8 Incredibly Clever Organizing Tricks
A tension rod under the sink; wire and nails in the closet ... these storage and organizing ideas are budget friendly to the max
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel and design. I just completed my first remodel, turning my crumbling 1941 kitchen into a beauty of grays, whites and natural wood. If I could, I'd sleep on the countertop. That's how much I love it.
You can also read my parenting blog on Baby Center http://blogs.babycenter.com/author/sschoech/
Houzz Contributor. I am a former magazine editor specializing in travel... More »
It would be lovely to have a professionally designed closet or a spacious laundry room with a custom organizational system. But most of us are dealing with small spaces, limited funds and big imaginations.
Oh, and stuff. Lots of stuff.
The first trick to good organization is to purge (you can call it curating if that feels better) often and ruthlessly. If you have not used it in a year, out it goes (unless, of course, it has true sentimental or monetary value).
Once you get your stuff down to a nice, manageable pile, you're going to need a way to organize it. Here are 8 clever, cute and inexpensive ways to do so.
Oh, and stuff. Lots of stuff.
The first trick to good organization is to purge (you can call it curating if that feels better) often and ruthlessly. If you have not used it in a year, out it goes (unless, of course, it has true sentimental or monetary value).
Once you get your stuff down to a nice, manageable pile, you're going to need a way to organize it. Here are 8 clever, cute and inexpensive ways to do so.
It's so simple and yet so revolutionary. Label, label, label. I particularly love this way of organizing beauty products into bins labeled for skin, hair, face and other. This would do wonders for my single jumbled bin of cosmetics dusted with crumbled eyeshadow.
This beauty is by Kristen McAshen of Peace, Love & Crafts.
This beauty is by Kristen McAshen of Peace, Love & Crafts.
by Heather Freeman
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These wire baskets are meant to hold manila folders. But screw them to your closet door (or a wall) as in this idea from The Lovely Cupboard and they become cute catchalls for all those awkward accessories like scarves, tights and clutches.
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| Seriously increase the usable space under your sink by mounting a simple tension rod for hanging spray bottles. |
by Atypical Type A
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Next to my bin of jumbled cosmetics I have a bin of jumbled medicines, bandages, thermometers and the like. A cheap plastic shoe organizer (plastic because it's see-through) would keep it all tidy and accessible.
by Atypical Type A
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Give your jewelry some air. You will wear it more often. I hang my necklaces on a row of rusty nails hammered straight into the wall above my dresser. Or you can tack up some wire to create an instant (and pretty) tiered organizer.
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by Ish and Chi
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| You don't even have to make your clipboards as pretty as these, although they do look good, don't they? Even plain mounted clipboards are a wonderful way to organize to-do lists, coupons and all those scraps of paper that mysteriously enter our houses each day. |
Save floor space and make kids' books easy to find with a mounted magazine rack.
P.S. This would also work for magazines and newspapers (remember those?).
P.S. This would also work for magazines and newspapers (remember those?).
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| Take advantage of open shelving by harmonizing mismatched jars with matching labels. If you really want to get elegant, spray paint the lids all the same color. Reuse is the best form of recycling, after all. |
Ideabook updated on Jan. 16, 2013.
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Footnote: Ideal for pre-wound bobbins, specialty threads , seam rippers, scissors etc. Super for items such as small paint brushes, pouncers, paint pens, spray paint etc. etc. etc.
As I do not completely agree with "if you haven't used it in a year", I would like to add a word of wisdom regarding purging. If it is something that took you awhile to find you may want to hold on to it otherwise you may regret that you got rid of it. (I know I have on more than one occasion.) It has also been my finding that many, many items of today are just not the same quality as that in the past. With this said and addressing your female readers; to avoid being 'a groupie' of a disposable society I feel your best guide is to use discretion and caution ...... before tossing!
I just wonder if mice would chew on the edges...