The Target Principle
The Target Principle
When organizing any space you want to store your most used items as close as possible. That means the stuff you use less often should live further away.
This is what I call the Target Principle. This works for any space you are in.
Picture yourself standing at your sink. You are standing at the center of a target, with rings emanating out from where you are. What do you use every day? Your toothbrush, make-up, the hairbrush. These items should be located within easy reach, so you don’t have a take a step or open a cabinet to get to them. Items that you don’t use as often, like medicines or the odd hair products that you use once in a while, should live further from your reach. Maybe in a cabinet under the sink and on a shelf.
When organizing any space you want to store your most used items as close as possible. Click To Tweet
How about at work? While sitting at your desk, what you use often (every day) should sit on your desktop. Items you need every week should live in a desk drawer or on your credenza. Office supplies can live further away, in a closet or bookcase.
This principle will work in your kitchen, closet, craft space, or car. Try it. Where do you think the Target Principle would work for you?
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Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
Janet Schiesl
Janet has been organizing since 2005. She is a Certified Professional Organizer and the owner of Basic Organization.
She loves using her background as a space planner to challenge her clients to look at their space differently. She leads the team in large projects and works one-on-one with clients to help the process move quickly and comfortably. Call her crazy, but she loves to work with paper, to purge what is not needed and to create filing systems that work for each individual client.
Janet is a Past Board Member of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals and a Past President of the Washington DC Chapter of NAPO were she has been named Organizer of the Year and Volunteer of the Year.
This is my go-to method of organizing. I love that you called it the Target Principle. I’ve used it in my kitchen, desk, home office, bathroom, garage, shed, and closet. This method saves you time during the day.
You’ve got it in all the top spaces. It certainly is a time saver!
I like the name you came up with …. the Target Principle! It makes so much sense to orient yourself in an area and then keep in close range those items you use most frequently. I do this in all areas too, but didn’t have a name for it.
Thank you. It does make it easier if you stop and orient yourself then set up items accordingly.
What a great visual to help you figure out where things should go. Simple and logical.
It’s funny how often we fail on this one. I think often, especially when we move into a new space, we are eager to “get out of the boxes” and don’t consider this enough.
I find this especially helpful in the office and kitchen, where I want to be able to easily reach the things I need most. Since I’m a bit on the short side, the upper cabinets aren’t of much use to me. I need to have most things lower down, so I say everything in these spaces has to justify its real estate.
Yes, sometimes in the hurry to unpack or even trying to make things look a certain way, we forget to set them up according to how we will actually be using the space and needing items. Sounds like you’ve done this in your cabinets, which I’m sure helps make it easier to get things done in those areas.
This is a nice way to visualize what I call “Relationships” in my organizing. Stuff you need more should be closer, and stuff you need sometimes can go in harder-to-reach areas. Asking yourself questions about items like this might also lead you to discover that you don’t use them at all!
I like that you call it relationships, it does inspire the important questions about needing and using the items one has accumulated.
The concept is the same as I’ve always heard and practiced. But the name is different, and the visual is helpful. Thanks, Janet!
Tried and true method, thanks Hazel.
I apply the same principal but never had a name for it. Thank you for giving me that. It is such a great name for this concept as it provides an easily identifiable visual.
Thank you, Diane.
“Target Principle” is a great name; I usually just refer to “prime real estate” and note that while exercise is good for you, constantly getting up to reach your essentials is a poor use of time. I love the visual and the reminder of how important this is when laying out one’s space.
Prime Real Estate is another great name for the concept.