(Part 3) Top products from r/declutter

Strap in, this got kind of long! I hope it's useful to someone.

I too have the "need a lot of bins and boxes and whatnot" situation because of my and my partner's hobbies. I sew and crochet and embroider and work with leather, and he works with electronics and 3d printers and so on. We share a small (10' x 10') room for our workspace and all of our most commonly accessed supplies.

Being someone who gets fixated on ideas frequently, I suggest that you open up your search to other options other than interlocking boxes. The reason I say this is that I am surrounded by bins and have been working with various sized bins to access things for a long time and I am tired of them. The problem is similar to what many other posters have mentioned: Getting items out of the boxes (even if they are small) is an Ordeal, especially if you have multiple boxes out, or if the box is very full and hard to put back together.


In general, a rule of thumb is to think about how you'll put your item away rather than how you'll access it. When we want access to something, it doesn't seem like a big deal to undo bins, bags, boxes, slide heavy things around, etc. because we get a reward at the end (yay, it's the thing! shiny!). After that, the idea of undoing all that stuff seems like a pain in the arse, and we just don't want to do it? (and what if we might need another thing from that bin? So, consider how you'll put it away, rather than how you'll get it out when designing a storage solution.


So, I am now moving away from the lidded box approach and encouraging my partner to do the same. Having watched Adam Savage's video describing first order retrievability, I am moving in that direction (although not yet to his ninjery level). Here's the video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TWQAYfGxsPE.


I suggest the following types of storage for smaller objects. Bins still work OK for larger objects but someday I'd like to move away from that too.

• Akro-Mills Parts organization drawers. They come in many different sizes and types. They are durable, versatile, come with their own drawer dividers, they are wall mountable or usable on a desktop surface. We use these for all of the objects we reach for frequently for different applications (memory cards, bulldog clips, popsicle sticks, magnets, command hooks). https://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-10144-20-Inch-16-Inch-Hardware/dp/B003P2UOCO
  
  
• Stanley Organizer boxes. These boxes are extremely useful when you have a lot of tiny objects of different sizes to sort (like nuts, bolts and hardware or amigurumi eyes). There are bins in each storage thing that are fully re-arrangeable and removable - you can get several of these and customize each one to your needs and then pull out just the little bins you're interested in to work on. These have their place, but are best used as 'project' or 'many of one type' oriented storage https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-25-Removable-Compartment-Professional-Organizer/dp/B00005QWYF
  
  
• This video on using plastic bins as drawers. I did this for my two 4' workbenches and I love it. This allows me to quickly swap out project specific bins if I need to, and I now have the ease of access of drawers with the containerized pleasure of bins. I use these drawers every day for things like webbing and elastic storage, crochet hook storage, sewing machine accessories, sewing patterns, etc. I have currently taken to reserving one bin per workbench as a trash can and omg is that useful to have an in-table trash can - I'm thinking of drilling a hole in my benchtop so I can just swipe bits and pieces directly into the trash. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjyg6RWDlZw
  
  
• Pegboard / slat wall. I personally like the metal Wall Control brand because I have a love affair with magnets. I use this for thread storage (I can thread my machine directly from the wall, without moving spools around!), bobbin storage, clips, pins, tape that gets used daily (painters, duct, electrical, etc), instant access tools are mounted on magnetic bars attached to the board. I also stuck magnets on the back of a bunch of stuff (empty soup cans, plastic bins from the stanley boxes, thread locker, sewing machine oil, etc) and now I can just kind of throw those items at the board and they stick. Extremely efficient and functional. The various hooks and things are also highly useful. Comes in many different sizes and shapes (and colors!) with accessory kits optimized for different situations. https://www.amazon.com/Wall-Control-30-WGL-200GVB-Galvanized-Organizer/dp/B002LZSWFW
  
  
• A tool chest (even if you don't have "normal tools"). We use this for hand tools - it is really nice to have screw drivers, wrenches, utility knives and tape measures at our finger tips. Ours holds a ton of stuff, fits on our metro wire shelving perfectly, and has held up like a champ in the 3 years we have it. Also it's metal, so I can stick things to it with magnets. We have this one: https://www.amazon.com/Excel-TB2105X-Blue-26-Inch-Steel-Chest/dp/B002BETIQA

I have shelves, toolbox, and workbench along all of the walls that can fit them. Problem is, if I build along the sides of the garage then there isn't enough room to open the car doors (garage is pretty narrow for a 2-car). It's already pretty tight along the sides with lawn mower, roto-tiller, air compressor, etc. I do need to install pegboard over my work bench to hang tools, that will help free up a bit of space that I could then build some small shelves or drawers for smaller items.

I've seen the bike racks that go into the wall and actually used them at our previous house, I may have to take a trip to the hardware store and take a look. I also just found this for the bikes, I may try it out - may make for good winter storage at least.

