Saturday, December 15, 2012

More Organization? YES!

I love easy organizational tips, anything that makes my life easier. When I was waitressing (and I did a lot of waitressing) I learned that every little thing that you can do to make life easier was really worth it. My goal was to minimize the steps I had to take (bringing pitchers to a table of the same drink, getting everyone at the table what they needed at once, etc.) and I like to try to incorporate that into my every day life. Here are a couple more ideas for you guys that I have either utilized or I am going to utilize. I wouldn't post it here if it didn't work.

1. Cheap silverware organizers for jewelry! This is a genius idea that I found on Pinterest. It's not something I can use as I can wear all the jewelry I own at once. My girls, however, are very frilly girly girls. No idea where that comes from by the way, I'm beginning to think it's a gene that skipped me. So you get the cheap organizers, add some picture hangers to the back so that you can hang them on the wall. These are also found cheaply at Walmart. If you're looking to paint these I would do so before adding the hangers. Also purchase some hook screws. They kind of look like the hooks you screw into your ceiling for hanging planters but much smaller. Screw them into the insides at the top of each little space, or against the bottom, if you'd like. Use as many or as little as you'd like- these are for hanging necklaces and bracelets. Rings can be placed on the horizontal spaces, like shelves. You could also attach wooden pegs or cabinet door knobs for this. I would add hooks to the bottom for extra storage as well.


and the link: Tatertots & Jello

2. Turn old boxes like shoe boxes, diaper boxes, shipping boxes, etc. into storage. Left over wrapping paper, duct tape, paint and fabric scraps are all ways to decorate an old box. My personal favorite is sisal twine. You hot glue your end of twine and the top or bottom of the box and start wrapping it in the twine. It's cheap (13.38 for 2250 feet at Lowes) and very pretty, resembling a basket. Sisal is also going to make your box last longer, as will duct tape- which you can buy in just about any pattern these days. Just hot glue the end once you've covered your box. You can finish off the top however you'd like. Braid some of the twine and hot glue it on, or you can hot glue on buttons, bows, shells, anything.You can also add fabric to the top. For the smaller boxes add toilet paper rolls or paper towel rolls to store your chargers and cables or pens and markers. The possibilities are endless and very close to free! You may also want to hot glue a clothespin to each basket, for holding a contents card. That way if you have several of these at the top of- let's say a linen closet- then you know which one holds what.

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Mandy's Krafty Exploits

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3. If you're like me, or any other female in my family, then you happen to own a lot of spices. They're probably not very well organized either. For example, while at my mother's house one day baking I found five jars of ground cinnamon in her spice cabinet. Five jars. Five! Why? Because she wasn't sure she had any and had bought more (she cooks a lot). Apparently this has happened quite a bit. My solution? Garage organizer clips. The kind meant to hold brooms and shovels and such. They're also used in the kitchen to hold brooms and mops. They can be found at any Ace, Lowes or Home Depot. If you really want to be crafty you can make your own by cutting little 1.5" slices out of PVC pipe and then cutting a small section out of each of these. It should look something like an almost closed letter "C". Screw them into a piece of board at the back of the "C". The pipe will flex and grip each spice jar. You may even buy some strip insulation with the adhesive backs to add on the inside of the "C" for better grip of glass jars. Then screw (or however you want to do it) into the inside of your cabinet door. It's extra important- no matter which way you choose to go to add a label directly beneath each clip. That way when you're making your grocery list just open the door and BAM! You know which spice you used up for Tuesday's potluck.

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www.organizeyourstuffnow.com

Another, more simple, way of organizing your spices is to move them from a cabinet to a drawer. Purchase some small mason jars (make sure the drawer will open and close easily with the jar's height) and use chalkboard paint to paint the tops. Use chalk or, for a permanent solution, a white out pen to write the type of spice in the jar. You may not be able to see which one's empty immediately but you'll know what you have and don't have without having to move around a bunch of other jars. If you don't have spices and would like to, check out your local dollar store, they sell them cheap or grow your own.

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Frugal Decor Mom
4. Cereal containers. I don't eat cereal- never have. I just don't really like it. But those plastic tub containers for them at the grocery store? I love those. They have to have the easy-pour spout though. I put anything in them. Sugar, flour, macaroni, farfalle, Bisquick, oats... the possibilities are endless. Spend the money on these guys, don't go cheap. If you can find one with an air tight seal go for it. There is absolutely nothing worse than finding your beautiful and expensive bread flour full of weevils. Notice how they have 'evil' in their name. Just sayin'. Be sure to clearly label these guys. Again with the chalk paint :D If the container needs to be washed you can and then just re-write what you're going to keep in that particular container.

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Rare Bird Finds  -still cheaper at Walmart- just sayin'

5. Pencil trays. They served no purpose for me, normally. However, recently I came across some inspiration. Almost every pantry or cabinet I've seen has toom to put these in on the inside, just screw them to the wall or cabinet and use them to store easy to get to snacks or your smaller pantry items. Examples being apple sauce pouches (my kids love these), foil pouch tuna or salmon, those instant oatmeal or cocoa packets that almost always seem to be floating around my shelves, soup mixes, powdered dressing mixes, the McCormick seasoning pouches, etc. There's no telling how many of these I've thought I lost. These are also the perfect size for spices.

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Domestic Imperfection




Always feel free to check out my Cleaning and Organization board on Pinterest for lots of other great ideas. Cleaning and Organization Board

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