Day 1: An Address Book for my Storage

Ok, I have decided to try to do at least one small thing each day to get better organized and to write about it. I figure that if I commit to writing about it, then maybe I will be more likely to follow through. Since moving back from Memphis, I have been doing small things to organize. I just haven't been that consistent with it.

My first piece of organization is to be able to find the things that I have stored. If life were perfect for me, I would be able to see everything that I need at first glance. However, now I have much too much stuff to be able to do that so I need to use a storage system that actually stores things out of sight. My problem with that has always been that whenever something is put away "in a safe place", I can never remember where I put it.

Here is my solution. I commandeered an old address book from my nephew. He wasn't really using it anyway. In this address book, I am going to write the "address" of each of my items or collection of items. That way when Christmas comes around next year, I will be able to use the Christmas pencils that I bought on clearance and promptly lost once spring got here. I can also group all of my things together that are alike and won't have small stashes all over the house.

To make things easier on myself, I am going to cross-reference in my address book. For example, this past fall, I dressed up as Miss Haversham from Great Expectations. I have stored my costume with my summer clothes underneath the steps in the laundry room. I will list the location under: Miss Haversham, Great Expectations, book characters, costume, and wedding. Sometimes I am bad at remembering the correct name for something. I never know which one of these things I will remember first so I can just put it under each spot.

Now I just have to have a good place to keep it so that I can find it when I need to find it.