Category: Home organization (Page 5 of 6)

14 Really Great Drawer Organization Ideas

What’s In Your Drawers?

Drawer clutter is something that lurks inside without proper guidance. Drawer organization, on the other hand, is something that smiles at you when its opened and nothing is lurking inside. And it needs no assistance in finding something.

Drawer Organization Ideas

You may have noticed that these drawers are easy to keep organized because of the various drawer dividers used. Buy them, make them, create your own drawer style. Just make sure it smiles at you when you’re done 🙂 Take a look at the photo slideshow to get ideas for organizing your drawers!

 

A fun spice drawer that uses foam liner strips by Youcopia to hold the spice jars in place inside jar.

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
A kitchen utility drawer that uses wood drawer dividers to organize groups of items.

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
A kitchen utility drawer using plastic drawer organizer compartments. These expand to width of drawer space.

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
Make it easy to see your storage wraps inside a drawer. This drawer had built-in wooden dividers to make the job easier.

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
This is a deep kitchen drawer so I used clear plastic storage containers to separate items inside drawer. These help prevent a cluttered drawer!

Image source: The Organizing Lady!
A deep drawer used for plastic storage containers. Lids are stored in a clear plastic storage bin inside drawer.

Image source: The Organizing Lady.
A nicely organized kitchen utility drawer using wood drawer dividers. It's easy to see where things are and where they go when you're putting things away in them.

Image source: Better Homes & Garden - bhg.com
Even a junk drawer should have order in it, and this one uses various size cardboard box containers. It's a clever way to group like-items together and handle the mess that junk drawers typically look like.

Image source: Hi Sugarplum
Use a drawer to organize candles of various shapes and sizes. This drawer uses plastic drawer organizers available at most department and specialty stores.

Image source: Real Simple
A simple and inexpensive way to compartmentalize your clothes drawer is to use empty shoe boxes. And to really squeeze in more than usual and be able to SEE what is there, use a folding technique that shows what you have.

Image source: OneKingLane.com
A sweater drawer without any drawer dividers - just use a folding technique to show the sweaters and you'll be able to squeeze more inside, as well as see what you have.

Image source: LuckyMag.com
This is a cool idea for a craft or sock and underwear drawer, even for ties. It uses DIY round tubed drawer organizers from PVC pipes.

Image source: diyncrafts.com
An organized sock drawer using clear plastic storage bins inside drawer to hold socks in. You can see all your socks with this simple folding technique that neatly displays each sock.

Image source: Better Homes & Garden - bhg.com
A baby drawer organized with decorative collapsible canvas bins inside drawer to separate and contain the items. Collapsible canvas bins come in all sizes and available just about anywhere these days!

Image source: Buzzfeed

 

Organizing Stuff Video Series #1

The Organizing Lady Cyndi Seidler presents a few tips in a light-hearted way regarding some of the basics of organizing your stuff. This isn’t for a mature audience. Strong language is used a few times. And no dogs were harmed in the making of this video either.

 

Taming The Chaos Tiger In Cabinets

If you’ve heard of Barbara Hemphill’s book “Taming The Paper Tiger” then you know it’s about organizing paper. Well here’s how to tame the chaos tiger in your cabinets. In this case, I’ll be showing my very own kitchen cabinets.

I basically use the necessary “tools” in the cabinets that will maximize the space, help keep things organized inside, and be easy to see to find what I’m looking for. And since all cabinets come in different sizes, I just needed to determine the best fit, or solution for each space.

The food pantry

food pantry

My pantry is deep and food can be lost in the back, so I used a combination of round turn-tables, hanging shelf baskets, and clear containers that act as drawers. Some shelves are maximized to hold more than it could have held without a hanging shelf basket.

round turntable in pantry

With large round turn-tables on the first 3 shelves of the pantry cabinet, nothing is hidden from view.

maximize space in food pantry

The hanging shelf basket maximizes the space on that shelf.

hanging shelf basket for more cabinet space

I was pleased to find these clear plastic storage containers with handles at a dollar store.

clear plastic storage containers

On the bottom shelf I used another hanging shelf basket and clear plastic storage containers (in 2 sizes to fit in the space).

spice cabinet

Inside the other door of my pantry is a shelf for my spices which is maximized by a smaller, more narrow shelf above it and another turn-table below for spices I use the most.

