31 Days of Organizing Tips: Day 5 (Like With Like)

Welcome to Day Five of the 31 Days of Organizing Tips series!  Throughout this series I’ll be sharing organizing ideas to help you on your journey from overwhelmed to organized. 

Today’s tip is to group like items together when you organize. This is a great method to help you move from overwhelmed to organized!

Grouping like with like helps you find what you’re looking for quickly, rather than searching for things you’ve stored in different places. It also helps you see how much you have of a particular item so you know when to stock up or when you have multiples of an item. You’ll also be able to put things away quicker as well.

So grouping like with like saves you time and money. Who couldn’t use more of each of those?

Here are some ideas for inspiration:

1. Playrooms: group balls, cars, blocks, play food, etc.

Source: One of Hilda’s Clients

2. Junk drawer: group tools, pens, paper clips, stamps, etc.

Source: https://www.realsimple.com/how-to-declutter-your-junk-drawer-8408296

3. Medicine cabinet: group Band-Aids, cough drops, medications, ointments, etc.

Source: http://www.simpleorganizedliving.com/2011/10/14/storing-and-organizing-your-prescriptions/

4. Sewing room: group colours of fabric, lace, buttons, thread, etc.

Source: One of Hilda’s Clients

5. Pantry: group side dishes, pasta, soup, cereal, snacks, etc.

Source: http://www.abowlfulloflemons.net/2012/09/home-organization-101-week-3-pantry.html

Please pin any of these pictures from the original source and not from this post.  Thanks!

These examples show how much easier it is to find what you’re looking for. Also it’s easier to know how much you have of something when they are grouped together with other similar items. During the sorting and decluttering stage, when you see how many multiples you have of certain items, it may help you let go of some of them.

For Day Five, go back to your organizing project that you chose earlier this week and look at the items you decided to keep after you de-cluttered.  Look at all your items, determine the best categories, and group like items with each other.

Do you normally group similar items with each other?  Which area of your house lends itself best to this step in organizing?  What is the best organizing tip you’ve implemented?

If you need help decluttering or organizing, contact me for in-person organizing services in the Mississauga area, or virtual organizing services anywhere else.

Happy organizing!