During any organizing project, it is sometimes necessary to buy new products to help organize people’s personal items in the new space. As we discussed in our previous two posts, there are some circumstances where buying new organizers may be necessary, and certain organizing products work better than others. However, sometimes people have items they already own that can be repurposed and used in their new home. Buying more items isn’t always the right answer – sometimes it is more efficient, clutter-friendly, and financially beneficial to use what people already own.

When the Calm Order team does our initial walk through and determines that items the client already has, we start to plan for what can be reused in the new home, and what needs to be purchased. Sometimes these items are used in the new home for a completely different purpose than what they were initially used for in the previous home. Finding a new purpose for an item or giving it a simple update can completely change its functionality and usefulness. For example, our clients had a small cabinet that was just collecting unnecessary clutter in the living room of their previous home. However, in their new space, Calm Order was able to find a new use for the cabinet. The new home came with a dedicated play room/bonus area, so the team was able to designate the cabinet for toy and game storage without having to buy a new unit. Other smaller items like bins, hangars, drawer organizers and shelving units are easy to customize and adapt for a new space and are regularly repurposed by Calm Order when unpacking in a new home.

There can be a downside to reusing items – in some cases, people can hold on to more items than they need or try to use objects for a purpose that does not work or does not contribute to the organization of the space. Similar to purchasing new organizers that aren’t needed, some people may try to find a use for items when there is none. In circumstances like this, Calm Order can work with clients to find a place to donate or sell their items to people who might need it more than they do. A list of some of these organizations is available on our website here.

Whenever possible, Calm Order will work with clients to use what they already own. Sometimes all it takes is a new space or a new idea to completely reinvent and repurpose and object that may have previously been creating clutter and contributing to a disorganized space.

Stay tuned for our next post where we continue our journey through the unpacking process!