Professional organizers, me included, often write about having multiples of one item causing clutter. That can be true if you’re not using all of them due to lack of need, and organization.
Each item you own needs to be assigned a home, but sometimes homes can be in various places, confused? Let me explain. There are some instances where multiples of one item are needed because you use them in more than one location. This concept can be a time saver.
Multiples of one item such as reading glasses, may be used in different rooms in your home at different times. Likewise, you want to have a pair in your purse and at work. If you only have one pair, and you use them in different rooms, you will be spending extra time retrieving the one pair that you have from it’s assigned home. Most likely in another room.
There is the very important concept of putting things back where they belong…in their assigned homes. This is part of the maintenance component of the organizing process. There is however, nothing that says you can’t assign a different home for each one of the multiples of one item. Use them where you store them.
I’ve seen this concept in the homes of family, friends, clients, and even my own. Look at where you are when you use an item to determine how many multiples of one item that you need. Reading glasses are just one of many items where this idea makes sense.
Scissors is another example of an item that may be used in various rooms in your home. I have a pair in the kitchen, a pair in my office, in the bathroom and in my bedroom. I have a need to use scissors in all of these rooms at some time or another. They all have an assigned home in each room, I know where to find them, and I put them back where they belong when I’m finished using them.
Using this strategy will save time as mentioned above, and will eliminate clutter. The multiples of one item in your home have a purpose and assigned homes, so you know where to put them when finished, which is a good organizing strategy.
What other multiples of one item do you have in your home?
