Friends with Friends

One way to find your keys is to keep them with their friends

One of the most helpful principles in organizing is keeping “like” items together. It sounds simple – everyone can recognize similar objects, right? It can be a little trickier than that!

What makes items alike? Is it that they are the exact same type of object? For example, dirty clothes and clean clothes are alike because they are both things you wear, BUT we give them different homes–a hamper vs. a dresser– because one group is on it’s way to the laundry, the other is waiting to be worn.

This is an example of grouping items by their function rather than just their similarity.

When a client holds up an object and says, “I don’t know where I should put this!” Our first response is often “Where are its friends?”

“What other objects does this object like to hang out with?”

Here are a few examples:

• Sunglasses: if they get used regularly their closest friends are keys and a purse – not other sunglasses
• Kid’s art projects: once they are completed, don’t want to hang out with the art supplies; their friends are other things on display or other memorabilia
• Plastic ware: the piles of extra utensils are best kept with picnic & party supplies. Their friends would be coolers, paper plates & cups, not the everyday silverware
• Stamps: they are a type of sticker but it’s closest friends are envelopes and return address labels

Bring more harmony into your home by making it easy for friends to live together. Look around your house – what are 3 things that could be re-united with a better friend group?