Since we are in the garage looking at the turquoise door and the mini mudroom, I’ll show you the cubby storage that gets a lot of attention whenever we have a garage sale. Everyone comments on it! It was born from the different styles Wheels and I take toward storage — and a little desperation!
Wheels — and Bytes — and Bytes big brother — are visual people. They have to see something for it to exist. It’s literally out of sight out of mind! I am the polar opposite. Out of sight and in its place means it doesn’t get lost. They have piles here and piles there and they can reach in without hesitation and tease the hammer out from the bottom of a stack of tools. I tear my hair and will NEVER find that hammer. Because who puts a hammer in a pile of wrenches???? Really!
Then one day, Target had clearance on some shoe cubbies. A light bulb went off. They could see everything. But in little piles where I could find things. So the shoe cubbies came home with me and went on top of the 52 inch tall cupboards on the garage wall. There is a larger unit with 25 cubbies. It’s on the left. Two smaller units with 18 cubbies each are stacked on the right. Those cubbies are also smaller in size than the larger unit. A pre – made sorter for visual folks.
A short time later, Kraft started selling mayo in these cool oval plastic jars that fit perfectly in each cubby. They hold things like steel wool, hooks, batteries divided by size, locks and other small items. They are all labeled so if they end up on a different shelf, you can still see the label and know what you are getting. It was a real bummer when they switched back to round jars!
However, it didn’t take long for a problematic pattern to surface. The guys are WAY taller than I. You can guess where THEY put the tools they used most often!
So in the dark of night one night when I couldn’t reach a tape measure, I made some labels, climbed my trusty step stool and rearranged things. You can see the labels — the most crucial items that MOI uses. They can put the rest of the items — boxes of nails and screws, large size latex gloves, stud finders, and the like –in cubby storage wherever they want and feel free. I can reach the screwdrivers, tape measures, levels, sharps (knives, scrapers, etc), pliers and garden cutters I need and feel organized. I still find the hammer in the pile of wrenches but the little stuff is where it belongs!
Is that win-win or what?????
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