Leave The Chaos To Your Kids And Organize Your Home With These Hacks
It's really difficult to keep every space in your home organized and tidy at every moment of the day—we're not going to lie to you—but that doesn't mean you can't try!
Your children might leave every room looking like a tornado went through it, but you can still start off with everything in its place. Even if you don't have the organizational knack, other people do, and you can take inspiration from them.
It's Organized And Pretty
A lot of people find that they remember a certain book based on what color the cover is or what it looks like rather than the title or author.
Spending time organizing your shelves by color creates a decoration in your house, and you know exactly what's in your collection.
One Drawer Per Meal
Make your dinner process run a little smoother by organizing your fridge drawers based on meals, like this woman did.
Each drawer has everything you need for any particular meal, so you don't have to think about it in the moment.
Keeping The Drawers In Order
It seems more daunting to tackle your messy file drawer than it actually is.
Spend some time sorting through all those loose papers and organizing them into folders so you don't have to dig for anything important next time.
Your Car Could Probably Use Some Organizing Too
There's approximately a 99% chance that if you have children, you have too many loose things floating around your car.
You can't change that, but you can make it a little better by using the extra spaces you have to your advantage. You can even tailor the back seat to have things like snacks or crayons or hand sanitizer for the kids.
Make Moving Easier
Don't waste your time taking every piece of clothing off the hanger every time you're moving.
Not when you could just pack it all up together and take it from there.
No More Heavy Lifting
It can be a hassle to have to lift up every small dish you own every time you want to reach the larger plates on the bottom.
Storing your plates vertically means no more heavy lifting for you.
It's Not Just For Shoes
Those mesh shoe racks can store a lot more than just shoes.
Rather than having a cupboard filled four-deep with bottles of cleaning products, put them on display on the back of a door somewhere.
Clear Bins For All Toys
Whenever possible, choose to store your kid's belongings in clear bins or containers. Whether it's snacks, toys, or school supplies, having a clear container will (hopefully) reduce the time they spend tearing through everything while looking for one specific item.
Less mess for everyone!
Label Makers Are Overrated
Why go to the effort of purchasing a label maker when you could use what's in the drawers to label it?
This man chose to paint over one bolt, nut, or screw on the outside of every drawer so he'd always know where to look.
No More Tangled Webs To Weave
Instead of having a box full of tangled cords or a mess of tangles sitting on your desk, use toilet paper rolls to keep them all sorted.
You'll know where to find what you need, and you won't have to sort through all the wrong cords.
All Hangers Can Be Non-Slip
Don't waste your money buying normal hangers as well as non-slip ones when you could do the job yourself!
All it takes is a little hot glue to turn your regular hanger into one that will keep that sweater from falling to the floor.
No More Stringing People Along
If your children come anywhere near your embroidery floss or bracelet string, it's going to end up looking like a tangled mess.
Buy yourself a couple of those little snap boxes that are used for storing nuts and bolts to keep everything organized.
Keep Your Sheets Together
Rather than having stacks of sheets ready to be messed up in your closet every time you reach for a clean set, store them in the pillowcase that matches the set.
You'll always know you have a full set, and nothing will be misplaced.
Use Every Space You Can
Spices are one of those things where you want to have them, but those little bottles take up a whole lot of space that you don't want to give them.
If you've got a door to a pantry or a tall cupboard in the kitchen, you can make yourself a vertical spice rack in a small space.
Put An End To Messy Drawers
You might already be the person who has their shirts organized on their side rather than lying flat in their drawer, but bookends can take it to the next level.
The problem is your shirts fall out of order the more you take from the drawer, which is where the bookends come up to keep everything standing up.
Save The Counter Space
Whenever possible, opt for vertical storage, especially if you're working within a small kitchen space.
You don't need three boxes of tea and a can of coffee holding court on your counter every day.
The Fridge Is Off Limits
If your little ones have a habit of wandering into the kitchen in hunt of snacks, or just in search of entertainment, you can easily come up with a way to keep the door closed that won't also deter you from getting a snack when you want it.
Just don't forget about it yourself.
Don't Go Searching For Missing Studs
Rather than having a box full of loose earrings that you have to search through every time you're looking for a matching set, have your kids match them up and sort them onto snap bracelets or some sort of strip.
Great idea!
No Knife Block Necessary
If you live in a smaller apartment with limited counter space (or just like having your knives on display for anyone visiting), putting a magnetic strip in the kitchen is an easy way to have all your knives in one place.
Be careful around this though.
You Can Never Have Too Many Baskets
No, seriously. Baskets are your friend. Soft baskets, wire baskets, wicker baskets—pick your poison and go to town.
They keep everything contained in smaller spaces, so even if the bin gets a little messy, the entire space doesn't, and it makes everything easier to find.
Get Rid Of Your Bag Of Bags
Rather than being the person who has a bag of plastic bags sitting in some corner of their house or tucked under a cupboard, you can repurpose an old Lysol wipe container so you can pull one out as you need.
Brilliant!
Save The Ground Space
Most of the time, there is limited storage in the cupboards in a bathroom thanks to the pipes and whatever else you've got under there, so you have to be selective.
Storing things upright on the doors leaves room for everything else down below.
See Through The Stacks
Just like storing your kid's belongings in clear bins is going to be beneficial, it's also going to be helpful for you.
All those shoes that you don't wear on a daily basis can be stacked into clear bins somewhere, and then they're ready to grab when you need a certain pair.
Start Using The Windowsills
More people should take advantage of the extra spaces around their house that window ledges or sills provide to them.
Whether you use it for decorative or functional purposes, it's extra space!
Don't Waste The Drawer Space
How many of us have drawers full of random pot holders or tea towels?
Save the drawer space by throwing some of the extras out and hanging those soft things in the cabinets so you always know where they are when you need to take something out of the oven.
Out Of Sight, Out Of Mind
Tuck all those pesky cords into a drawer so you don't have to worry about dealing with them all the time, and your kids won't be able to get to them either.
It's also just easier to reach than having to pick them up off the floor.
Sort Your Books Based On Read Or Unread
To make it easier for you or your kids to decide what book they want to read next (and maybe deter them from forcing you to read the same book 12 times in a row), have a "still to be read" or unread section on your bookshelf.
I know my family needs this one.
Don't Put The Brush Back In Just Yet
The best thing you can do to keep you toilet brush sanitary is to let it dry off before returning it to its holder, and doing this quick little sanitation hack.
Just pour a bit of pine sol into the holder area and you'll find you've given your brush new life.
Shelves > Stacks
You went through the torturous process of sorting out your garage or your basement and placing everything into bins. Now you've got to deal with never being able to access the bottom bin in your stack. That's where shelves come in handy. You don't have to shift every other bin around it to access the bottom one.
Take Command Of Your Cupboards
It can be hard to organize a cupboard of pots and pans when you've got to deal with lids sliding all around or not stacking properly. Pop a couple of command hooks on the door of the cupboard for the biggest lids to get them out of the way.
Shower Caddies Don't Need To Stay In The Shower
Just like making the most out of your kitchen counter space, you want to save the bathroom counter space for the necessities. Those suction cup shower caddies can be great to stick to the bathroom mirror so you can keep the counters and the cupboards clean and organized.
