Organization HACK

I love organization hacks because it saves me time and saves me the stress of frantically trying to find something that is buried in a mess.  Minimalists teach that having an organized, clean home creates a more organized mind.  Let’s take a look at some organization tricks that will save you time, space and money.  

An unorganized house, a stuffy room, or a cluttered environment not only decreases productivity and make things more difficult to find, but they also cause unnecessary stress. Everything in the world, alive or dead, has an energy. In a room that is full of clutter and not properly organized, the energy will weigh you down, stress you, decrease your quality of life, and may even cause depression. So, it is important to keep everything organized to simplify your life. Following are some life hacks that will help you get more organized.

1. Create Drawer Dividers.  You can easily de-clutter a junk drawer by cutting up shoeboxes or cereal boxes and creating little compartments inside a drawer.  I measure my boxes out so that the depth of each box is slightly shorter than the depth of the drawer, then I cover the boxes with pretty, coordinating wrapping paper to spruce it up. 

 I’ve de-cluttered junk drawers, organized my clothes in my dresser and have organized toiletries in the bathroom using this method.  I’ve often received compliments on where I “bought” my drawer dividers.  You can use this organization technique for categorizing makeup and crafts as well.

 2. Organize Your Jewelry. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve searched for a specific piece of jewelry last minute and couldn’t find it.  I developed a system that really works and that has prevented necklaces and bracelets from getting tangled. Take a couple of glass beer bottles and rinse them thoroughly and allow them to dry completely.  Cover each bottle with wrapping paper or craft paper (or don’t – it’s up to you!).  Stack your bracelets around the bottle for easy storage.  

If you don’t have any beer bottles, you can also use a paper towel holder.  For necklaces and dangle earrings, buy an inexpensive cork board and insert pins into the cork.  Hang your necklaces and dangle earrings from the pins.

 3. Make a Plastic Bag Dispenser.  We all save our plastic bags from our trips from the grocery store.  I used to bunch them all up and toss them into one bag and shove them in the pantry.  Of course, it was always a pain to dig through the big bag of crumpled plastic bags when I needed one, so I created a bag dispenser.  Take a tissue box that is empty and neatly fold the plastic bags so they naturally “dispense” through the top of the tissue box when the one before is pulled out.  

 4. Use a Cloth Shoe Rack to Organize Cleaning Products.  We’ve all had to go digging under our kitchen or bathroom sink looking for a specific cleaner to clean up a mess.  Instead of having to dig through the mess, hang a cloth shoe rack over the back of your laundry room door and store all your household cleaners in each compartment.  I like organizing my types of cleaners so I can easily find them.

 5. Build a Scarf Hanger.  To easily consolidate all your scarves, keep them all on one hanger.  Take a sturdy hanger (preferably wood) and loop shower curtain rings through the bottom part of the hanger, so you have a line of rings along the bottom.  Put one scarf in each ring.  You should easily be able to fit 12-15 scarves on one hanger.

 6. Box Your Batteries.  If rummaging through a junk drawer trying to locate the right battery size is not your idea of fun, organize all your batteries in a tackle box.  Store your batteries by size in their own compartments so the next time you need to find a battery quickly, it’s super easy.

 7. Keep Cords from Being Out of Control.  We’ve all seen, and perhaps experienced in our own homes, the rat’s nest of cords behind the entertainment center.  You can keep the excess cord lengths in check by reusing the cardboard toilet tissue rolls as sleeves to contain neatly folded excess cord.  You can also use this method to keep extension cords neatly folded up and in the toilet roll sleeve.  If you don’t like using cardboard for your cords, fold them the same way, then fasten together with wire twist ties.

 8. Fashion Your Own Can Dispenser.  Storing your canned goods in one place in your pantry will allow for better storage and utilization of space.  Take a few empty soda can holder/dispensers (the ones that usually hold 12 cans) and decorate them with craft paper or wrapping paper.  Categorize by soups, beans, canned protein, etc. and store in each box for easy storage and access.

9. You can use nail polish to mark your keys and keep them organized. Assign each color to a room, or organize as you please.

10. To create more space in a drawer and to find your shirts more easily, instead of laying them over one another after folding them, place them vertically. This way you can easily see them all and pick the one you want, instead of pulling one out from under the bundle and messing the others up.

11. You can organize your plastic bags by putting them inside a tissue box; remove one as needed, just like pulling out a tissue.

12. The cut-off spot on sticky tapes is difficult to find. Instead of looking around the tape to find the cut-off spot each time you need to use the tape, use a paper clip to hold the cut-off spot instead.

13. The old door knobs can be installed in the bathroom or kitchen walls for hanging towels.

14. Paper towel holders can be used for hanging wristbands, watches, bracelets, and even rings.

15. You can use your old drawers and paint, modify, or decorate them, and use them as shelves.

16. You can install wine racks in the shower room to hold several towels at the same time.

17. The hanging shoe racks can also be used in the bathroom, kitchen, or office for storing supplies. The pockets can hold toiletries, office supplies, eatables, etc.

18. To save space in the room, you can hang your ironing board on coat hangers.

19. You can install an extra shower curtain rod in your bathroom to hang your loofahs and other bathroom items.

20. Use shower hooks to hang your pants, jeans, shorts, etc. in the closet. They will be easier to remove, browse through, and hang back.

21. A shoe rack can also be used for holding bottles and small containers in place.

22. Paper clips can be used for keeping the cables organized.

23. The tabs from soda cans can be used to offset hangers and create more space in the closet.

24. Use the empty toilet paper rolls to store wires, cords, and cables in them. It will make it easy for you to store them in a box without having to worry about them getting tangled or intertwined.

25. Hair clips can be used to organize headphones, earphones, and other long wires and cords.

26. To store the lids of Tupperware, use an old CD rack or tower.

27. Create more space in your room by using the back of your door. Use a door storage organizer, shoe holder, or a shelf to utilize the space.

28. Cereal boxes can be cut, wrapped, decorated, and used for organizing the drawers.

29. Use hidden drawers to utilize the extra space you have under your bed.

30. Reuse tin cans for storing your art or office supplies, like pens, colors, crayons, etc.

31. When storing boxes, label them. Though this does not seem important when storing them, it saves a lot of time when you need to retrieve them.

32. Use double sided sticky tapes and fix them on the edges of your coffee table. Stick the remotes on them, pull them off when you need them, and stick them back after use. Do this and you will never lose your remotes again.

33. Use a paint palette for your jewelry. Keep a pair in each section and they will always be organized and easy to find.

34. Attach a Velcro strip to your electronic machines and their cords, and stick the cords back on the machine after use.

35. Curtain rods can be installed under the sink for hanging bottles and creating more storage space.

36. Use a wine rack and add some tin cans or plastic containers to store art supplies in an organized way.

37. To label the cords of computer like mouse, keyboard, speakers, printer, scanner, etc., or the cords of TV, DVD, etc., use bread clips. It will make it easy for you to identify them if you need to switch or replace them.

38. Tackle boxes can be used to keep tiny miscellaneous items, like batteries, cells, pins, etc. organized.