Two Organizing Tools That Will Change Your Life
Okay, I’ve been SO excited to have this conversation with you.
Seriously, you have NO idea.
It’s all about timing, though, and I couldn’t go gettin’ you all excited about something that you weren’t ready for.
But now? Now you’re ready!
Step five in the whole Six Steps To Establishing Zero extravaganza was all about evaluating the items you’d decided to keep and figuring out how best to store them in a way so staying organized was as easy as possible.
I’m about to introduce to you my two ABSOLUTE favorite organizing tools that will do exactly that- Store your items in a way that makes staying organized easier.
I use these tools in pretty much EVERY home in which I work so I’ve got quantifiable data to prove that they work. (I use them in my own home as well!) And besides, I’d never steer ya’ wrong!
Drumroll, please.
Two Organizing Tools That Will Change Your Life
1. Over the Door Shoe Organizer
2. Labeled Baskets and/or Bins
There they are!! Holy cow, I dunno about you, but I’m EXCITED.
Wait, you’re feeling a wee bit let down, aren’t you? A teensy bit…gypped.
Okay, I’ll admit that was a smidge anti-climactic but really? The beauty of those two organizing tools is truly in their simplicity. Their simplicity AND their price. Both of those tools are available in versions at just about every price range. As a matter of fact, I cleaned Wal-Mart out of their over the door shoe organizers today for less than $6.00 each!
So now let’s talk details!
How exactly do you use these tools in meaningful ways that actually get you organized and help you stay that way?
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Over the Door Shoe Organizer
Uses:
Office/Craft Room
Craft supplies
Office supplies
Cords/Tech
Bathroom
Toiletries
Medicine
Kitchen
Cleaning products
Water bottles
Spices
Seasoning packets
Individually packaged snacks
Hall Closet
Hats
Gloves
Scarves
Umbrellas
Sunglasses
Purse items like tissue refills, hand sanitizer, etc
Play Room
Dolls (Barbies especially!)
Stuffed animals
Small animals/people
Vehicles
Other Details to Consider:
Definitely opt for an organizer that has clear pockets. The last thing you want is to lose things in the bottom!
Be thoughtful in how you fill up the pockets. If you’re short like I am, you probably don’t want items you use all the time to be in the highest row. If you have small children at home, you don’t want dangerous items down low where they can be easily reached.
If you don’t like how the hooks look hanging over the top of your door, you can hang them with traditional hooks or Command Hooks. Here are the hooks I use the most! Be conscious of the recommended weight limit for your hooks though!
Wanna see some photos of this tool in action? Head on over to my Pinterest boards!
Labeled Baskets and/or Bins
Uses:
Let’s be real here. You can use a labeled bin or basket pretty much ANYWHERE. Here are some places you may not have thought of before!
Bathroom
Separate toiletries by type so all of the lotion is in one basket while all soap is in another and so on
If multiple people use the same bathroom, assign each person a bin to hold their individual supplies.
Bedroom
Instead of stacking folded items, put them in baskets. All t-shirts go in one bin, shorts in another, etc. No messy stacks to fall over when you need something on the bottom! And if the bin is messy on the inside, the closet still stays neat because the mess is hidden!
Most people keep items besides clothing in their closets. Assign one bin for photos, one for personal keepsake items, one for gifts, and so on.
Kitchen
Group small kitchen appliances/gadgets in a bin so they don’t get lost in the cabinet
Corral water bottles in a bin so they don’t fall over every time someone opens the cabinet
Separate pantry items into bins by type of food- pasta, chips, drink mixes, etc
Living Area
Assign a bin for each person in your household. As you find random items belonging to each person, put them into the appropriate basket. When the basket is full, the owner must return the items to their appropriate homes.
Assign a paperwork bin to hold all paperwork that enters your home- mail, receipts, etc. It will keep papers from finding their way into every corner of your home. Go through it once a week and toss what you don’t need.
Playroom
Separate toys by type- vehicles, small animals and people, dress up, Legos, etc- so your kids can find what they want to play with AND so they know where to put it back when they’re finished.
Sort crafty items into two bins- one bin that they can use unsupervised and another that requires an adult. Be sure to store the latter somewhere out of the way.
Other Details to Consider:
Make sure to buy appropriately sized bins. Too big (within reason) is always better than too small. The whole point of a container is to hide its contents. If everything is spilling out over the top you’ve pretty much defeated the purpose.
Think about the purpose for your bins before purchasing them. If they’re going to hold clothing, you don’t want them to be made out of a material that can snag. If they’re going to hold toiletries, you probably want something you can wipe out!
More than likely, you want containers that don’t have lids. If putting an item away means taking the lid off of something, chances are you won’t do it! (No offense!)
Labels are NOT optional. Any container that isn’t labeled will most likely turn into a container of random crap. Remember, we want retrieving and putting your items away to be as painless as possible. You don’t want to have to think. Let labels do the thinking for you.
If non-readers will be using the containers, make sure to include word AND picture labels.
(BTW, I’VE got a whole post dedicated to labels in the works!)
Wanna see some photos of this tool in action? Head on over to my Pinterest board!
There you have it. Two simple tools with about a gazillion different uses. I’d love to hear how you’ve incorporated them into your own home!