(Though I have to admit I like watching those kitchen organizing videos where they put everything in identical containers with neat labels and all the little shelves and lazy susans and cookware racks and whatnot. I just won’t ever do it myself.)
@awk I’m more jealous of the space available in that photo than I am of the organization itself! (though I do like the concept of that much organization…it’s just not realistic in actual living conditions)
It sure looks wasted, though. I’m pretty sure I could fit at least twice as many bottles/jars in all the places they have those. And…
Well, ultimately, this is one of those “more dollars than sense” sort of things. Except it’s probably “more money than people in the household” — but somehow cleverly worded to sound more memorable. (that picture shows more variety and cuteness than actual food for eating, which makes me think they spend more money on appearances than on keeping a family alive)
As with [almost] all Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, TV, & everything else, showing that it can be done doesn’t show that it’s useful or practical. What we really need is a friend who’s organized and has a working system that they can demonstrate to us. (it’s also best if their home work load is similar to ours: kids, pets, special/medical needs, &c.)
@awk Oh, I forgot that my original point was going to be about how organization done wrong can be worse than nothing at all.
Lame example: alphabetized spices sounds like a fair idea, but if you really only use 3 of them 97% of the time, it’s stupid to have those 3 be anywhere but right in front.
More realistically, a row of identical containers look cute/tidy, but if they’re hiding contents, it can become difficult to find things. Were those boxes of Rice-A-Roni stored with the [plain] rice, or next to the mac-and-cheese boxes? Do I have to check every possible location every time I need something? (and if we’re actually out of something, I’ll check everything twice because I’ll assume I just missed it the first time)
And when somebody’s kid (or distracted/hurried adult) puts something back in the wrong spot…
Anyway, I agree that nicely organized is neat to see. But it’s really hard to make it work in real life.
Bonus rant: many neurodivergent folk (e.g. ADHD) have a particular need to see their stuff. So in that sample photo, the clear bins (and especially the cereal & flour containers) are wonderful, but the woven baskets with tiny labels are bad. Large, easily-readable labels would be better, but still not as good as direct visibility.
@awk I’m with you @xobzoo, that kind of organization is such a waste of space, also if you buy one new item the system is screwed!
My kitchen is organized so I know where everything is.
@awk@callow@xobzoo people with legit ADHD understand (myself included) are reading this and saying “PREACH!”
Side note - I HATE the word neurodivergent. It further separates people with ADHD from everyone else, which is exactly the thing that should be avoided.
@macromeh@zinimusprime I won’t claim that I love the word “neurodivergent,” but I don’t know any better term yet. Possibly there are two competing needs:
to refer to groups that are different from the cookie-cutter “normal” people, without pretending that they’re all the same (ADHD ≠ dyslexia ≠ bipolar…)
not accidentally make any of those groups more outsider than they already are (because a difference of cognition does not imply a deficiency of cognition)
I’m not sure how to properly meet those goals. Or if those are even proper goals to be shooting for. Maybe we just shouldn’t try to get those minorities together like that? But I don’t think society is prepared to get everyone properly aware of all minorities, and having a more general grouping could be helpful.
(The only example I can think of right now: there are/were hundreds of different tribes, but we generally group them all into “Native Americans” or “American Indians.” They are all distinct from each other, but most outsiders don’t know the differences.)
If I was confident that the current topic (the need to see our stuff) was unique to ADHD, I would’ve just said it’s an ADHD thing. But I’m not confident in that, so I wanted to use a broader term. I only remember it being (rarely) talked about in an ADHD context, but that doesn’t mean it’s unique to them.
Now I’m really curious how many groups (beyond ADHD) have the expanded need to see their things. (and how many other people consider it beneficial, but don’t rely on it)
@xobzoo My S.O. recently listened to an audiobook about a neurodivergence type that is characterized as “visual learners”, a group which often fails badly on verbal-based testing but is frequently capable of brilliant insights in engineering.
While far from perfect, our kitchen is considerably neater and more organized now that all the kids are grown up and off cluttering kitchens of their own.
No space in my house is tidy, but the piles are … somewhat logical, to me at least. And while I tolerate clutter I hate having a dirty kitchen or bathroom, and the easily accessible floor spaces are vacuumed.
Kitchen is WAY more organized than my office stays. I have posted pics in other threads of the cabinets I built. Office has the potential to be just as organized but gets out of hand quickly.
… And don’t evenget me started on the workshop!
My organization is pretty basic. If it belongs in the kitchen it lives in the kitchen and not the bedroom. Hopefully I can shut the drawers and the cupboard doors stay shut. The place is small. I don’t think those who designed the kitchen believe it is there for any reason other than to be able to advertise it has one.
I’m very autistic but I have a very small kitchen without much cabinet space. This does not gel well with my cooking hobby or my prepper-stashing habit, so I hang everything I can on the walls or on the sides of cabinets, I keep bulk bags of basmati rice and boxes of pasta or cans of tomatoes.
The kitchen is very cluttered and rarely clean, but I always know where everything is.
We need another kitchen’s worth of space because we both like to do stuff there, but there really isn’t room for all of the treasured tools plus the ingredients.
Organized? When I locate my kitchen, I’ll let you know.
Unfortunately, it fits the “Superfund site” theme of the rest of the house.
@ircon96 Dang, are you sure we’re not related?
@Kyeh Lol…not entirely…
If I can find what I need, it’s organized.
