Hi everyone, happy Tuesday!

I had a hard time deciding what to write for my first post on organizing tips. There are just so many things that need organizing! My first thought was the closet/wardrobe. On the other hand, having been in college for almost ten years, I do have a tip or two to share with you about college dorm/apartment organization. So, why not start with back to school closet organization?

Back in my shopaholic grad school days, I was living in an off-campus apartment. As my clothing collection got out of control, I had to look for better ways to organize the closet. My clothes were literally piling on the floor inside my closet because they can’t all fit on the hanging rods. Being in a midwest college town where rent is low, I was fortunate to have a small walk-in closet. The challenge though, was that the closet had an awkward pentagon shape. I also had a low budget and wanted something light and easy to uninstall when I move.

As I started to search on the internet for walk-in closet organization solutions, I was very excited to see the pictures with shiny wooden shelvings and built-in dressers like those sold at ClosetMaid and the Container Store. But I quickly realized that those were too expensive and too permanent for a student. I remember sitting in my little walk-in closet at 2 am wondering what I can do to achieve a similar result with cheaper and more flexible things. Then one day I was cruising in Target and found the perfect solution: the wire cubes.

They are super versatile. You can arrange them anyway you want, and the process is very easy.  The plastic connections between the pieces could come loose if you put a lot of weight on it, but this can be easily solved by zip-tying the pieces together at the edges and the corners. Once zip-tied, the structure becomes very sturdy. The best thing is, I could customize the shelves by dividing the cubes with spare pieces and just securing them with zip ties. You can also hang hooks on the sides, for belts, scarves and necklaces.

So this is my final design of my little pentagon walk-in closet, which I was very proud of. Unfortunately I could not find a picture of the actual layout, so please bear with my rudimentary drawings. On one side of the closet, I used a 4X2 cube unit for my sweaters. I also got some storage bins for things like bras, socks and gloves. I divided some of the bottom cubes perpendicular and kept my purses there. On another wall underneath the hanging rod, I used 1X4 cubes and kept my shoes there. I fit two pairs of boots in a whole cube (I have small feet). For flats I divided the cubes horizontally and fit 2 pairs in each half cube.

On the other side, underneath the hanging rod, I bought these modular drawers for odds and ends. One drawer for school supplies, another for make-up and travel toiletries. A third one for shoe accessories. I also had some sentimental things in the the rest of the drawers. As I didn’t like how see through the drawers are, I bought some bright yellow plastic place mats and fit them inside on the front.

Foremost Modular Open Cube Storage System

In terms of cube storage systems, you can find some nicer-looking wood options with a variety of sizes, like above. I also saw a plastic option sold by the Container Store (couldn’t find the link anymore). But the price can be much steeper and you can’t make a cage for your pet like the wired cubes! See it modeled by Lady Mimi. 🙂

Hi there!

The first post! I have to be honest, this is not my first blog post ever (big surprise..), but it’s certainly in the first ten! I have not been much of a writer my entire life. I never kept a diary as a kid. As an adult, while I’ve owned a couple of blogs when blog became a thing almost a decade ago (I feel so old writing this..), I’ve never written more than a few posts. So, why start now?

As you can see I call this blog “Dr. Organizing My Life”. Let me clear up two possible misconceptions here. First, I’m not a real doctor. But before you call me a liar, I do have a Ph.D. in one of the life sciences. Second, I’m by no means an expert in organizing. I’m an enthusiast. I have always been interested in organizing and improving efficiency, ever since I read in a textbook about how to organize school books and pencils etc in your backpack when I was 8 years old. To this day I’m still impressed that the textbook writers had the vision to teach young kids organizational skills. With that imprinted in my heart, as I grow up, I always loved products that are compact, multifunctional, or very well organized.

In terms of organizing my own life though, I haven’t been doing so well. I didn’t feel I had much need to organize until I started graduate school. I was supporting myself for the first time with my grad student stipend, and I was living on my own for the first time. I quickly fell into the consumer trap and quickly accumulated a lot of stuff. By the end of my fourth year, I had a whole walk-in closet full of clothes that I could wear a year without doing laundry. That’s when I started thinking about organizing more seriously. I had a better period after I got rid of most of my things while relocating for a job after graduation, but now two years later, I’m slowly decaying back into the dark side.

So long story short, here I am deciding that I need to clean up and organize my life once and for all. Also as I leant over time, the closet and the kitchen pantry are not the only places in my life that need organizing. Digital contents, including pictures and documents need organization too. How I do my laundry and how I cook can also use organization to be more efficient. Every aspect of my life and my work can be organized, to save money, space, time and energy. Wouldn’t it be great to use them on something more fun?

Now back to why starting to write a blog now. I told you I am a scientist (nerd alert!!). Back in my days working in the lab, it was required to keep lab journals. Though not a writer, I was good at keeping my lab notes. I had a section of “protocols”, experimental procedures that I developed, tested and improved. I also logged my daily activities, what experiments I did, what protocols I used, any modifications I made, and the outcome. The other section was “references”, where I kept facts that would come in handy, like formulas and product descriptions. It just hit me recently that why not log my big project of organization like a lab journal? It would be an efficient and organized way of tracking my progress. While I can write on lab books, a blog just sounds so much more fun. Plus I get to share my experience and tips with you guys. It’s not as secretive as the mad science I used to do anyways!