The kitchen cabinets

dish cabinet

My dish cabinet utilizes space-saver shelves so dishes can be stacked on them without over-stacking dishes on top of each other. I certainly got a lot of dishes on that one shelf for such a small cabinet space!

under the sink storage bins

Under my sink I used some storage containers to hold household items and some tools (since I lack storage space in my apartment), and a dish pan to store some cleaning supplies. It’s better to keep things contained in something than loose because I can just pull out the dish pan when I’m cleaning to access all the stuff I’ll need.

coffee cupboard

I don’t have much counter space so I store my toaster and Magic Bullet in my cabinet. But I also store my coffee in it since it’s just above my coffee maker. Although I don’t like mixing food with other kitchen items, I made an exception to my rule so that I could have a “coffee center” area.

These are the main things I wanted to show you – that you can use storage containers, bins, shelf space-savers, and turn-tables in your cabinets to keep things organized and make the most of the space inside.

Happy organizing!

Video: Styling Your Home To Be Organized

In this video I walk you around my house to show you some of the organizing solutions I use to keep things organized.

In styling your home, you’ll see how I use a stylish shelf basket to hold my napkins, the space-saver racks in my kitchen cupboard, the various turntables in my pantry and fridge, the wall shelf I use for my doggie stuff, the Ikea rod over my bathroom sink to keep things off the counter, a decorative shower rack I use as a wall shelf, the shelf basket inside my bathroom cabinet, the organizer on my vanity table, and the clothes hangers I use in my closet.

These are just some of the things I use to store “stuff” in that, as I kept saying in the video, is “cool.” (I may have over-used the word “cool” a bit!).

Anyway, hope you enjoy and leave a comment (only if it’s a nice comment! Hahaha!).

Inspiring Home Office Spaces That Make You Love Work

You get up, eat some breakfast, shower, get dressed (maybe) and head to your home office to start your work day (in no particular order). If you are not loving your home office space, you may not be loving your work so much, or at least not loving to do work in your space.

Making your home office into a stylish place, possibly even the most stylish room in your home, just takes a bit of re-thinking your home office environment.

So here’s some ideas to give your home office a picker-upper and make it the office you LOVE working and being in. And, most of all, an office that inspires work and creativity.

Open space doesn’t have to mean same space for home office

A stylish room divider that compliments the room while dividing the home office space is a good alternative to an open space design.

office-room-divider-from-hometone

Found on Hometone.com

Turn home office wall space into art

Adding a bit of distinction on one wall with creative paint work or wallpaper can bring character and style to your office area.

office wall paint

Found on Nousdecor.com

home office-desk

Found on homedit.com

Match your home office style with a wall art design

Get creative here and check out some specialty stores that carry wall art, or make your own!

office-wall-decor

Found on Carlaaston

office-wall-decor

Found on brit.co

Add functionality to your home office wall space

A chalkboard wall will let your creativity explode in your home office, and it can be a lot of fun marking up the wall.

office chalkboard wall

Found on Upcycledtreasures.com

A paper roll for the wall also works for note-taking …

office-paper-roll

Found on design-milk

A framed clipboard center can organize those special papers in style without looking like clutter.

office-clipboards

Found on liagriffith

Keep your family, friends and favorite places in view with a photo collection

Photos around the office remind you of your loved ones and/or memorable places, making work so much more pleasant.

office-photo-wall

Found on inspiredsnaps.com

office-picture-hang

Found on cosmopolitan.co.uk

office-framed-pictures

Found on dopedecor.com

Light up your home office space with special lighting

Office lighting is important and giving some style to your lighting solution is even better.

home office-lighting

Found on howtodecorate.com

office-lighting-and-area-rugs

Found on Stylelogistics

home office-lighting

Found on lushome

Create some nostalgia in the home office

What kind of article would this be if I didn’t include my own home office?! Obviously, I’m also into filmmaking and use decor that inspires me 🙂

hollywhollywood styled home officeood styled home office

Source: Organizing Lady

Spice up home office bookshelves

Again, this is my home office area with a couple bookshelves that do not bore me. And I keep supplies and materials hidden in decorative storage luggage and book drawers.

