home transparency

9/9/26 fb post

my home econ teacher in high school mrs. alenton taught me that FUNCTIONALITY should trump aesthetics. instead of obsolete drawers and cabinets, it will be much easier to ORGANIZE and FIND stuff if you fasten layers of shelves on the walls and use plastic water/soda bottles as container bins. it also saves SPACE and lessens PESTS such as rats and roaches because they have less places to hide. 

example, i used a 1.5 liter coke bottle for the left over clamps for the solar panels. to organize the small sachet spices and sauces in the kitchen, i simply shove them in small (1/2 liter) bottles. i dump all my misc office supply items such as stapler, scotch tape, etc... in a 5-liter water bottle. because it's TRANSPARENT, i can easily find small items even if they are at the bottom. for bigger items such as water filters, golf grips, extension cords, light bulbs, etc... i stuff them in those giant 10-liter bottles.

even if the bins are transparent, you might need to LABEL some of them if their category can't be determined with a QUICK GLANCE (e.g. short socks, long socks, small grocery bags, big grocery bags).

you can categorize items in a bin into smaller SUB bottles. example, you can put all your nails in a large bin and use small bottles to organize them according to size.

it's also super FLEXIBLE, NIMBLE, and SCALABLE. example, as my bin for misc tapes grow (e.g. duct tapes, packing tapes, 2-sided tapes, electrical tapes), i can just add a bin or get a bigger bin. you can't easily do that with a drawers or cabinets. if my collection of a certain size screw suddenly becomes bigger because i miscalculated or over estimated how much i needed for a project, then i just add a bottle or get a bigger bottle.

be CREATIVE. don't constrain yourself to just plastic bottles. example, the bin for knives and spatulas you won in the raffles at the alta vista monthly medal tournament might need a heavier GLASS jar or STEEL can so it won't tip over. or you can just tie the plastic water bottle to the post of the shelf with a string or ZIP TIE so it won't tip over.

ENJOY!!!

6/20/19 fb post

life is short. it would be a sad waste of time to have to run to the store to buy scotch tape even if you already have 10 scotch tapes in your house but it will take you forever to look for it because you don't know where to find it. if you spend a total of 5 years in your life unnecessarily looking for something because you are disorganized, that's virtually the same as cutting your life short by 5 years.

just lately i wasted precious time looking for a level tool and figuring out whether i should just spend an hour in traffic to buy one. after 2 days of searching, my dad finally found it. every time i want to get something from the fridge it takes me forever because the fridge is like a dumpster. if i want to cook it's impossible because i will just spend most of my time searching and the kitchen is gross with rat droppings in the cabinets. my parents always gets stressed every time they need some papers for the properties because they can't find it. one time it took months to find a title to one of our properties and it was just in the room. i'm not kidding. the entire house is like a dumpster. i already setup a system for our documents but nobody follows it.

i added this rant in my blog so i can easily share it in case others might benefit from my organizing tips.

TRANSPARENT

there is just one word you need to remember from this long rant: TRANSPARENT.  unless you have photogenic memory, it's easy to find something if you see it. of course there are many techniques in organizing but they are mostly common sense and i only want to write about something that is not common (knowledge bombs).

example in the picture below i used transparent water bottles. you can easily cut out the top with a sharp kitchen knife or cutter. 1 bottle is for my grooming stuff (shavers, combs, nail cutter, etc...), another for my office stuff (scotch tape, ruler, paper clips, stapler, etc ...), and another for electoronics (batteries, phone chargers, etc ...). in case you are wondering why i have to lock these in a cabinet, i have many scholars who borrow these items so i have to keep a record so i know who to get them from when i need them. in case i have to quickly fly back to america, i placed all the documents i need to bring with me in a clear plastic envelope.

here are other examples from organizing the kitchen. the next step is to paint the walls and cabinets and cover the tops and tables with liners for elegance. by the way, anyone knows where in cebu i can buy self adhesive waterproof liners? they are so durable. it can last years but easy to replace (i only had to replace it one time when my crazy tenant used the counter top as a chopping board). it easily beautifies old kitchen tops and tables. it baffles me that the hardware stores in the philippines don't sell them. is it a conspiracy of the furniture industry so that we will keep on buying furniture? because you just slap them babies on any run down furniture or fixer upper house and the place instantly looks like a model showroom of taft properties.

notice how i further organized the contents of the transparent blue boxes with clear plastic bags:

i thought rats have certain avenger super powers where they can pass through thick wood and cement. i thought you can only control rats by setting steel cage traps. i googled it and learned that rats can gnaw wood but it takes time for them to create a passage through wood that is half an inch thick. also if you just keep the house clean and prevent rats from getting into any food they won't come in the house.

here are the rest of the photos for the kitchen and dining room. the big plastic box in the middle of the dining table is where you put the food to protect it from ants.

(for more of my knowledge bombs, click the "ian's knowledge bombs" banner at the top of this article and choose any article in the table of contents that piques your interest)