Through the snow on my camera lens, you’ll see pairs of skis, hanging on the wall, just before you would walk into the building. The building is a back door to The Trapp Family Lodge. I thought this was so smart that I had to click the picture, even though I was on vacation.
Picture something like this working at your house if you have ever said:
“Where’s the other ski?” “Why do you have to track in all that snow?” “I’ve got the skis. Where are the poles?”
And so you’re frustrated, late to get on the road, and it just keeps happening every time you try get out to ski.
The product above was a simple board with large pegs. The skis could lean against the board and stay separated by the pair. The ski pole hand straps fit over the pegs. Easy.
Get the big items out of the way before you walk in the house. Inside, have a bench, where old and young alike can sit, take off the boots, socks, and clothing. Even better, if like one client did, you had a laundry catcher within a basket ball’s throw.
As always, this is only the organizing product.
There is the habit to develop and teach to the rest of your household. A product can look good, but people need to use it to be effective.
But – sometimes, the organizing product is the piece that’s missing, so when you install it, people naturally use it.
Here are two other ideas I saw and liked:
As you walked into one of the mountain lodges, this organizational genius greeted you. The full length of this frame with pegs was about 15 feet. Hang your knapsacks on it as you walk in. Or use it as you sit down to eat, keeping your gear close by but out of the way. Great use of vertical space — what we constantly hear in organizing discussions.
And through a different entryway, here’s another organizational product which was there for you. If you carried your gear in a duffel bag, these lockers were right there for you to easily drop off your stuff ’til you needed it.
Interesting, too, that all three places operated on the honor system. You don’t see that often these days.
I’m posting these photos because while each organizing setup is for large volumes of packs and gear, you may find a miniature version of any of these would work beautifully at your house.
And wouldn’t it feel a whole lot better next time you go to pack up your gear to know that it is all right where you put it last ski trip, and it is all together. What kind of time and stress would that save you?
Remember Tinker Toys? I don’t remember if they were mine or if I borrowed them from my brothers, but I loved Tinker Toys.
