The Best Time to Buy Organizing Tools

Here's an image from The Container Store's website.  Isn't this a Zen closet?  In recent years when I arrive to create such a space for a client I very often find they have a vast collection of organizing tools. Some have been purchased for the project at hand while most were purchased because they were 'pretty' and my client was convinced that 'one day they would come in handy.'  Organizing tools are the new clutter. And it's not uncommon for them to have their own closet!

In my One Year to ... series I suggest you do the eliminating and categorizing before you go shopping.  If you purchase a box of 100 hangars and later discover you only have 45 items to hang, what will you do with the overflow? This example applies all over the home to all types of projects.  Whittle down.  Put like with like.  Do a literal count.  And then go shopping!