I am such a sucker for the latest and greatest home organization movement. When Marie Kondo had her 15 minutes of fame with a Netflix series last year (or was it the year before?) I dove in headfirst. I emptied every closet and purged all the things that didn’t bring me joy. Let me tell you, it was a lot. I even bought her book. I made it about halfway through before my excitement petered out. I do still fold my clothes and hand towels using the Konmari fold though.
Then, last week, I saw the commercials on Netflix for “Get Organized with The Home Edit.” I couldn’t contain my excitement. I actually kind of ditched my husband to watch it. And I have to admit, it really did not live up to my expectations. Overall, I thought the whole show was bragging about meeting celebrities and made up last minute, panic type drama. Combine that with the literal thousands of dollars they must spend on clear storage bins each episode and it really left a lot to be desired.
BUT I am not one to be discouraged! I disregarded all of the things I felt were fake and annoying about the show and tried to find the things I could apply to my life and my house that wouldn’t cost an arm and a leg in clear plastic storage bins. I decided to start small.
The closet under our stairs has a bunch of shelves in it. The bottom shelf is where our preschooler keeps (well, kept) his board games, card games and arts and crafts supplies. Considering he had to climb around the vacuum to get to the shelf and he’s 3, you can imagine what a giant disaster that shelf was. I wish more than anything I’d remembered to take a picture.
In the kitchen we have two sets of cabinets on the backside of our peninsula. When we moved in, we designated one of the cabinets a “board game cabinet” and put all of our grownup (and frankly, rarely played) board games in one of the cabinets.
I came up with the brilliant idea to swap the preschool stuff with the adult board games. GAME CHANGER (no pun intended). Now, we have a “zone” for preschool stuff that doesn’t require climbing over a vacuum.
It’s been about a week since I made the swap and let me tell you, it was totally worth the 30 minutes I spent moving things around. The games are just as neglected in their new home under the stairs and my preschooler is OBSESSED with his cabinet. He loves having a space for all of his toys and he knows where to find everything. Plus, they’re all at eye level so I don’t have to help him find things (as much… he’s still a typical 3 year old). It’s also been great for family bonding. I think he forgot he had games like Candy Land, so it’s been fun to play games together again.
What did you think of the show? Have you edited your home since watching?