46: Step by Step Plan to Organize Any Space in Your Home – Part 4 – Contain

The SPACE Method: Containerize

Continuing the walk through Julie Morgenstern’s SPACE method, sort, purge, assign, containerize, equalize, we’ve reached the fun part: containers. It’s also the part most likely to get you into trouble and cost more money than necessary if you skip a few honest questions first.

Question one: does this even need a container?

Before buying anything, ask whether a container actually improves the space, or whether it’s simply appealing on its own. A cereal box, for instance, is already a perfectly functional container, streamlined, purpose-built, easy to pour from. A pretty acrylic cereal container does offer two real advantages: seeing exactly how much is left at a glance, and keeping cereal fresher against kids who tear into inner bags. But be honest with yourself about whether you’ll actually take the extra step every grocery trip to empty, clean, and refill it. There’s a real difference between staging a space to look good in a photo and organizing it to actually function for your daily life.

Clear or opaque?

Decide whether seeing the contents helps you or overwhelms you visually. Some people function better with everything visible; others do better with an opaque container and a clear label, keeping visual clutter down while still knowing what’s inside.

Lid or no lid?

As a general rule, eliminate barriers between you and putting something away, since getting things out was never the problem, putting them back is. Skip lids wherever they’re not functionally necessary. If you’ve unwrapped individually packaged snacks into a container, ask honestly whether that lid is adding real value or just one more step you’ll eventually stop bothering with.

Reachability and shelf placement

Consider whether a container sits low enough to just toss something in without pulling it down, and if it does need to come off the shelf, whether it does so easily. A container that scrapes against a shelf or snags on wire shelving creates a tiny recurring friction point, and tiny friction points are exactly what undermine long-term maintenance.

Turntables and risers

A turntable, or lazy Susan, can be a great option for hard-to-reach shelves, spinning items to the front instead of requiring you to dig toward the back. Just watch for a lip that’s too high, useful for keeping things from flying off during a spin, but potentially another barrier if it makes items harder to lift in and out. Risers for canned goods can work well too, though they only help if you actually maintain the system they’re designed for.

A cautionary tale about aesthetics

I once tried to replicate a beautiful Pinterest linen closet exactly, same containers, same white linens, only to find it looked chaotic once installed. The difference turned out to be the shelving itself: the inspiration photo used solid shelves, while mine were bare wire shelving, and the visual busyness of wire baskets on wire shelves clashed rather than complemented. Small details like this rarely occur to you until you’ve made the mistake yourself.

Measure before you buy

Measure your space carefully before purchasing anything, to avoid repeat trips to exchange containers that don’t actually fit.

Managing the cost

Containers add up quickly. Dollar stores, Target, Walmart, and discount home stores can offer good deals, but their product lines change frequently, which becomes a problem if you’re building out a space in stages and need to match a container you bought months ago. If consistency over time matters to you, and you’re doing this project gradually rather than all at once, it may be worth paying a bit more at a retailer known for keeping the same product line in stock long-term, so you can reliably add matching pieces later.

Making a modest budget look polished

Well-done labels can elevate even inexpensive containers. A chalkboard label with neat handwriting, or a printed label in a nice font attached with double-sided tape, can make a simple setup look considerably more put-together.

Photograph the finished result

Take a picture once everything is set up. It gives you a visible record of progress, and printed and posted inside a cabinet or pantry door, it also gives kids or other family members a clear reference for how to put things back, turning your organizing work into something the whole household can help maintain.

Your practical, actionable step

Before buying any new container for a space you’re organizing, ask three questions: does this space genuinely need a container at all, does a lid add real function or just an extra barrier, and have I measured the space carefully? Only buy once those three are answered honestly.

Until next time, continue to choose joy.