home office bookshelves

Source: The Organizing Lady

And for a brighter look, white bookshelves with colored accessories add flavor to the space.

home office-materials-shelf

Found on simplified-bee

office-storage-shelves

Found on designrulz.com

office-box-storage

Found on Stylecaster

And, just for those special home office books …

office-bookshelves

Found on Brit.co

Bring style to your desk with styled desk accessories

Forget boring desk accessories and go with all the cool desk accessory styles now available to us.

office-desk-accessories

Found on simplyjessicamarie.com

office-desk-accessories

Found on modishandmain.com

office-desk-accessories

Found on thelegalcareergirl.com

office-supply-holder

Found on Hative

office-desk-frame

Found on Brit.co

Maximize your desk area using the wall for office accessories

I came across this DIY accessory holder with a lot of character and had to share!

office-supply-holder

Found on Hative

Show office file folders that have some style

Like desk accessories, file folders don’t have to be boring when they are in view in your home office space.

office-folders

Found on runtoradiance.com

Stylize your home office filing system

If you can’t hide your filing cabinet, there are other solutions …

office-storage-bench

by Martha Stewart

Paint your filing cabinet with chalkboard paint to write your own notes on.

office-file-cabinet

Found on designimprovised.com

Use office furniture that enhances the home office space

This is where style meets your personality or personal taste. Shop around to find the perfect fit!

office-supply-hutch

Found on TheNester.com

home office

Found on ballarddesigns.com

home office

Found on carlaaston.com

Bring inspiration into the home office

If you’re like me who likes to keep things that inspire me in view, these inspiration boards are perfect ideas for the home office.

office-inspiration-board

Found on artek.com

office-inspiration-board

Found on iheartorganizing-blogspot

office-inspiration

Found on Still-Inspiration-blogspot

A cool office chair adds character and style to your home office space

To complete the look in your office, don’t forget the office chair!

office-chair

Found on refinery29

office-chair

Found on laurieannes.com

Florals and plants will emphasize the home in home office

And lastly, let’s not forget to bring some life into your home office with florals and/or plants …

office florals

Found on mattieologie.com

office-plants

Found on stylelogistics

You can check out more on my Pinterest board!

 

8 Simple Ways To Reclaim Your Messy Space In A Hurry

Let me see, you’ve got some stuff in your living space that is taking away from the aesthetics you once created in it. Maybe it’s the kid’s stuff, maybe it’s the spouses, or maybe it’s your own stuff that never found another home space? What’cha gonna do?

I’ve seen this happen all too often, and it usually begins with walking in the front door and dropping stuff off nearby. The situation continues as it becomes a dropping place for many other things now – like returns to the store, gifts you purchased, bins filled with donation items, and so on.

Pretty soon, that open space is no longer open space – it is now clutter space. In my article”4 Easy Ways To Give Your Cluttered Home A Space Lift” you’ll see my method in clearing clutter, and you may want to start there. Because that’s the first thing that needs to be done – removing stuff that doesn’t belong in the area.

After that, here are ways to reclaim and re-create your space.

1. Place decor on furniture surfaces

Placing a plant or candles on a side table and maybe even a fish bowl or something doesn’t leave a lot of room for dumping other stuff on it and is the best way to avoid clutter build-up.

table decor

Found on on-eggeth

table decor

Found on-decor4all

dresser decor

Found on-homedecorationconcepts

tabletop decor

Source: The Organizing Lady

2. Create a ready-to-go table setting

Adding a vase or planter on a dining table and some table settings, for instance, will claim that space as a dining area – not a dumping table.

table setting

Source: The Organizing Lady

tablesetting

Found on buytrion

3. Decorate your living room furniture

Put decorative throw pillows on sofa and chairs to avoid furniture dumps.

throw pillows

Found -on-hgtv

throw pillows

Found on -on-eco-fueler

4. Re-decorate your bookshelves

After the clutter is taken off the bookshelves, you can now make them a showcase of books, photos, and decor items.

