As a tidying consultant, Marie relied on boxes to bring order to her clients’ homes. Versatile and easy to use, they turn unstructured space – like the inside of a drawer or a shelf – into an organized grid where you can see your possessions at a glance.
But not just any box will do. The best ones for the job are sturdy and elegant – free from distracting logos or lots of text. After years of searching for the right kind – often using confectionery boxes she’d saved – Marie created a line of her own. Named after the Japanese word for drawer – “hikidashi” – these boxes meet all of Marie’s tidying criteria. Here’s how to use them…
Determine What Goes Where
After you’ve determined which of your possessions spark joy – and have said goodbye (with gratitude!) to the rest, it’s time to designate a place for each item. This is a crucial step in the KonMari Method™ – and the secret to maintaining a tidy home. Clutter is caused by a failure to put things back where they belong. Creating easily accessible storage spots keeps mess at bay.
Keep your storage straightforward. Store similar items together or in close proximity to each other. All of your clothing should be in one spot, your books in another, komono – organized by type – in another, and so on.
Configure Your Space
Keeping ease of use and accessibility in mind, use Hikidashi Boxes to transform drawers, closets and shelves into little havens. Get creative! Boxes can delineate space within a drawer – socks on this side, underwear on that side – or work as tidy containers on a shelf.
When storing clothing, use large boxes for jeans and sweaters, medium sized boxes for t-shirts and shorts and small ones for intimates. Adjust the fold to match the height of your box and pack your items snugly – imagine your garments holding hands or being placed cheek to cheek. For a KonMari bonus point, line them up from light to dark.
Leverage the Lids
If boxes are tidying superstars, their lids are the unsung heroes. Marie made sure the lids of her Hikidashi Boxes were deep enough to serve as organizers in their own right. Use them to create a nook for pens, pencils and office supplies in your workspace, or in your pantry to group together cooking oils and spices. To keep utensils from noisily rolling around every time you open and close a drawer, group items by type and put them in snug-fitting lids – this neatly divides a drawer and makes kitchen tools easy to find.
Marie believes that the boxes and containers we store our items in should be a reflection of the gratitude we have for them. Our Hikidashi Boxes feature prints, colors and inspirational quotes as a reminder to value what cannot always be seen from the outside.
Think of Hikidashi Boxes as homes where your treasured belongings can rest. At the end of the day, when you return your belongings to their designated spots, do so with a sense of gratitude for their role in supporting your life.
Shop Hikidashi Boxes from The Container Store x KonMari collaboration.
