L OCAL LIVING


District from the chat How to keep sports gear and other items under control D.C. designer Alison Lukes


Teer joined staff writer Jura Koncius last week on our Home Front online chat. Below is an edited excerpt. Submit questions to the live Q&A, which takes place every Thursday at 11 a.m., at www.washingtonpost. com/home.


We have two growing boys, an assortment of sports equipment and no garage to store it in. We have a basement closet we could use to hold all of it, but I’m baffled as to how to organize it in a way that the kids can find and put away their stuff themselves. Teer: Could you assign a large


Tupperware container or new trash can for each child and their equipment?


What do you suggest for keeping guests’ coats when hosting a large party? Koncius: Alison suggests


investing in an inexpensive rolling coat rack. These things usually come apart so you can store them. You can put the rack anywhere in the house or even in a hallway in an apartment building if you are having a lot of people over.


Really? Whatever happened to just laying coats neatly on the bed? It just doesn’t strike me as a worthwhile expense, and I entertain almost every weekend. Koncius: It organizes the


coats and helps guests find them easier. Some people don’t want guests in their bedrooms — you know, you might not want people to know you’re a slob in some rooms!


I just pulled a lot of clothes out of my closet to try to reorganize things. I feel I have too much of everything and not enough of the right stuff, if that’s possible. For example, I have five white linen shirts (and none of them fit properly). How do you “edit” things down so that it’s possible to keep everything organized? Teer: If items don’t fit properly and don’t make you feel great when wearing them, I’d move on. Once you’ve edited down to items you love wearing, group them by color and item (shirts, skirts, etc). Less is more, I promise.


I am about to go through boxes BIGSTOCKPHOTO


Even without a garage, it’s possible to find a way for kids to keep their sports equipment organized.


of clothes I have not worn in years (since starting a family five years ago). Any advice on deciding what should stay or go? I am hopeless, always thinking maybe I could wear something again or that old T-shirt would be perfect for gardening. Teer: Limit gardening or around-the-house clothes to one or two outfits. Most likely if you haven’t worn or missed most of the clothing in the last five years, it’s time to donate it.


I have thought about installing those shoe cubicles in my closet. But my athletic shoes


take up much more space than my flats. How does this work in the real world of a shoe wardrobe? Teer: I tend to think the


cubicles take up too much space and many shoes do not fit in them, including high heels and boots. I’d suggest flat or angled shelves.


We’re about to replace all our shiny builder brass. What do you think is the best look? Egg knobs, round, levers? Also what do you like in finishes? This is a newer colonial home. Koncius: I adore those egg knobs, personally! Oil-rubbed


bronze is a great choice, and many designers are going with that right now.


We have a lot of stuff, between two pack rats and a kid, and being the default storage place for my father’s things. We need to clear things out, but how do we do it? Teer: Take on one project (the


garage, basement) at a time. Set aside a few hours on a weekend with an end in sight and a fun reward at the end. If you haven’t used something in a year, move on. Unless an item is really valuable, I’d donate everything and take the tax deduction.


I can’t fit random odds and ends in my hall closet: Christmas decorations, toolbox, hand vac, the box for my printer. Any simple storage units you’d recommend? Teer: Do you need the box for the printer? Can you put the Christmas decor in a


Tupperware container under a bed? Hang the hand vac on the wall of the closet?


I’ve been trying to help my mom get her house organized for years. She tends to fill up every closet and dresser and then buy plastic bins to put the rest in, instead of culling the old stuff first. I wonder if hiring a professional to help would be better? Koncius: I’m afraid that buying more plastic bins is a solution a lot of us have to clutter. If we can’t see it, we feel like it is containerized and not a problem. The National Association of Professional Organizers (www.napo.net) can offer you names of people in our area who are trained to work with people to eliminate clutter and set up organizing systems in their homes and offices. Perhaps the gift of an organizer, who is really a life coach, would be a wonderful one. Good luck.


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THE WASHINGTON POST • THURSDAY, JULY 1, 2010


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