Not only is disorganization visually confusing, but it also wastes so much time and energy because you can't find what you need, when you need it. That's why I'm a huge fan of the Organizational Triangle, a powerful system that helped me get back control of my home.
If, like mine, your house has 'disaster zones' where clutter breeds, such as a junk drawer, laundry 'chair', or even endlessly messy kitchen counter, the Organizational Triangle is a must try decluttering tip.
Taming the mess has many benefits, not just for the functionality of your home and storage spaces, but for your mental well-being and sense of peace.
What is the Organizational Triangle?
The Organizing Triangle changed the dealing-with-mess-at-home game for me, and according to professional organizer Andrew Mellen, this handy system is built on three main principles:
- One home for everything: There must be a special place for everything so that there is no 'wandering object' that creates or builds clutter.
- Group similar items together: Categorize the same things together. This makes your storage ideas work better for you, and makes finding things much easier.
- Something in, something out: That's the 'equilibrium' principle. For every new item you bring into your home, eliminate something of similar value.
Testing the ‘Organizational Triangle’ method at home
As someone who gets stressed out by clutter and anxious when unable to find things, it becomes overwhelming for me when I am not able to make sense of the space around me.
I decided to tackle three key areas at home that had become cluttered and disorganized and in need of desperate help to restore order in my life.
1. My kitchen drawers
To tackle my first ‘disaster zone,’ I went through my kitchen storage ideas and pinpointed my utensil drawer, an area that would benefit from the Organizational Triangle approach.
Over the years, my collection of utensils and cooking equipment has grown with my interest and passion for cooking, resulting in a never ending selection of knives and spices. Learn more about organizing your spices in our dedicated guide.
As stated in the principles of the Organizational Triangle, my first step was to remove everything from the drawer and separate the items into chosen, logical categories. Just by simply removing and grouping items together, I immediately found duplicates of the same product – three jars of Chinese 5-Spice, and four spatulas!
Organizing my clutter into categories helped me immediately see where I'd been going wrong. Now, the groupings have helped me find what I need quickly when cooking, instead of of blindly searching for it or worse, giving up and buying another one and ending up with duplicates.
All prices correct at time of publication.
Use these food-safe contract grade organizers to sort out your kitchen drawers. Group items into categories so that everything has a home to be returned to after every use. This will make the drawer more functional, and help avoid duplicates.
2. My pantry
One of the first things that drew me to my apartment prior to moving in, was the large amount of pantry storage space it had to offer. However as we all know, the more space you have, the more stuff you buy to fill it.
From cooking sauces to condiments, my pantry soon turned into a dumping ground for all things non-perishable. Again, I was left in situations where I couldn’t find a certain ingredient so I either had to change recipes or go out to the store and buy another one.
To tackle this mess, I invested in a number of organizers to help categorize and group things together. Using storage baskets properly and investing in proper storage containers freed up vital shelf space and allowed me to clean the pantry more effectively. There are some speedy pantry cleaning viral hacks you can try for that.
Use a Lazy Susan to keep sight of things at the back of your pantry. This hand-wash-only spinner comes in 6 diameters to help fit your shelves and can be purchased in a two-tier version to make use of any wasted vertical space.
Clear storage containers will help you visually keep track of what is in your pantry. Group items together such as baking goods, snacks or pastas and label the containers to help family or household members keep to your new system.
Get yourself in the organizing mood with this nifty label maker. It's portable, has blue-tooth to make label creation double-easy and is a top seller on Amazon.
3. My bathroom cabinet
The third and final space I tried the Organizational Triangle method was my bathroom cabinet. Filled to the brim with toiletries, make-up and lotions, this space was a nightmare to live with, especially when it came to packing for vacations.
To start, I emptied the cabinet of all its items and separated them into two main categories: face and body. From there, I looked over each item individually and discarded anything that had expired or that I didn't use or like.
Once my collection of products was consolidated, I stored the remaining supplies into wicker storage baskets from Amazon. I chose open top ones so I could pull them out easily and access what I need, or check in the future before buying a new item that I didn't already have it.
This now keeps the items in my bathroom storage idea clearly displayed and easy to retrieve. This change has been the most satisfying as I no longer have to spend five-minutes trying to locate a new shampoo or conditioner in a sea of hand lotions and face products.
My verdict
I found using the Organizational Triangle effective as it has allowed me to store and manage my belongings in a more optimized fashion instead of feeling suffocated and overwhelmed when decluttering. It has also made me mindful to remove an item before, or just as I bring in, a new one to stop these spaces I have tackled overflowing again.
Ultimately, the Organizational Triangle is less about perfection and more about creating a livable space that doesn’t require a treasure map to navigate. Try it out for yourself and you'll be amazed by how much easier it will be to keep your home chaos free with this organizing idea.
How you can try the Organizational Triangle at home
To easily implement the Organizational Triangle in your home, Forrest Webber, founder of Bear Brothers Cleaning has shared an easy-to-follow step by step.
- Pick your space: Seek out vital areas where stuff has taken up permanent residence and is a constant source of clutter, mess or dysfunction.
- Divide and conquer: Sort the items in it by category and rid yourself of duplicates by donating or selling, and discard of expired products.
- Designate an official home: Do this for everything using minimalist-approved storage solutions and make the new system obvious as possible so it can be easily maintained. Walmart has lots of storage options.
- Label: These serve as little reminders for your household and help others use the new storage organization as it was intended.
- Stick with it: Consistency is critical, otherwise, we’re just playing hide and seek with our belongings again.
Forrest Webber adds two pro tips, reminding us to start small and be brutal, explaining, 'Don't try to tackle your entire house at once. Pick a drawer, a cabinet, or a closet and focus on implementing the three principles there. Also, don't be afraid to eliminate things that no longer serve you. Remember, less is truly more.'
Next, delve into H&G's decluttering library, where we have tested out dozens of methods to bring you the ones we love the most.
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