How to keep those favorite recipes organized

Whelp, Purim’s over. And like magic, the endless shelves of cello bags and grosgrain ribbon have been replaced by cleaning supplies. Lots of cleaning supplies. I have two entire shelves of my pantry filled with the stuff, but I can never find what I actually need. So I reached out to the queen of functionality, Yael Wiesner, organizer extraordinaire. Here’s what she had to say:

You use fewer than 50 percent of the cleaning supplies in your cabinet. (Statistic made up by me, based on years of organizing experience.) There are the supplies someone bought by mistake, and the almost-finished-bottles covered in sticky dust too empty to use but too full to dispose of. There are the cleaning products your last cleaning lady swore by, but your new cleaning lady doesn’t like. And then there’s that amazing cleaner you love, but never use because your husband hates its scent.

Trash all of the above and see what’s left before you go out and spend lots of money on bins and organizers for your cleaning supplies.

And remember, you don’t need to buy everything out there. Honestly, one large bottle of a quality cleaning solution is good for most areas of the home: floors, counters, sinks, bathtubs, mirrors, and glass. Add some to a spritz bottle with a little water and voilà — you have a spray! The aisles and aisles of specialized cleaning solutions for each area of your home have gotten out of control. Don’t be fooled into thinking you need to buy them.

Of course, occasionally, you may need to purchase something specific — for wood floors, or to remove calcium buildup from around your faucets; you’ll need some bleach and a bottle of toilet cleaner. That should leave you with five or so bottles of different cleaning solutions.

As for rags, scrub brushes, shmattehs, and the like, here, too, don’t buy every product on the market. You don’t need three different types of brooms and four mops. Stick to one of each that works well for you.