bookshelf decor

Found on on decoist

bookshelf decor

Found on fortikur

bookshelf decor

Found on chicandglamorous

5. Give your home work area a quick makeover

You can add some style to your work area with some new stylized desk accessories, and also bring character and personality to the area with some wall art, new shelving for extra storage space, and maybe even a plant or florals.

home office

Found on visiop

home office

Found on housebeautiful

home office

Found on davinong

6. Reclaim your kitchen counter space

Find space in cabinets for the food, or add wall shelving for it, but get it off your counter (unless it is in some decorative jar or basket. Same goes for the abundance of small appliances sitting there that you don’t use frequently.

kitchen counter design

Found on Fridgecheck

kitchen counter space

Source: The Organizing Lady

kitchen counter

Found onmedberian

7. Turn your bedroom into a showroom

Your bedroom can be a sanctuary place. Dress up the dresser and bed tables with some decor and functional storage-type items.

bedroom decor

Found on howtodecorate

bedroom decor

Found on homedesigns-today

bedroom decor

Found on cahomepro

8. Make your own bathroom guest-friendly

Yes, it’s your own bathroom, but make it LOOK like a guest bathroom and keep minimal items in view.

bathroom counter decor

Found on saybrookhomes

bathroom decor

Found on homebunch

bathroom decor

Found on cristinarobinson.net

bathroom decor

Found on ihomewatch.net

 

 

10 Savvy Solutions That Roommates Can Use To Organize Shared Spaces

It goes without saying that roommates need to set ground rules (oops, I said it!). So, let’s move on to how they can live in harmony around their shared home spaces.

Now, although I can’t help you in the personality conflicts area, I can help you create a balanced home environment to achieve harmony. Let’s start in the kitchen, the most shared space of all in a house sharing situation.

KITCHEN AREA ORGANIZATION

1. Designating food shelves in cupboards or pantry and in fridge

If you can spare some space, like some shelves in the cabinet and fridge, this can make a roommate feel right at home.

cabinet-food

fridge-food

2. Using labels in food cupboards

Albeit, some of the food may be shared, like staple food and spices, there will be food specifically for each roommate. And, if there isn’t a designated food cabinet for a roommate, labeling food is a smart solution.

cabinet-food labeling

cabinet-food

3. Using labels for fridge food

With designated food shelves in the fridge, you may not need to label food. However, if you’re sharing the entire fridge, this will delineate whose food it belongs to. Unlabeled food is open season for whoever is in there so, unless it’s leftovers from a shared meal, better slap a label on it.

fridge-food labels

4. Keeping lots of disposable food containers at hand

Without these nifty containers or jars in the kitchen, the fridge and cabinets can become cluttered or messy. And, since containers stack so nicely, the cabinets will always look nicer. And, for shared shelving, make sure to also keep some masking tape at hand for labeling!

food storage containers

5. Maximizing your cabinet space

Space-savers like lazy-susan turntables and space-saver racks will turn the cabinets into more usable space.

cabinet-turntable

cabinet-space-savers

Also, grouping a lot of food items in bins or containers will save space in the food cabinet.

cabinet-food labeling

6. Creating new storage

If you need more cabinet space, you might consider hanging pots and pans on a ceiling overhang.

pots-ceiling-rack

There might even be some wall space for wall shelves to get dishes or extra food items out of cabinet spaces.

wall-shelves-in-kitchen

ikea-rail-system-for-kitchen

7. Keeping a shared shopping list

It’s bound to happen – one roommate uses the last of the cinnamon spice and you won’t know it until you go for it. Keep a list inside a cabinet door or as a decorative framed chalkboard piece.

chalkboard-shopping-list

BATHROOM ORGANIZATION

8. Creating space

In a shared bathroom, storage space can be a big issue. Over-door storage will maximize the room and provide additional storage.

over-door-bathroom-storage

over-door-bathroom-storage2

Installing wall shelving will also add more storage space.

bathroom-wall-shelving

Baskets hung on the wall add more storage space, too.

bathroom-wall-shelving

bathroom-wall-shelving3

COMMON LIVING SPACES

9. Staying clutter-free with bins

Besides the kitchen, a living room or dining room are the most shared spaces, and keeping these areas free of stuff that doesn’t belong there can be challenging. Keeping basket bins around is one way to control the clutter.

