the washington post
.thursday, march
5
,2020DC10
Home
Jane Francis-
co, editorial
director of
Hearst Life-
style and edi-
tor in chief of
Good House-
keeping,
joined staff
writer Jura
Koncius last
week for our Home Front online
chat. Here is an edited excerpt.Q: Do you have any ideas for
how to handle your uglier
toiletries? I am struggling to
organize ugly bottles, cotton
balls, products still in the box,
etc. I want to find a solution
where the ones I use daily are
near the mirror where I get
ready, and the rest can go
elsewhere.
A: Stash items in decorative
boxes, and put cotton balls or
swabs in glass jars or ceramic
cups. Decant shampoos or
lotions into prettier (or simpler)
containers. Hide ugly items on a
high shelf where they can’t be
seen, and discard or recycle
product boxes. You could even
remove unattractive labels
from bottles or tubes that
stay out. I f you have a linen
closet in or near your bathroom,
you could put items that get less
use into a bin on one of its
shelves.Q: Do you have any tips to
declutter a garage? Gone are the
days when homeowners bought
every tool; I think there should
be places that loan tools out.
What do I do with 20 years’
worth of hammers, screwdrivers
and boxes of nails and screws?
A: Some libraries allow you to
sign out anything from a power
tool to a kitchen appliance. They
take donations from the
community, and then they lend
those items out. There are also
apps specifically designed to
help lend and keep track of
items, such as i Lend, Lend Me It
and Borrow It. There’s even one
for tools called MyShed.Q: Now that both parents are
deceased, there will be four
adult siblings cleaning out
65 years of accumulation in our
parents’ home to get it ready for
sale. What advice can you give
for how to accomplish this,
hopefully in a week? Do we go
through each room together?
A: Depending on your family
dynamics, there are probably
many ways to approach thistask. Each of you could take a
room and create piles and boxes
of items in the following
categories: keep, sell, donate
and discard. Then, lead the
others through your room and
selections to ensure everyone
has input.Q: How can I organize a few
hundred family photos from
when my adult children were
little? I hate putting them in
albums, and I don’t know much
about digitizing.
A: I recently did this for my
family. I had both of my siblings
help when they had time. To
start, I sorted images by setting
aside ones that weren’t of family
members or close friends. Then,
I made piles based on groupings
of subjects. For instance, all of
my dad’s family in one pile,
mom’s family in another, family
portraits in another and
separate piles for me and my
siblings. I hired a digital image
specialist who does photo
scanning and restoration in myarea. The advantage to pre-
organizing was that I received
the digital pictures back in
folders that corresponded with
my groupings. I preferred using
a local service so I could drop
pictures off in person. My
experience was grueling, but it
was totally worth it. We had a
family reunion last summer and
showed off the collection in a
slide show.Q: I have learned through
experience that it doesn’t matter
how “organized” anything is if it
isn’t extremely easy to put
things away. If my coat doesn’t
hang right by the door, it goes
on the sofa. I’ll get things out
because I want to use them, but
any system that requires me to
expend effort to put them away
is doomed. My husband is the
same way. H ow can we set up
our house to accommodate this
weakness without just keeping
everything in laundry baskets
next to the sofa?
A: I love hooks, and it soundslike they could work for you.
There are so many different
styles that it’s even fun to shop
for them. You can get different
styles and sizes for different
parts of the house. I have put
hooks in the bedroom,
bathroom, mudroom and front
hall — even in the hall outside
my bedroom for hanging outfits
while I get ready. Plus, the
3M Command hooks can
quickly be installed and are
easily moved or removed.
Good Housekeeping’s executive
editor swears by putting baskets
in entryways for items such as
socks, hats and gloves.Q: What are some techniques
for organizing fresh vegetables
when the cooler drawers are
small?
A: I use clear glass and plastic
containers for vegetables and
fruit. They’re stackable and easy
to clean. They’re a great way to
see what you have, and you can
keep a small amount of water in
the bottom to keep organics
crisp. But don’t forget that some
fruits and vegetables —
potatoes, tomatoes, citrus,
peppers, garlic, onions, bananas,
cucumbers, zucchini — fare
better outside the fridge.Q: Our home has an open
pantry wall, and although I
know it’s not realistic to
imagine myself decanting
vinegars and oils into pretty
bottles and repackaging
everything in matching Mason
jars, I have to admit that the
wall is complete visual, branded
chaos. Any tips?
A: Decanting is ideal for open
shelving. Perhaps having jars on
hand will make it easier. Mason
jars are fairly affordable and go
with most kitchen styles. Use
wire bins for cans, baskets for
loose items and taller canisters
for pastas, cereals and snacks. If
you can spend an afternoon
planning, this could be easier
down the line and will make you
happier with your shelves.Q: We have a truly tiny kitchen
with limited storage and
counter space. What are your
favorite visible storage methods
for items such as pots?
A: I’m a big fan of any kind of
hook, but it depends on what
works best in your kitchen. A
pegboard, which you could
paint the same color as your
wall to blend seamlessly into
your small space, could be
magic. I also really like ceilingpot racks because they’re handy
if you spend a lot of time in the
kitchen, but sometimes they
overwhelm a small room. Put
little shelves wherever you can
fit them.Q: Any ideas for organizing
scarves? The ones I use for the
winter are draped over hangers
and jackets. I also have some in
my closet, and I’m not sure how
to organize them. I’ve seen
special hangers for them with
holes, but I’m not a fan.
A: You’re already doing one
thing I would recommend:
hanging each scarf over the
corresponding jacket or coat.
You could also roll them up and
keep them in a bin in the coat
closet or use hooks. I like Ikea’s
shoe storage bins.Q: I have two closets that are
mostly storage for my children,
two recent college graduates
who lack space in their
apartments. But in each closet,
the storage is a mix of items
such as out-of-season clothes,
sports stuff, books, etc. What is
the best way to store and
organize these items?
A: You could put a small
bookshelf in the closet so you
can hang clothing while putting
other items into bins and/or
onto shelves. Vacuum-sealed
bags might also help with out-
of-season clothes.Q: How many of your kids’
childhood items such as clothes,
toys and books should you save
in an archival box?
A: This is intensely personal.
Tr y to imagine what you might
do with these items as your kids
age. Will you display them?
Show them off to their children?
One thing I have done is
photograph our most cherished
items, then pass them along to
other kids. I framed two of my
son’s hand-knit baby sweaters,
and they now hang in our
hallway.Q: I have spent lots of time
organizing, but I forget where I
put the items that I’ve
organized. How do I file things
so I can find them again?
A: Labels, labels, labels! They’ve
saved me many times.
[email protected] Also at washingtonpost.com
read the rest of this transcript and
submit questions to the next chat,
Thursday at 11 a.m., at
live.washingtonpost.com.LIVe Q&AGood Housekeeping editor Jane Francisco gives tips for organizing
MiKe GarTen
To make things easy to put away, Jane Francisco suggests using
hooks in different styles and sizes throughout the home.Jane
Francisco