How to Keep Storage Bin Records

Clutter can take over your life. Those of you who have clutter in your life always have good intentions of organizing your stuff. So you go out and buy a bunch of storage bins to put your stuff into because that will organize your life. Yet only a month later you can't find the special items you stored away into those very bins that were supposed to simplify your life. Keeping storage bin records is the key to the clutter-free life we all strive to live. Follow these tips and you can make your organized storage bins an improved solution to keep your life less cluttered.

Difficulty: Easy

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

• Clutter
• Storage Bins

1. 
    
   storage bins

   Use color-coded containers. Many storage bin manufacturers make colored storage bins - black or orange for Halloween, red or green for Christmas - and just the color association alone can make keeping track of your storage bin items a simple task. Buy different types of bins also - perhaps the Rubbermaid storage bins will be used for clothing only? - and you will find by just looking at a container you can tell that "no no, the item I'm looking for is not in that bin, because I only have Christmas stuff in those green-colored storage bins..."

2. 
    
   digital camera

   You always have the option to keep a hand-written ledger of what items you put into what storage bin, but that can become quite monotonous after just one storage bin. What I use is my digital camera to simplify my storage bin record-keeping needs. Fill up a storage bin with like items. Take out your digital camera and take a photo of your storage bin, before closing the lid so you can see all the items in the bin. Look at your LCD viewer to find out the image number on your photo. Write down that number. Using masking tape or labels, write down the corresponding image number onto the item that will be stuck to your storage bin. Close the lid and place aside. Once you have completed all your digital record keeping for your storage boxes, take your camera and download those photos. Place them into a program like iPhoto - or just into a regular folder - for reference in the future.

3. 
    
   iphoto keywords

   Months later, when you decide you need to get an item out of a storage bin, refer back to your digital storage bin record photos on your computer and do a visual search for what you need. Once you have find your item, write down the photo image number on that photo, and go find the corresponding number on a storage bin container. Pull that container out to get the item you need for use. Programs like iPhoto allow you to put keywords into photos, also, so if you are on top of your record-keeping, you can add keywords like "shoes, coats, etc" to your photos and then do a search for those keywords in iPhoto.

Tips & Warnings

• If you are working in iPhoto with your photos, put all storage bin photos into one album labeled accordingly. Print out that album so you have a hard copy on-hand if you need a quick reference and are not near your computer.

[moonsun55]

on 9/1/2009 good info.

[ashfeather]

on 6/23/2009 Great tips 5*s

[surly-mac]

on 3/15/2009 Keep Storage Bin Records is welcome at my house... Boy, oh boy - just in time for Spring Cleaning! My Bride and best friend is my 'community organizer' so I've forwarded your article to her for implementation. Thanks very much for this timely well-written article.

[harrietcat]

on 1/27/2009 This is so important if something happens and you need to file an claim with your insurance company. I wish I had the time to do it! 5*

[Upon-Request]

on 12/20/2008 Great ideas! It's so important to document what's INSIDE the box ;)