I am so happy to introduce Johnny Farris, otherwise known as The Organized Dad, as the very first guest blogger for More Organised! I’ve been following Johnny on Instagram  since the beginning of last year, and I love his practical and straightforward approach to organising. In this post, Johnny shows us how to organise all the small pieces of DIY hardware around the home – and in doing so, shares his basic approach to organising just about anything. Over to Johnny!

Organising the little things

In this case, DIY hardware. So many little things you never realised you would need.  The smaller the items, the more difficult it is to keep them organised.  By sticking to a few of the cardinal rules of organising, anyone can overcome these challenges.

Give everything a home
No matter how small it is, everything needs its own place in your home.  Think about it.  How easy is it to find a glass in your cabinet when you are thirsty?  You always know right where they are.  Little random things are no different.  Sort them accordingly and find them their own place in your house.

Store it where you use it
This is all about efficiency.  Storing things in an area where you typically use them saves time.  The more time you save, the more peace of mind you have.  If you are not sure where you will use it, store your like items together.  When it comes to my hardware bins, they are useless without tools.  Thus, I keep them stored with my tools.

Know yourself
Knowing yourself is my shortcut to living a decluttered life.  Know the things you will need and separate them from the things you might need.  Certainly, get rid of the items you will never need.  The better you know yourself, the better prepared you are to make decisions on “letting go”.  If organising your hardware is overwhelming to think about, maybe you are storing too much of it.  Hardware is one of those easy categories to keep “just in case”, but remember that you don’t have to keep the whole hardware store inventory at home. That’s what the hardware store is for! Reassess yourself and your situation constantly.  Maybe you are ready to part with a portion of your collection.  If not, find a great way to sort them into like categories.

Label it 
Labelling keeps everything neat and tidy.  Not only can everyone in your house locate anything, they know right where it goes when they are finished.  It may look a little over-the-top, but with a label maker it is so easy.  Why not just do it?

Organising the little things is just like organising the big things.  Give everything its own place in your home and store them where you will use them.  When you know it is time to “let go” of something,  don’t hold back.  Send it on its way.  Slap a label on the things you want to keep around and your house will be organised and stay organised.

Johnny Farris is The Organized Dad, and can be found on Instagram @theorganizeddad