Today:

• I ordered some makeup stuff from Ulta rather than going into the drugstore and going "oh, this is on sale? I should get it. this looks interesting, maybe I'll get this too" and then 2 weeks later wonder why I have literally 14 different lip balms
  
• I opted out of a free gift with purchase (a branded water bottle) with that Ulta order because lol I do NOT need another water bottle
  
• I talked myself out of the F21's STORE CLOSING sale I passed by because I knew it was going to be clothes that would last a year at most and even for 50% off it still wasn't worth it
  
• on a similar note, I requested two books from the library about having a smaller/sustainable wardrobe

I'm struggling with decluttering as well, so I can't offer a much advice. But, I can definitely recommend a pet hair eraser. I have a couple and they work great. Completely reusable and do a great job.

I get mine at my work, but any specialty pet store should have them, and they're fairly cheap. But here's what I'm talking about on Amazon as an example. https://www.amazon.com/Gonzo-Pet-Hair-Lifter-Furniture/dp/B000209Z2C/ref=sr_1_19?keywords=pet%2Bhair%2Beraser&qid=1550376734&s=gateway&sr=8-19&th=1

I highly recommend the book The Great Beanie Baby Bubble.

yeah it will change the way you physically see things, too. the decision making process of what items to start with, when you put them back, will be very telling. please update us on how it goes, i'd really like to hear!


and two links for you:

wabi sabi



arranging things: a rhetoric of object placement

I was pretty much on my way to being a hoarder when I finally changed. A couple of things came together for me that helped me. One, at work we all got trained in 5S methodology so I was forced to learn how to look at spaces and figure out how to organize them for maximum efficiency. At about this time I also went on antidepressants and started to feel more motivated to do something about the mess. Lastly I discovered this book. I don't think you have to have ADD to benefit from it.

One of the biggest revelations for me from my training was realizing that you shouldn't put things away for the sake of putting things away. Hiding a thing out of sight doesn't make life better if you have to use it often. You should put things you use frequently as close as possible to the place where they will be used. Mess happens when there's too much distance between where something's 'supposed' to go and where it feels 'natural' to have it.

Something like this? Storage 12 Totes

I know that you said that you rent, but is it okay if it still anchors to the wall? That's a lot of weight/stuff!

Akro-bins (NOT the clear ones) are probably the best bet BUT do you NEED to keep the stuff or is it more of an in case of.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000189CSM or https://www.amazon.com/Akro-Mils-8212-Stacking-AkroBins-Hardware/dp/B00002NB5I

This is my favorite decorating book. It gives very detailed instructions on how to decorate your home in a way that suits you. http://www.amazon.com/The-Meghan-Method-Step-By-Step-Decorating/dp/0982938705

By Terence Conran. Plain Simple Useful www.amazon.com/gp/reader/1840916559

> This is the amount of minis I've got and will need room for increase, thoughts?

Get... more storage doohickeys? At any rate, that's what I'd do. These cases are transparent, and they should stack nicely. They're only so deep, but the lid of the carrying case can hold larger items.

Other ideas:

A Hot Wheels case (problems -- not transparent, has obvious car motif, can't change the size of the cubbyholes)

An over-the-door Hot Wheels thing (problems -- not easily transportable to game sites, may squash delicate swords, etc)

I set and wear this around my neck to remind me to go down to deal with the laundry :)

And, you know, if you only have one set of sheets for each bed you have to do them right away ... Ditto with bath towels, etc. It may not be a strategy you want to try, but it's a stragegy.

It's a woman. She's coming out with a book:

https://www.amazon.com/Unf-Your-Habitat-Youre-Better/dp/1250102952?tag=smarturl-20

Sounds like Swedish death cleaning: my mom has gotten into it as of late -

nice summary article

the book on it

> Try not to overdo the containers. FlyLady has a take on containers that seems to mirror my experience -- that they work until you need something, then they get knocked over or opened up and spew mess everywhere.

Binders! Binders with clear sheet protectors (forgot the name of these)

My mom used to do this and I'm adopting it. I'd buy the sheet protectors first, organize everything and sort them. Then you can buy the right size binders.

I guess you could simply get a big binder and use dividers/separators in them to sort/categorize.

Always keep the negatives, you might want to print directly from them later. If you have color photos, printing them without the original negatives will suck since the digital file lacks the dynamic range of the negative. Perhaps try to consolidate them as much as possible, like getting all the negatives into one large dark box binder instead of the several ones you may have had for each year or semester. It doesn't take up that much space on a bookcase and the black boxes are pretty minimalist in design. I'm not too sure what one can do with prints and alt process material storage.

Edit;; I say this having lost my photos from my favorite project senior year. I lost the photos digitally due to hard drive failure, and physically from theft. It was crushing.

I hang worn clothes on a hanger in the closet but with one of these key tags on the hanger. I write 1, 2, 3, etc. to indicate how many times an item of clothing has been worn but anything could be written on them to indicate how worn a piece of clothing is or how dirty.