What is wrong with this paragraph in a women’s magazine ad to buy their magazine under the title of “10 Must-Know Organizing Hacks to Simplify Your Life”?

“Switch to matching hangers. Want to know the quickest, most satisfying way to make your closet look more organized? Just switch out all of the hangers in your closet for a matching set. Whether you choose sleek velvet hangers or luxe wood ones, you’ll feel instantly more organized.”

What is disturbingly misleading is that you are not organized just because you have matching hangers! Did you catch the “look more organized” and “feel instantly more organized”? It does not say you will be organized. Organization of your closet should involve taking all of your clothes out of your closet and sorting them by what you don’t wear (perhaps donating them) and what you do wear. Maybe you would want to sort them by seasons, maybe by kinds of clothing like pants, jackets, shirts, etc., or maybe by color. While you are doing this you might at that time change out all of your hangers if you think you need to do so. My hodgepodge of hangers doesn’t bother me at all.

Just because something is advertised doesn’t mean it is good or right for you. That goes for the advice I write in these articles, too. Not everything fits every situation.

I have a theory that the most unorganized people are the ones that spend the most on storage containers, storage gadgets, and organizing systems. But the systems don’t always allow for the amount of stuff being stored and the practicality of using the storage system. When I see these systems advertised, I think about how much more work they would be to keep organized. Just today I gave a talk on decluttering and two ladies said they invested in the hangers that store clothes vertically. After saying how well they worked they went on to say that it is difficult to put the clothing back on these hangers so they often don’t. From the first time I saw these advertised on TV I thought “bad idea” for that very reason. The system looked good theoretically but was not practical.

In the same magazine mentioned above, there is a very practical article about organizing junk drawers in which it advocates using what you have to store stuff in your drawers like washed-out food containers, and any bowls or trays you have around. You don’t have to go out and buy special dividers for your drawers. Sometimes a cardboard box works for storing and is easy to label with a marker. You invest no money but have organized drawers and spaces.

Don’t get conned into all the organizing gadgets and systems you see advertised. They might just clutter up your living spaces more. What probably needs to be done is to eliminate some of the stuff that is causing the clutter.

Doris Puls, of D & O Decluttering and Organizing, is a professional organizer whose mission is to make a difference in the lives of the people she works with in homes and businesses. Contact her at organizealpena@gmail.com or at 989-356-9545.