A Professional Organizer Suddenly Gets the Urge to Empty Everything Out
Spring is just around the corner! It’s sudden, but it’s the season for tidying up!
The end of February is approaching...
It’s a season when changes come to family life, such as moving up a grade, entering school, job transfers, and moving house.
As a professional organizer, this is the time of year when I start feeling restless, thinking, 'I want to tidy up for March and April! I have to!'
My home is no exception; with my children about to move up a grade and enter school, I went into 'children's room tidying mode.' ...Or at least I was supposed to, but for some reason, that’s exactly when I started worrying about the kitchen pantry.
After all, the snacks we received over the New Year holidays had settled down, and I had been thinking, 'Is it about time to organize?'
Then, to top it off, my husband suggested, 'Why don't we tidy this up?' The moment I thought, 'You're right!', more and more places started bothering me. Since it had come to this, I decided, 'Let's start by tidying the pantry!' and so...
Emptying everything out = Be prepared for the sheer volume of items
...Once you've decided to empty everything out, here is what you must do first!
If you run out of steam halfway through, it will be a disaster, so don't just start on impulse!
1. Secure time
When tidying up a large storage area, you need a certain amount of uninterrupted time.
It is best to do this when you can secure several hours or more, such as on a weekend or while the children are at school.
2. Secure space
You also need space to sort through everything you've taken out. You aren't just taking things out one shelf at a time, after all. Since you are taking everything out from end to end, you need more space than you might expect.
Once you steel yourself and actually take everything out, you will be surprised, thinking, 'Wait, there was this much in here?' Things that had been sleeping in the back of the storage will come out one after another.
This is the real thrill of emptying everything out, and also the beginning of a long battle.
Sorting and reviewing storage—now that it's empty, it's the perfect chance
Since you've gone to the trouble of taking everything out, this is the time to thoroughly clean the inside of the storage!
Even if you think you keep it clean on a regular basis, pantries often end up surprisingly dirty with dust or spilled seasoning powder.
This applies not just to the pantry, but everywhere; consider this the perfect opportunity to reset and get it clean.
And then, the professional organizer encounters the 'common occurrences' of emptying out the kitchen.
・Items past their expiration date
・Items left with the seal open
・Items with no expiration date written anywhere
I'm always mindful of these things, but somehow they just appear from somewhere.
The golden rule is to sort these as soon as you notice them. Basically, dispose of anything past its expiration date. However, if you feel it's a 'waste,' set a deadline, such as by tomorrow or within a week, to consume them. If you still can't finish them, let them go gracefully.
Another benefit of emptying everything out is that you can review your storage!
Even storage you once decided was 'the best' can become difficult to use over time.
My home is the same. My daughter has started making sweets more often, so I have many things to reconsider, such as where to store the ingredients and how to sort the stock.
That is precisely why it is important to rethink the optimal storage for 'the current me and my current family' at the time of emptying everything out.
For example, for a pantry:
・Put items everyone uses often in an easy-to-reach place
・Make stock easy to grasp at a glance
・Put items used less frequently on the back or top shelves
Emptying everything out is hard if you do it on impulse, but if you proceed with the right steps, the quality of your storage will improve significantly.
It may just be emptying everything out, but it's a big deal!
Not limited to the pantry, you can make new discoveries by occasionally 'emptying out' your closets or your children's school supplies.
Is it 'storage that fits your current life'? This is the perfect chance to review that! That is what emptying everything out is!
If you get the urge to empty everything out, don't start on impulse. First, make a plan.
By doing so, you should be able to achieve more comfortable storage!
Where will you 'empty out'?
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