I love, love, love The Container Store. I’m a person who loves to organize stuff. A place for everything and everything in its place, you know. Now, usually I’m too lazy to put it back in its place so things get nasty but that just gives me a chance to organize again.

A store that sells organizational stuff is heaven to me.

Rule one – don’t get a cart. You have to limit your buying to what you can carry in your hands. But, hello, you are buying containers so with strategy you can carry a bunch of stuff.

Rule two – you have to actually have stuff to put in the container. Believe me this store causes thoughts like “That would be great to hold xyz. Maybe I should get some xyz?”

Rule three – be realistic. Do you need a dedicated 4 inch high wastebasket for thread and small fabric scraps when you could steal the idea and put a small container you already have near the machine even if it isn’t quite as cute? The collorary to rule 3 is Be Cheap. Use the store for ideas but don’t necessarily buy the overpriced stuff. Bulletin boards are cheaper anywhere else on earth. Even with these rules I managed to spend lots (for a cheap person like me). That why I only go there once or twice a year.

A total side note:

It is no mystery why I’m cheap. I was talking to my mother today and she was mentioning that they have several major appliances that could potentially up and die any second. One she mentioned was the freezer. The door of that freezer has not latched in at least 25 years. I actually don’t remember a time when there wasn’t a bowling ball in a case sitting against the door to keep it closed. You don’t really even notice it. It is instinct to shove it out of the way with your foot, get what you need, and shove the case back against the door in one fluid motion. I mentioned this to her. She responded, “It’s not like its broken! It works just fine.” Yep, this is why the youngest TV in my house is the 16 inch set I got when I started vet school in 1993.

I can’t wait to go home and organize my stuff. I got:

– a wire basket to put next to the upstairs toilet to contain the pile of magazines
– a hanger for necklaces and an earring organizer that has way more spaces than I have earrings which leads to Rule 2-type thinking
– some travel space bags
– water bottle so I can quit reusing the ones I have that aren’t supposed to be reused
– a three tier corner shelf that I bought for my bathroom but now I realize is going to be too big for the space so darn, it will have to go in the sewing room