Hello, Serenity: Adventures in Organizing

I just took the Storage Personality Quiz on Better Homes and Gardens’ website. Apparently, I’m what the good folks at BHG call The Librarian. This means that I am “Detailed and a task master,” “energetic,” and “A perfectionist, sometimes to a fault.” I’m going to have to agree with BHG on this one minus the energetic part! You can take the quiz by clicking here.

Baskets are a fantastic storage tool. Here are a few tips for picking a great storage basket:

1. Stick with four-sided. Square and rectangular baskets (and containers in general) fit better than round ones in a variety of spaces. Their clean lines make them look neater on their own or stacked with others.

2. Lids are king. Lidded baskets are stackable and conceal less attractive personal belongings. If you see one for a good deal, grab it and run!

3. Liners for linens. If you’re using a basket to store or display linens, make sure the basket is lined to keep dust out.

4. Don’t pay too much. You can get baskets for free or cheap. I snatch them from gift baskets delivered to my office (with permission from the boss). Another great place is Goodwill. I never pay more than $7 for a basket. Think outside the box (basket pun!).

THINGS
by John Wesley Brown

Things upon the mantle, things on every shelf,
Things that others gave me, things I gave myself.
Things I’ve stored in boxes that don’t mean much anymore …
Old magazines and memories behind the attic door …
. . Things.

Things on hooks and hangers, things on ropes and rings,
Things I guard that blind me to the pettiness of things.
Am I like the rich young ruler, ruled by all I own?
If God came and asked me, could I leave it all alone?

Oh Lord, I look to heaven beyond the veil of time,
To gain eternal insight that “nothing’s really mine,”
And to only ask for daily bread and all contentment brings,
To find freedom as your servant in the midst of all these things.

For discarded in the junkyard and rusted in the rain
Lie things that took the finest years of lifetimes to obtain.
And whistling through these tombstones, the hollow breezes sing
A song of dreams surrendered to the tyranny of things.

Hello, Serenity is my most recent endeavor towards bringing others bliss. By staying organized you save yourself time, money, and energy. After all, aren’t those the things that we all want more of? Say goodbye to chaos and hello to serenity…