Our office is a disaster. The garage is a nightmare. There are some drawers that are so bad that I practically squint with one eye as I open them, terrified something wedged into where it shouldn’t be will pop out at me! But as much as I am still on The Hot Mess Express with some areas of our household organization, there are some areas where I’ve got some solid recs to offer that might help with any projects you need to tackle. I value and appreciate systems of organization quite a bit, and if budget was of no concern, I’d pay anything to enlist professionals to help get every corner of our house in tip top shape. Until then, I am tackling projects as I go and doing my best to keep up with whatever I manage to put in place. I’ll start with the smallest item that packs a pretty big punch and work up to the biggest one. Whether you need none of them, all of them, or all of them and then some (like me) I hope you find some inspiration for tackling your organizational goals.
- Labels. We customized and printed off our labels at home thanks to our membership with Fernandina Paper Company and it helps Margaret, and anyone she’s roped into cleaning up with her, remember where to store things. I’ve been tweaking her toy systems for years and will have to continue to do so as what the girls play with changes. But these Ikea baskets (and here are similar) plus these bin clips for hanging labels ($9.99/3 pack) have been key. For little ones who can’t read, pictures help!
- 3M Hooks. We have hidden hooks all over the place. They help mount cleaning supplies inside closets and cabinets and they store bags and hats in unused areas of their closets.
- Clear Containers. The Container Store shoe boxes of varying sizes are super helpful. I’ve been unfaithful and lured in by Dollar Store box deals, but they NEVER hold up as well which is important when little hands are trying to figure out how to smash the lids back on. We recommend buying them in packs. We even put the Fernandina Paper Company labels on these boxes for her toys like Barbie Accessories and LOL Dolls.
- Plastic Turntables – These aren’t just useful in the refrigerator. No, we are putting them wherever we can. Kitchen cabinets, linen closets, and more. We add them one at a time and each time we do we are so glad we did. A simple organization piece that makes a big difference.
- Acrylic Risers – These are so helpful in utilizing vertical space in the girls’ closets for their shoes and I will continue brainstorming places we can use these within our home like the pantry or kitchen cabinets.
- Over-The-Door-Rack – During stay-at-home orders, an over-the-door hanging rack like this or this was one of the first things we bought. We put it in an overflow pantry situation, aka a closet that suddenly held a bunch of beans and soups. For a great price, it increased our space and made the closet more functional.
I would love for everything to be like my own personal The Home Edit, but in the meantime I try to tackle one thing at a time, at what seems like the slowest pace possible! And as I do I find these to be my go-to organization hacks.
