by Cary Farrell
July 22, 2019
Understanding prime real estate inside your home is important to creating an organized and functional home Realtors understand that location, location, location is one of the primary concerns of clients when looking at a home or a piece of property for a business. Is the home convenient to my work, school or activities or is the property in a high traffic area so that my business will be seen by lots of customers?
Prime real estate does not only apply to your outside location. It also translates to the inside of your home or business. It is important to understand and define what the prime real estate is in each space and make sure you use it to your best advantage. Just like having a Starbucks on every corner (even across the street from each other) makes it convenient for coffee drinkers to swing in and grab their morning caffeine, placing the items you use everyday in prime real estate in your home will make preparing meals, getting ready for the day, paying bills or anything that you do at home more efficient, easier, and less stressful to do.
I recently helped my office assistant organize her kitchen pantry and a few of the drawers and cabinets in her kitchen. Here are her comments on the result of that project.
“ My entire pantry and the kitchen drawers we looked at are all organized now. It feels so good! I look in my pantry now and just smile. The best thing I learned from you is how to think about my prime real estate, especially putting what I use most often within my reach. It seems intuitive, but you helped me to think outside of the box. For example, I don't have to just put food in the pantry because it's a pantry. Putting all of my kid's lunch stuff in that deep drawer (at the counter space where she daily makes school lunches) has been a HUGE help. I made sandwiches for lunch this morning and it was sooooo much easier!
So how do you figure out your Prime Real Estate and what items you need to put in those spots? Here’s an exercise you can do in your own kitchen:
The Kitchen
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Stand at the stove and pull out the pots and pans that you use on a daily basis and set these on the stove top
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Next pull out the items you use weekly or at least several times a month and set them on a counter
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Then pull out those occasional pots and pans and set them on the table
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What’s left probably doesn’t get used so you can donate those items. If you have several multiples of items be willing to consider donating the extras.
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Place the daily used pots and pans in a cabinet, drawer, shelf or on hooks closest to the stove
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The pots and pans that get used weekly or several times a month get the next nearest cabinet, drawer, shelf or hooks.
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The pots and pans that get occasional use can be stored at the top or bottom of a pantry or containerized in a clear plastic bin and stored in the attic or garage.
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Cooking utensils, oven mitts and often used cooking condiments can be handled the same way. Only leave the most often used items near the stove so finding and putting them away will be quick and painless
I challenge you to think outside the box and take a closer look at the prime real estate in your own home to make sure that what is stored there are the items you truly use on a daily or weekly basis.I have seen clients use the cabinet closest to the stove for their unused coffee mug collection so that the items they used every day had to clutter the counter leaving little room to prep.
Functioning in your home as well as the ability to keep your home neat and organized will be easier and a lot less stressful. Reclaim your prime real estate and your peace!