What is the best strategy for buying organizational products?

What is the best strategy for buying organizational products?

Mary Astadourian (Professional Organizer) gives expert video advice on: How do I start getting organized?; How should I choose my first organizational project?; How do I know what to keep and what to throw away? and more...

Whenever you're buying any sort of containers or bins it's really important that you take some measurements before you go to the store. It's such a hassle, and I hate doing it myself and I do it everyday, but measure the drawers, check out the height of the drawers. Make sure that when you go you're buying containers that are going to fit the space that they're going in. You can always return the excess of whatever it is that you're not using, but the worst thing is when you go and you buy something and you're eyeballing it and you think "Oh, it's definitely going to fit", and you go and the drawer doesn't shut because it's too tall or it just doesn't work. So you want to save yourself that time and that hassle by taking a few measurements before you go to the store. And the other thing is really, don't just go and start buying containers or just buy things because they are really pretty and you really like them. You really have to think about the space. Visualize it, think about how is it you want it to look when it's finished, and then buy things that are going to help you accomplish that. A lot of times it can look so beautiful because there are so many choices out there, but you also want to make sure you're being smart about it; you're not just buying random things. That everything sort of works together.