Living-room-storage-basket

Living-room-storage-basket

Living-room-storage-basket

Living-room-storage-basket

10. Using a drop-off station

It might be a good idea to have a drop off station for things like keys, sunglasses, coats, mail, purses, whatevers. Here’s some ideas on that …

drop-off-station

drop-off-station

Found on Lauren Conrad

mail-drop

mail-purse-coat-drop

Happy house-sharing!

 

 

 

4 Easy Ways To Give Your Cluttered Home A Space Lift On A Dime

Giving a space-lift to a cluttered home is like a face-lift to your face – you are giving your space new dimensions and a new look that makes it more beautiful.

After all, when we start getting wrinkles on our face, bags under our eyes, or sagging necklines, we want to do all we can to bring back some of the youth we once had.

The same principle applies to a room that’s sprinkled with clutter, sagging with overloaded shelves, or stuffed with too much stuff in cabinets and closets. When it starts happening (or has existed for too long), we should want to make it more beautiful again, or at least more livable.

So, here’s some fast and easy ways to do a space-lift without spending a lot – like you are doing design on a dime!

1. Remove clutter

Gather up all clutter in the area into sorting bins

clutter-removal

De-cluttering the living room and family room are good places to start because these are common areas of the home and can accumulate the most stuff which ends up out of place for long periods of time, sometimes indefinitely. So, begin by collecting any items on the loose lying around and put them in receptacles by category / type.

Once that is done, your area will be clutter-free!

2. Give the area more space

Re-arrange furniture and items in room to make it more spacious.

re-arrange furniture

Situate furniture so it’s more functional for the room and get rid of too much furniture for the space. Same for items on table-top surfaces and bookshelves.

The transformation of your space is now even more visible – and that’s without spending a dime on new paint, flooring or new furniture!

3. Streamline your belongings

Sort through each clutter receptacle to determine if you want or need the item in it.

sort clutter

So far you’ve done the easiest part of the easy ways to do a space-life and haven’t spent a dime yet. Don’t stop now! You’re almost there!

This is typically the longest part of the organization process, but a very necessary part. If you end up leaving everything in its sorting bin, you’ll just end up with organized clutter in some area of your home.

The easy way to tackle this step is just to dive right in – one receptacle at a time – and start looking at each thing you pick up from it. Take all the time you need on this and don’t worry – you’ve had this stuff lying around for quite some time so another few days or weeks sorting through the stuff shouldn’t matter much.

4. Give stuff a home

Find the right organizing solution for your stuff.

organize things in basket

Now that you’ve sorted through everything and know what you’ll be keeping, you can either a) put it away where it belongs or b) find a new home for it.

That “home” might be in a new container, bin, basket, or some type of holding place or storage containment product. This is where you’re going to end up spending a little of your cash if you don’t already have something to use around the house.

You might think this step isn’t so easy, but it is. Not only that, but it’s the most fun!

Just make a list of the stuff you want to contain and go into a discount department store to walk down the home organization isles. Or, go online to have a look around (and those Pinterest Boards for home organization are fabulous!). You’ll find plenty of organizing solutions, ideas and inspirations doing any of those things.

Now, it’s done! You’ve completed a space-lift and didn’t spend a small fortune doing so! Step back and enjoy the new view of your space.

an organized space

[Note: All images from DVD clips of “Get Organized With Cyndi Seidler”]

 

 

20 Quick Fix Home Organization Hacks Lying Around The House

When you have a home organization issue, there are some very ingenious ways to fix it. But “a quick fix, really?” you may ask. “Just how quick?” Well, it depends on how fast you can move to find any of the items in this article – this could be your organizing scavenger hunt!

Since there are dozens of ways to get organized and dozens of various organizing solutions, the ones I wanted to show you here are the quick fix remedies- especially since you may already have some of these around your house already. This makes the task much quicker – again, it depends on how fast you can move to find them around in your house (or how fast you can get to a dollar store).

The way I see it, if a lot of stuff is just lying around, it’s clutter. If it’s put away in (or on) something, it’s organized. This goes for hidden places like cabinets, drawers and closets. Just use any of these inventions and you will be cured. I mean, your home will be cured.