(Though I have to admit I like watching those kitchen organizing videos where they put everything in identical containers with neat labels and all the little shelves and lazy susans and cookware racks and whatnot. I just won’t ever do it myself.)
/image organized pantry
@awk I’m more jealous of the space available in that photo than I am of the organization itself! (though I do like the concept of that much organization…it’s just not realistic in actual living conditions)
It sure looks wasted, though. I’m pretty sure I could fit at least twice as many bottles/jars in all the places they have those. And…
Well, ultimately, this is one of those “more dollars than sense” sort of things. Except it’s probably “more money than people in the household” — but somehow cleverly worded to sound more memorable. (that picture shows more variety and cuteness than actual food for eating, which makes me think they spend more money on appearances than on keeping a family alive)
As with [almost] all Instagram, Pinterest, YouTube, TV, & everything else, showing that it can be done doesn’t show that it’s useful or practical. What we really need is a friend who’s organized and has a working system that they can demonstrate to us. (it’s also best if their home work load is similar to ours: kids, pets, special/medical needs, &c.)
@awk Oh, I forgot that my original point was going to be about how organization done wrong can be worse than nothing at all.
Lame example: alphabetized spices sounds like a fair idea, but if you really only use 3 of them 97% of the time, it’s stupid to have those 3 be anywhere but right in front.
More realistically, a row of identical containers look cute/tidy, but if they’re hiding contents, it can become difficult to find things. Were those boxes of Rice-A-Roni stored with the [plain] rice, or next to the mac-and-cheese boxes? Do I have to check every possible location every time I need something? (and if we’re actually out of something, I’ll check everything twice because I’ll assume I just missed it the first time)
And when somebody’s kid (or distracted/hurried adult) puts something back in the wrong spot…
Anyway, I agree that nicely organized is neat to see. But it’s really hard to make it work in real life.
Bonus rant: many neurodivergent folk (e.g. ADHD) have a particular need to see their stuff. So in that sample photo, the clear bins (and especially the cereal & flour containers) are wonderful, but the woven baskets with tiny labels are bad. Large, easily-readable labels would be better, but still not as good as direct visibility.
@awk I’m with you @xobzoo, that kind of organization is such a waste of space, also if you buy one new item the system is screwed!
My kitchen is organized so I know where everything is.
@awk @callow @xobzoo people with legit ADHD understand (myself included) are reading this and saying “PREACH!”
Side note - I HATE the word neurodivergent. It further separates people with ADHD from everyone else, which is exactly the thing that should be avoided.
@awk @callow @xobzoo @zinimusprime I agree - I think the preferred term is “differently wacko”.
@macromeh @zinimusprime I won’t claim that I love the word “neurodivergent,” but I don’t know any better term yet. Possibly there are two competing needs:
I’m not sure how to properly meet those goals. Or if those are even proper goals to be shooting for. Maybe we just shouldn’t try to get those minorities together like that? But I don’t think society is prepared to get everyone properly aware of all minorities, and having a more general grouping could be helpful.
(The only example I can think of right now: there are/were hundreds of different tribes, but we generally group them all into “Native Americans” or “American Indians.” They are all distinct from each other, but most outsiders don’t know the differences.)
If I was confident that the current topic (the need to see our stuff) was unique to ADHD, I would’ve just said it’s an ADHD thing. But I’m not confident in that, so I wanted to use a broader term. I only remember it being (rarely) talked about in an ADHD context, but that doesn’t mean it’s unique to them.
Now I’m really curious how many groups (beyond ADHD) have the expanded need to see their things. (and how many other people consider it beneficial, but don’t rely on it)
@xobzoo My S.O. recently listened to an audiobook about a neurodivergence type that is characterized as “visual learners”, a group which often fails badly on verbal-based testing but is frequently capable of brilliant insights in engineering.
Every now and then I organize something in the kitchen. Last month it was the fridge. I am still recovering.
While far from perfect, our kitchen is considerably neater and more organized now that all the kids are grown up and off cluttering kitchens of their own.
No space in my house is tidy, but the piles are … somewhat logical, to me at least. And while I tolerate clutter I hate having a dirty kitchen or bathroom, and the easily accessible floor spaces are vacuumed.
@Kyeh That pretty much sums it up!
Kitchen is WAY more organized than my office stays. I have posted pics in other threads of the cabinets I built. Office has the potential to be just as organized but gets out of hand quickly.
… And don’t evenget me started on the workshop!
My kitchen is somewhere between really organized and “don’t look in the drawers”.
My organization is pretty basic. If it belongs in the kitchen it lives in the kitchen and not the bedroom. Hopefully I can shut the drawers and the cupboard doors stay shut. The place is small. I don’t think those who designed the kitchen believe it is there for any reason other than to be able to advertise it has one.
I’m very autistic but I have a very small kitchen without much cabinet space. This does not gel well with my cooking hobby or my prepper-stashing habit, so I hang everything I can on the walls or on the sides of cabinets, I keep bulk bags of basmati rice and boxes of pasta or cans of tomatoes.
The kitchen is very cluttered and rarely clean, but I always know where everything is.
Not very well.
somewhat?
We need another kitchen’s worth of space because we both like to do stuff there, but there really isn’t room for all of the treasured tools plus the ingredients.
Our kitchen isn’t that organized, but it’s the most convenient place in our house. But, I really wish I could renovate it. Maybe, soon.