This week we are discussing product types that we suggest you stay away from. We always talk about the products and solutions we recommend but we believe it’s equally important to talk about what we would stay away from. We also share the reasons for not recommending these products and offers alternative solutions to help you stay organized and productive in your daily life.
Join our weekly email newsletter for all-things organizing & productivity delivered right to your inbox
https://theorganizedflamingo.com/quicklinks
In this episode we talk about:
- Popular products that end up being more trouble than helpful
- If you do use products that aren’t ideal, what to look out for so it’s not a complete loss
- Alternative solutions to these products
Mentioned in this Episode:
Episode 024: Step 5: Contain – What Types of Containers Should You Get
https://theorganizedflamingo.com/24-step-5-contain-what-types-of-containers-should-you-get
Episode 001: 7 Steps to Organizing *Almost* Anything
https://theorganizedflamingo.com/7-steps-to-organizing
—
The Organized & Productive podcast is brought to you by The Organized Flamingo and hosted by Stephanie Y. Deininger! For those of you who love the thought of organizing & being more productive, but don’t know where to start or constantly up against hurdles that don’t let you advance the way you want to, this podcast is for you!
Review full show notes and resources at
https://theorganizedflamingo.com/podcast
Review the Transcript:
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:00:00]:
As the aphorism goes The all that glitters is not gold, well, the same can be applied to organizing, which means that not everything that is shiny and beautiful is of value and will be bringing you value into your life. In today's episode, we are talking about the 3 products and the 3 physical products that I would encourage most people to stay away from. And these are products that I have seen, touched, been exposed to, and now are part of my list of, oof, if you can stay away from them, please do so. So let's get going with today's episode on what are these 3 products that I would try to stay away from and then the products and or solutions that I would offer you instead. So here we go.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:00:52]:
Welcome to the Organized and Productive podcast with The Organized Flamingo. I'm your host, Stephanie, a professional organizer and productivity expert. Ready to explore the right organizing and productivity solutions for you? Yeah? Well, then let's go.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:01:08]:
1 of my best friends and I were having a conversation recently about organizing in in general, and she was telling me about how she is organizing her office and part of her house and grade, and we just and of got into the conversation. Right? Well, one thing led to another, and then she asked me about products that I don't recommend. She asked me, okay. Well, what should I not get? And then she started asking me questions about why. So that inspired this conversation. And I thought, you know what? I don't talk about what products I don't recommend and the reason behind it. As you know, if you are an avid listener, I do talk about products that I love. The the end of the year, I always have my product recommendations.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:01:51]:
I'll, of course, give you the any secrets that I know. I will come and give them to you. Right? Or a product that was found that I think is going to work great for your organizing and productivity journey, then you bet I will come in and share it with you. But I always stay and shy away from talking about products that I don't recommend for a couple of reasons. and is people that believe in their Productive. Like, they are die hard. They love whatever the the product is. Right? Your favorite bin, you the type of organizing Productive.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:02:26]:
You love it so much. You are willing to go and fight for it, and I love that passion. But what I have found, especially doing the the podcast, is that some of you will go and try to prove a point so much so that you forget that that one instance or what you're fighting for is awesome, and I'm so happy that it worked for you, but that you might be in the minority, that you made it work, that that product fit your lifestyle and the type of, you know, system that you're using so perfectly, almost like Cinderella's shoe. Right? Like, you just had the perfect everything that aligned to that product so that that product could be a solution for you. But your scenario is so unique that replicating that would be very, very hard. So I have found that many of you will talk about something that you love, that you absolutely just love, and you forget that your example might be super specific. So then when it comes to not recommending products, that's how I feel. I feel like when I talk about products that I I'm not a fan of, I will get the backlash of, well, you know, why are you hating on this product? I love it.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:03:43]:
So I thought, okay. If I'm gonna do a pro and episode about the products I don't recommend, I am going to give you the reasons why. And as you listen and you start to feel like that's not you, then you can remove yourself from the conversation and know that that does not does not apply to you. But I think it's important for us to talk about it too because I think sometimes we'll say, you know, these three Productive don't like, but people don't give you the why. And then you just are are supposed to go along with whatever the the pro or the expert said with no reasoning behind it. And I just don't think that's fair either. I think you need to have a reason, and so I'm gonna give it to you. Alright.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:04:20]:
So let's not delay the episode any longer. I'm gonna talk to you about the 3 products. So there's 3 and The, like a, like, mini bonus at the end of a product slash solutions. It it wasn't actually a product. Well, I guess it it can be. So then I added it as a bonus because I think it's important for for most people to note about this. So I'm gonna give you the 3, and then I'll give you the reasons why I don't love them. And then, I'll give you a solution that I think could work best for most people, households, and situations.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:04:52]:
Also, before I keep going, though, I have some announcements at the end of the episode, so stay tuned for that. They're very quick. You know, nothing, like, major, but at least if you're interested, then you will now have the information available to you. And then also, remember that my expertise comes from organizing people's spaces, different people's spaces spaces, not spaces, for over 20 some years. But that's how I actually started my career. Even though I teach about organizing now, I did get my start with hands on organizing and decluttering, where when I started, I actually was holding The stuff. I have been exposed to all kinds of gadgets and bins and baskets and households and scenarios. I mean, I have seen it.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:05:38]:
I have smelled them. I have experienced them. I have organized people with with piles of stuff, but also The minimalist and everyone in between. So, you know, I've seen the organizing solutions. I've seen them a lot, and I and that's where this list comes from, where I have now have gotten enough information of my own to make my own recommendations. So that's where the, I guess, the, the survey comes from. Okay? I didn't it's not like they came out of nowhere. I also there there's also some great list out there of what people will return the most.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:06:13]:
I I incorporated that a little bit here into the episode, but I realized after starting to read all the data that I needed to dig a little further as to why. Like, there were there were products in journals, especially, like, retail reports of what people return the most. So that also, I was starting to get influenced by The, but because I don't know exactly why people returned them, it could be the the quality of the of the actual item and even though, of course, that would put it up there in the list of I would not recommend, but a different manufacturer can make that same Productive, maybe theirs is even better. So that data started to be a little fuzzy for me, so I what I'm gonna do is I'm gonna keep studying the, the data of what people return, what companies are the most, the biggest offenders of as as far as, who, gets the most returns, whether it's, you know, the the big corporate stores out there, but also just like a generalized list. So I will dig a little deeper and see if I can get enough data to make another like, a part 2 of this episode. But for now, all of this information and data comes from my own experience with and and 100 and 100 of people in households that I've been exposed to as well as, having used most of these products that I'm talking about and that I have studied. So here we go. Alright.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:07:35]:
So the first product is the the oversized bins, and here's why I don't recommend them. I'm talking about well, first, yeah, let's talk about, like, what an oversized bin is. This is the really, really big, big, big, big bins that your wind windspan, like your arm span, or what however it is you're carrying it, has a difficulty reaching around from end to end or from the, handle to the handle. So those are what we really consider oversized bins, and as you can see, I'm not putting a number like the 47 gallon. I'm not putting a get in a gallon. I'm not putting a number attached to this because everyone's definition of oversized will be a little different. If you have difficulty stretching your arms fully, right, like you for you, that that type of bin will be smaller. And, of course, if you're you have longer arms or or taller or whatever maybe, then for you, an oversized bin will be a little different.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:08:36]:
So that's why I'm not putting a number for it. But for the most part, I think, you know, anything like 47 gallon and up even, I mean, 27 gallon is pretty standard, but anything between 27 and 47 is pretty standard. And then after that, we started getting into the oversized bin category. And the reason I stay away from these is for new for a couple of reasons. and, the the difficulty of moving it. I mean, that's just more of the obvious. Right? Like, the bigger the bin and the storage solution that you end up getting and it the harder it is to move, the more resistant you will be to use it, open it, grabbing it, and actually having it be functional in your life. We resist the things that are uncomfortable.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:09:20]:
We resist the things that we don't we can't do. So, like, if you can't carry it or it's too difficult, then you won't do it. That's just human nature. So that that attached to the, the fact that there's other types of bins out there are reasons enough for me to just not recommend oversized bins. With that being said, the other, reasons I don't recommend it, but also the reasons that I would give you to go find an alternate solution. So this is a little of both. There are things like, Christmas trees, let's say, holiday decorations, any type of seasonal decoration really that and does The those types of items end up being very large in nature and you can't fit it into a regular bin. So you need an oversized bin.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:10:08]:
That's why they make them. Well, they're they're made for you to put light things that are big, not for you to overstuff them with bricks because they that's not what they're made for. It's going to make it even harder for you to move and use it as intended. So this is kind of a it's not that I fully don't recommend and. I just don't recommend it when you're stuffing it to the point where you can't move it because now it's not easy to move and it's way too heavy even if you could actually reach the handles. So that's kind of a double. The solution that I would offer instead is if you are going to get an oversized bin for the items that are awkward or longer, or bigger, and you just need to stuff it, make sure you label the outside very clearly that it's a light, like, it's light, like, a you know, instead of putting you know, you when people are ship shipping you something that's like a like a mirror, and they'll put fragile in the front, or heavy or this side up. That's what I would recommend.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:11:12]:
So if you have if you need and you have oversized bins that have been uncomfortable and awkward to use, but you need it because that's where you are storing these very awkward long large items, then I would label it very clearly. Something like this side up, fragile items inside, light things inside, 10 pound box, £10 total weight, something like The. So that you know that, oh, when I go grab it, it's actually not that hard or it's not that difficult. Or, also, for the oversized bins, what people tend to do, and I see this so many times, I actually just had a house that I she she had this, dilemma. The bigger oversized bins, what you end up doing is you end up putting them at the very bottom of your stack. So some of these bins will stack, you know, either the black and, black and yellow or or the Rubbermaid or whatever, you end up using 3 m or whatever type of bin or smaller big. Right? Like, you end up stacking them on top of each other. What happens is with the oversized bin, naturally just shaping, you know, preschool kindergarten 101, you put The the bigger thing at the bottom and everything at the top.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:12:27]:
And assuming that that bigger bin can actually withstand all that weight that you just put on it. So what ends up happening? Because it does not always hold that weight, it will crack. The the the lid will crack or just the box in itself will have a crack, because we just naturally will will think or want to put it at the bottom and then that causes some trouble. So that's why I I would label it very clearly, especially if if it's light. If you only have, let's say, you know, your wrapping paper in it. Right? Like, those are cut I mean, it's paper's probably a bad example because that does add weight with time. People think it's thin and small and it's not a big deal, but the more you stack it, the heavier it gets. So paper can be heavy.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:13:12]:
So let's use another example. Let's see. Let's say you are putting all your kids' stuffed toys in this oversized bed because some of them are large and and awkward. So you put them in there, and so the box tends you know, it won't be very heavy. Well, when you start putting stuff on top of it, it can actually crack because it's not very heavy. Right? So for that box, I would put it's, you know, light it's a big light box. You know, £20 box so that you know that if you're putting £100 on top of it, it might not be able to withstand it. Most companies will most bins and storage solution companies will give you the weight limits on their lids and on their containers.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:13:54]:
So if you need to have that information, then head on over to their website so that you know how much weight it can withstand. Okay. The last thing about bins, oversized bins, and why I don't recommend them unless you really, really, really have to and then make sure you label it. But the other reason I don't recommend it is so most shelving does not accommodate for the oversized bins. You probably know this at this point. So then going back to my last point, you and up stacking stuff on top of it. And the reason for that for many re well, many reasons. and, is that most people don't have the space or like, for to fit those types of storage like, shelving or storage solutions to put the bin on, and they're not very popular.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:14:38]:
And usually, if you're getting an oversized bin and you're getting and you need shelving to accommodate it, you're making your own, or you're a wear warehouse, and that's an entirely different conversation. So you end up putting those oversized bins in in the corner and very awkward places because they don't fit anywhere. So, you know, be careful with that. Alright. So that's our conversation about why I don't recommend buying, oversized bins. Here, let's go to our next product that I would not recommend. Okay. The second product that I wouldn't recommend is more of more of like an organizing solution as a whole, and it's cluttered counter spaces.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:15:17]:
But but before you you hang up here, before you leave the podcast, this is one of those topics I get a lot of eye rolls or hesitation or criticism over. Because, immediately, when we think about counter spaces or clear counter spaces, people think of minimalism, and I don't wanna go that far, not for this conversation. Cluttered counter spaces just means that you have enough room to always be able to start and or do your next action or project. So in the kitchen, that means that when you come in in the mornings or evenings, whatever you're gonna cook, you know, that you have space to do so. That space and the size of that space depends on what you're doing and how you use that space. There are people that have smaller kitchens and it works great for The, for what they need and what they use and what they're able and capable of of hosting. It's perfect. So bigger is not always better, and smaller does not mean that you're limited.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:16:20]:
So that is the first thing I just wanna make sure and highlight. I think we and live in a society where we immediately think big is better and small is not, and that's just not true at all. You just have to determine space what counter space you need in order to function the best. Now I said cluttered counter spaces. Okay? So for some of you, you have stuff on your counters, on your desk, on your shelves, on your bathroom counters. Think whatever vertical, excuse The, not vertical. Whatever, horizontal space you have in your living headquarters areas, that it just really means that if it doesn't make sense to you, like, if when you immediately see it and it visually clutters you and it visually gives you noise, you know, you feel very anxious or you're feeling overwhelmed, then that is considered cluttered. If for you, you likes having stuff that you can see because maybe, whether it's your neurodivergent tendencies where that's just how you are, your brain, how you feel.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:17:24]:
You like having this stuff out because it's part of your your vibe, your decor. It actually serves as like a as a, you know, the purpose. It's multifunctional, if you will, art and it's functional, then great. That is not clutter. We do not consider that clutter. For someone else, that might be clutter, but for you, if that works and it gives you peace, it makes it easy for you to do your job and your life, then it's not clutter. Okay? So let I just wanna make sure we're on the same page of that. There is no right or wrong.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:17:53]:
It's more The what I focus on is here as a whole at The Organized Flamingo is for you to determine what that means for you. What does or what does clutter mean for you? What does, you know, simple work for like, you you really have to define and. And the dictionary can give you an overview, but you have to define that for yourself and other people that are living with you and around you. Alright. So let's go back to cluttered counter spaces. I know that it's not a product. I I understand that, but it's more of what I would the products within this category, what I would advise against. So it's anything that you will need The dust and or clean way too often, and I'm gonna give you some examples.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:18:34]:
For instance, nesting boxes, like The decorative type of boxes. They're lovely and, you know, they offer some boundaries for stuff. So for instance, you have your, if you're we're talking about your desk, like your office desk. You've got your paper inbound and, outbound trays. You guys remember those especially in corporate, America where you would have, like, the 2 trays? Great. But if those are if you're not checking them often, all they're doing is collecting dust. All it's doing is it's reminding you every day of the pile of undone tasks. You haven't gone through the pile, and it just keeps going, you know, no pun intended, but piling up.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:19:16]:
And now it's the giving you the opposite of what you're supposed to feel when you have nice, quote, unquote, tidy bins. Now it's giving you The, oh my gosh. It's these are just undone tasks. These are just delayed actions on my part, and it reverses the entire purpose of of what those bins are supposed to do. So anything The, like, it's a nesting type of, a box, a bin, a basket, That's what I mean about cluttered counter spaces and those types of products. In the kitchen, an example of that product would be if you have, you know, your so the Productive, whatever, flour, whatever the ingredient, like, the food product, right, will come in its own bag or box. And then some of you will The, put them into another, like, and decanting. It's really it's called decanting when you put it into another, jar or another bin or another box, and now it looks all pretty.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:20:17]:
And that could work for many, many people. But for some people, that just adds clutter because now you don't even have you you you put flour, but you don't know the The. You don't know the in the nutritional facts that you need from the back of the box, and it becomes more work for you because then you have to cut it out and you have to tape it somewhere, but now it doesn't look good. If you don't have a system for decanting, then it becomes more clutter. So those so I can go on and on with examples. If you'd like me to get more even more specific, let me know. Send us a message. I will oh, I will be more than happy to talk about it, and answer your questions.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:20:50]:
But those are the types of things that I'm talking about. So The more example that I have for you is in your car. We don't talk about our car as much, but that's a place where you can feel very cluttered, especially if you spend a long time in it where whether you're doing road trips, you travel for work, where you're driving everywhere, or just based on your everyday commute to work The and from, you might, be spending a lot of time in your car. Cars also have counter spaces, like a space like a, horizontal space. Right? In the middle console and whatever it may be. So those places so what peep some people will do is they'll just cram everything in their seat, like, in the passenger seat, right, when they're driving, And it can be very dangerous when you're trying to get to something that is, like, in the bag of the other bag of the other bag, and then now you're just nested and nested and nested. And to get to what you need, it's impossible, and it gives you a headache, and it's just feels overwhelming. So those are the type of nesting products that I'm talking about in your cluttered that will make your counter space cluttered.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:21:55]:
Alright. So that's product product and products number 2. Alright. So for product number 3, we've got the flimsy non sturdy containers. We go back to containers, but they're different from the product number 1. This one is the the type of container that does not have either the 4 walls or are are can be sturdy enough for them to stand on their own. I don't love them. I've always been very hesitant about them.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:22:21]:
So if you have some, I'll kudos to you. But, oh, man. Those can cause so much more of a mess than you intended for. Alright. So what kind of products am I talking about? It's more specific if you don't know what I'm even saying. It's the type that don't have the reinforcement on the walls. Like I said, you could most most of the time, they need to have at least 3, 3 of the sides. It would be great if they had the 4 or the 5th, and then with the lid, it would be the 6th.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:22:51]:
That's just kind of geometry. Right? But, some of these not always. Sometimes they're made out of cardboard or cloth type like a fabric. It's those type. You see them a lot in sock, like, a sock drawers or drawers that where you can buy, like, the IKEA ones. Right? Like, they in the middle for efficiency, you can unzip and zip them so that they can fold nicely, and then you zip them together, and then they create this box that you can put in your drawers. Those though will have 4 walls like around the 4 with the sturdy cardboard semi sturdy cardboard. Ideally if you have 3 at least because some of them are see through in the front, if you have the 3, and then the bottom you should be okay.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:23:35]:
If it has a lid, the lid should ideally also have some kind of sturdy, you know, something that will allow the lid to, not be flimsy. That's what ideally we would want. So I'm I'm combining my if you are going to get it, what I would recommend. So that's I'm I'm starting with that here first, but that's the product I'm talking about. I just wanted to make sure I could describe it for you. But the reason I don't love them, if you haven't gotten them, don't get them. It is really just because there's two reasons. 1, at the end of the day, they're made out of cardboard.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:24:08]:
And if you are new to the podcast, I'm so glad that you're here, but you will know as you start to listen to other pod other episodes is that I don't love cardboard box storage solutions for long term organizing. It's one thing if you're moving and you need to put them in the cardboard box. I mean, that really, they're very well reinforced. They're quick. They're easy. They're less expensive. They work, right, for moving. But for long term storage solutions, I am not a fan.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:24:37]:
Not at all, actually, because they can collect critters. So cardboard is just the way that it's produced most of it, and it's kind of hollow inside. And that's just a perfect little breeding ground for little critters. So when they know that you're not checking your storage areas often or added spacements, storage, rooms, then they will just nest in there. It's dark. It's cozy. So that just in itself is just not my my yeah. I'm not a fan for that.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:25:06]:
Number 2, with any element that is too harsh like water, humidity, it'll just and. It's like it's paper, and then it just it starts to warp, and it loses its reinforcement. So that's reason number 2 I don't like it, and with these type of fabric type of containers, even if they're wrapped around fabric, they still can absorb some of that moisture and get and lose its its efficiency, so I don't love them as much. So that's one of the reasons why I don't like these flimsy fabric type of containers because they're made out of cardboard. Number 2, if they're cloth or anything like that, you have to be if if you're even if even if you're using them in closets, like, you just have to be very, very sure that none of the elements can get can get in, like, the natural elements, water, you know, close to a fire, close because they'll absorb. So I just talked about, like, it can get damaged with water. That's one of the most obvious. Right? And then clitters critters can get into them, so those are obvious.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:26:08]:
But then the other not so obvious is that it will absorb the smell. So if you have, like, cloth or cardboard or flimsy type of material containers, Let's say you keep it in your kitchen, it will absorb whatever smells are in your kitchen or wherever you are, and it's not the best, you know, and then you'll take them out of that element and then it'll just kind of keep that element keep that smell. Another, place that you end up using these types of containers or bins or baskets are if you have, shelving units, you know, you like, the square type of bins, those are also made out of The what I'm talking about. I have some. Look. I do, and I'm guilty, and they came with some of the products that I I got, like the, IKEA type of shelving or, you know, if if you like, especially office and and bedroom type of spaces, they come with those, you know, those, like, cloth type of square bins. So I have some because it came with The, and and I'll use them, but I'm very cautious because of what I just said. They will absorb the smell.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:27:15]:
They can get damaged. If any if you accidentally step on it, if you accidentally put something too heavy, it would lose its shape, and it's just really annoying. So I don't recommend it, and people just get frustrated or you'll keep using it and it loses loses its visual appeal, if you will, and then you kind of start to get messy and things collide. And is just really not a good look. So what I would recommend instead, if you already have them, then, hey, you do you and and and you like them and they work for you, great. There are there are either plastic cousins of theirs, not that I'm advocating for plastic use, but they do make The their sturdier version. So go online and see if you can find the same type of bin or basket, but the sturdier version that does not absorb the smells like plastic, especially in the in the areas and spaces where there's a lot of o odors or humidity. So maybe start there and if you're not going to replace them everywhere.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:28:23]:
So that's one place. Another, solution that I would have for you is that you can certainly, I mean, you can certainly make your own. Right? But so if you've already gotten to the point where they're just too smelly or one of the sides got bent because it's cardboard or flimsy material, you can always just do a new insert and put like a new one in if you if you really need to keep it. Honestly, it's a stretch for me. I'm just being real real and realistic with you. Those bins, I'm not a fan of. If you can stay away from them, I would. The the one of the only reasons that, I can see them working too is if you're in a temporary space.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:29:04]:
So think if you're working, you know, remotely for a while. I used to work for a couple of companies where we would manage their moves and manage the, the worker. Like, the the workers would go to projects, and we would make sure that they were all organized and packed, unpacked, and moved, and then get them, you know, their living situation done, and they would only be there for about 3 to 6 months at a time. So then we would get them, the most efficient, cost effective furniture pieces because they were not going to be there very often or very long. So we would just get them something like that. College, you know, when you're going off to college, like your children maybe in The college dorms. That's why they're so popular in those settings because at the end, you most likely will end up throwing them away. Now I oh, man.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:29:51]:
Fast fast fashion, fast furniture. Oh, I'm not a big fan of, but but also it's cost efficient. Right? And we're we are here to make life easier and whatever works for you. So if that's what you were able to to purchase and get, I get it. Please keep using and doing what works for you, but if you can try to either save up a little bit more to get something of quality that will last you a lot longer and will not have all all of these the unpleasantries that I just talked about of the odor of them being flimsy, very easy to break and all The, and they won't have the unpleasantries of that. So if you can, maybe save a little bit and get a quality Productive, buy and, resellers like Facebook Marketplace, Craigslist, all the online retails. Look for someone that may have a better version of it for the same price, and I think that's a win win as well. Okay.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:30:48]:
Alright. So those are the 3, and I've got one quick bonus for you of us of an item, and that is the uneven lumpy counters or shelving. This is the reason this is a bonus is because they're oh, man. If you can avoid it, please do so. Don't get don't get the shelving, like, the wire shelving where when you put something on top of it, it's everything just is uneven because the wires themselves will either move or shift or warp and then you put something on top of it, especially something that's thin, and it'll just like a box, like a thin box, and it's just crooked or wobbly. Oh my goodness. It'll come off every time you pass by it. If there's movement, it'll just keep falling off and it's super annoying.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:31:31]:
So but it's a bonus because most of these have solutions where you can get a, like a some kind of topper, sometimes they're very thin, almost like a thin layer of a topper, so that it makes it sturdier and more even. You can also build something on top of it so that it does become more sturdy. So it's one of those that it's not that the product is the one I don't recommend, it's that once you have it up, if it does create an uneven, lumpy countershelving, then try to find a solution for that so that you're not always constantly super annoyed by things falling and, you know, and and being frustrated with that. So if you do get shelving, make sure that it's it's even it's not lumpy. No lumpy counters are out here. Okay. Alright. So those are the products that I highly do not recommend that you get and the reasons behind it.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:32:33]:
If you have any questions, you can always message me at hello at the Organized flamingo.com. Couple of updates, we have our new workshop that's coming up in August, so I will give you some more details on that. It's August of 2024. If you are listening to this podcast outside of that time frame, don't you worry. We have ongoing free workshops, that you can always find at our Organized and cherished.com website, which I just put in the show notes. Until next week, happy organizing.
Stephanie Y. Deininger [00:33:03]:
Thank you for listening to the Organized and productive podcast with The Organized flamingo. If you enjoyed today's episode, I would love it if you leave a rating and review on your favorite podcast player. It helps with letting people know that we're here. For full show notes and resources, head on over to the Organized flamingo.com/podcast. Happy organizing.