1. The Jar

Open food in cabinets can become unruly, not to mention that the food can get stale faster. So a jar is a good fix for that.

jar storage

jars

2. The Basket

What a great bin these turned out to be in trying to get organized indeed.

baskets

baskets

baskets

3. The Container

Now these are fabulous, simply fabulous. You can just throw in like-items and group them together in a container.

containers

containers

containers

And tiered containers with drawers … marvelous!

container-drawers

4. Plastic Shoebox Containers

If I got a dollar for every use I found for these, I’d be so very rich.

shoebox-containers

shoebox-containers

5. The Can

If you haven’t saved any of your food cans, start putting some aside because they can be a useful thing to use in getting some of those pesky utensils organized.

cans

cans

cans

Even a small trash can comes in handy for other things besides trash.

trashcan storage

6. Canvas Bins

These seem to be quite popular in stores now and must be selling well since they are still around. I bet you have some. If you do, throw some stuff in them.

canvas-bins

canvas-bins

canvas-bins

7. Dollar Store Bins

A cheap fix to hold just about anything. Think about the under the sink clutter and try putting it to use there for a start.

bins-under-sink

8. Drawer Trays

For those kitchen drawer blues, these nifty trays do wonders inside drawers.

drawer-trays

(via therealisticorganizer.blogspot.com)

9. The Tool Box

Another cheap fix from the dollar store – the plastic tool box. Throw all your craft stuff in, or whatevers, it doesn’t matter. It’s useful for something.

toolbox

10. The Bucket

Again, if you don’t have one or two of these around, take a trip to the dollar store. They have a use.

bucket

buckets

11. The Lazy Susan

It’s not called the Lazy Susan for nothing – it may have been invented for lazy people trying to stay organized, is my guess. Who it’s named after is simple – it’s Susan.

Okay, so you you may not have it lying around your house. But just go out and buy one (or two or three or …).

Now this incredible turntable invention can be used as a treatment for a lot of kitchen issues – namely those deep cupboards which hide our stuff behind other stuff in the front row.

lazy-susan-cupboard

And you can use them in your fridge as well since they share an equal problem of hiding stuff.

Fridge lazy susan

I personally go a little crazy when it comes to these because I also use them on my countertop to group stuff on that clutters the counter. And I’ve seen them used on desktops to group desktop accessories too.

lazy-susan-countertop

12. The File Folder

Forget about your filing system for now (or lack of) … and use those file folders for paper you can’t quite find a home for (other than your kitchen counter – which is not really a home, but a resting place that gives you no rest). Pocket folders are even greater.

file-folders

Now, if you have some of those really cool plastic transparent folders, the better to see your stuff with, my dear!

folders

13. The Notebook Binder

You know, these binders are not just for students to carry around their school papers (do they still use these, I wonder?). They are actually the perfect cure for accumulated papers because you didn’t want them stuffed inside some forgotten file cabinet.

Take for instance, all those clippings of your favorite recipes, those dozens of restaurant menus you’ve collected, and let’s not forget to mention those project papers you needed handy.

binders

binders

14. The Clipboard

I’ve never known a home to be without one of these. But if you’re one of those few that didn’t bother to get one, here’s something you can do with it that could help you get a handle on all those papers.

clipboard

15. The Envelope

Got envelopes? Try using it for receipts and misc. paper stuff.

envelopes

16. The Hanger

Think outside the box when it comes to hangers – you can actually hang other stuff on them beside clothing.

hangers

17. The Totebag

Quite a clever thing, particularly for gathering up all those items on the loose and keeping them there until you find another home for them.

tote-papers

Even papers can be toted around if you find yourself mobile a lot.

tote-papers

 

18. The Bag

For all those bags you’ve saved, now is the time to put them to real use.

grocery bags use

19. The Gift Bag

The gift bag is a good start to be on the stylish side of organizing.

gift bag

20. The Box

Wow, what an invention this was! I saved this one for last because we probably all have a box or two around that isn’t being properly utilized – especially some archive banker boxes.

boxes

boxes

…or those shoe boxes that never got tossed after we took the shoes out.

shoe-box storage

And low and behold, you can even use shoe boxes to store shoes!

shoe-boxes

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