Organizing isn't rocket science--in fact, it's not really a science at all, but rather more of an art. With an understanding of the basics of the organizing process, many people find it relatively easy to get and stay organized. This week's article, then, kicks off an occasional series that will outline these basics, including smart strategies for sorting and weeding and how to pick the best organizing supplies. First up: how to decide where things should go.

Why it matters
Clients often confess that they feel lazy or inadequate because they can't keep their home or office organized. When we start looking at the stuff that tends to cause clutter, I always ask where each thing goes, and that's when the truth comes out: much of it doesn't have a home, so putting things away becomes a daunting, if not seemingly impossible, task. One very simple bottom line about this work is that spaces that look and feel disorganized often look and feel that way because they're full of things that don't belong there; bringing calm and order to those spaces, then, involves finding or creating homes for these roaming items. Put plainly, you can't put something away if there's no "away" for it to go to. Creating logical, convenient, sufficient storage for things throughout your home or office, then, is a critical step in getting organized.

Where do I use it?
Deciding where things go can be tricky, but a few basic questions can help simplify the process. First, ask yourself where you most commonly use each item you're trying to find a home for. Ideally, aim to store things as close as possible to where you use them so it's easy to pull them out when you need them and put them back when you're done. This means that in the kitchen, for example, you'd keep pots and pans close to the stove and sponges and dish soap close to the sink. In an office, supplies you use regularly--such as a stapler and pens--belong within arm's reach when you're sitting at your desk; items you use less frequently are best kept elsewhere so they don't clutter your main workspace.

What else is like it?
One of the most basic organizing tenets is "like with like": keep similar items together in the same spot. When deciding where something should go, ask yourself if you have anything else like it, and aim to put these related things together. For example, when considering where to store quilting supplies, ask yourself if there are other craft materials (sewing kits, scrapbooking supplies, and so on) elsewhere in the house; if so, store everything in the same general area. That way, you'll know that when you're looking for a craft supply (no matter what the craft), you're likely to find it in one particular spot.

Keeping like things together not only reduces the number of places you need to look when you're searching for something, but also makes it easy to see at a glance how much of something you have. If you have canned goods in several different cabinets in the kitchen, for example, you're more likely to buy something you already have (but couldn't find) than you'd be if all of your cans were in the same spot.

How often do I use it?
When I work with clients to organize their spaces for maximum efficiency, one of the things I ask about each item is how often it's used. Clients are often amazed to realize that they rarely touch the stuff taking up space in their easiest-to-reach closets, cabinets, and drawers, while things they use all the time are hard to get to. Before you give something a home, then, ask yourself how often you use it. Those items you reach for again and again--clothes you wear weekly, the wooden spoons you use when cooking dinner each night, the books you read to your kids all the time--should occupy the most valuable "real estate" in the room: the center of your closet, the drawer closest to the stove, an easily accessible bookshelf. Things you pull out a few times a year, such as special occasion cookware or dishes, belong in out-of-the-way spots so you won't have to fuss with them on a daily basis.

How big is it?
Finally, ask yourself how much storage you need to stash each item efficiently and effectively. Trying to shoehorn a large item into a small space will make it difficult to pull the thing out when you need it and equally difficult to put it back, decreasing the chances that you'll do either. And stashing small things in large spaces not only wastes potentially valuable storage, it also makes it more likely that the items will get lost in the vastness of the space. Look for spaces that comfortably fit what you need to store. Be sure to gather like things together before determining how much storage space you need so you won't run the risk of choosing a cabinet that doesn't fit all of your pots and pans, for example, or selecting a bookshelf that's not quite large enough for all of your books.

Choosing smart storage spots for things in your home or office is an important step in creating an organizing system that will work for you long-term. Take the time to ask yourself these questions when establishing storage locations to be sure the spots you choose are convenient, effective, and efficient.