which bin to go to depending on whether I need an extension cord, an external hard drive, a screwdriver or a paper clip. 

My point is, if the bin gets out of control, it’s okay. This is not a failure — it’s just the sign of a busy life! Bins can be decluttered, reorganized and cleaned during a rainy afternoon while binging Netflix. Just make sure they’re categorized, and guess what? You’ve “bin” organized!