In my experience, most household items naturally gravitate to a specific location, and it’s not always the location you expect. You may have noticed this phenomenon while searching high and low for your keys or other frequently lost items.
Even if you don’t remember Absent-mindedly tossing your keys onto the console table inside the front door, your keys seem to be locked there anyway! Even though there’s a hook for your keys next to the garage door, you’ve found your keys on that console table so often that it’s the first place you look for them.
As the old saying goes, being organized comes down to keeping “everything and everything in its place.” But what does that mean for misplaced items like the keys in the example above, which have a place but never end up there?
Problem: Some things never end up where they’re “supposed” to go
If you keep finding your shoes in the middle of the living room instead of their designated shelf in your carefully designed bedroom closet, or you find your wallet on your dresser in a bowl outside the front door, it’s time to rethink your storage.
It comes down to being honest with yourself about your habits—if you’re still not managing to put certain things in the places you’re supposed to, your current setup is clearly not working as it should!
Solution: Give those things a new home!
The solution to this all-too-common planning problem is actually quite simple. Make a new “home” for any misplaced items in your home that are perennially out of place where they come most often!
For example, if you always throw your coat on the bed instead of hanging it in your bedroom closet, install a hook instead or set up a stylish coat rack near the bed. It may not match your “vision” of where everything should go, but it’s better than wasting precious time every day looking for something in a never-ending place!
To put it in the simplest terms: stop trying to change a habit and change your habitat Instead! And to make finding the perfect new “home” for those hard-to-move items even easier, I’ve included some helpful planner recommendations below.
5 Useful Organizers for Frequently Lost Items
1. Free-standing coat rack
This Free-standing coat rack It’s neutral enough to fit with any decor, and features 11 hooks on a sturdy stainless steel and aluminum frame. It’s a perfect dumping ground for coats, jackets, purses, backpacks, umbrellas, seasonal items, and anything else you want handy at your front door.
2. Wall-mounted coat rack
Take advantage of open wall space with one of these Wall-mounted coat racks. It comes in six different finishes, and the pegs are narrow enough to accommodate everything from towels to key rings, making them the perfect addition to any mudroom.
3. Narrow shoe storage cabinet
The narrow Shoe storage cabinet The perfect solution to the shoes from IKEA that were constantly strewn around me Narrow mudroom/laundry room! This cabinet takes advantage of vertical space to achieve its ultra-compact profile, making it an ideal addition to even the narrowest room or hallway.
4. Shoe rack and bench
This Shoe rack The #1 Best Selling Storage Bench on Amazon for good reason! It’s made of sturdy bamboo, has two storage shelves for shoes or other items, and you can get it for under $65. Plus, its impressive load capacity of 300 pounds makes it a convenient place for almost anyone to sit while they tie their shoes before heading out the door.
5. Key and mail organizer
If mail and work documents are more of a problem for you than coats or shoes, check out this versatile one A wall-mounted organizer! A narrow basket makes a perfect “outbox” for mail and paperwork that needs to go somewhere else, and it’s a handy place to hang your keys. Whether you put it in your home office or by the front door, it’s sure to cut down on cases of misplaced keys and lost mail!
What items in your home never make it to their designated storage location?
