I am of the opinion that you don’t need a lot of expensive organizational tools in order to keep a tidy home. Basic bins and baskets can be found at the Dollar Store, and plastic take out containers are perfect for corralling smaller items. Getting a little creative with what you currently own will take you a long way in your organizational journey.
There are a few systems in my home that not only help to keep things neat, but they also make me smile…which is essential to maintaining your organizational desires. If it makes you happy to see everything in its place, you will make more of an effort to keep it that way. The following are the top organizational favorites in my own home:
Card Catalog:
This piece was the steal of the century for me! The UW swap is a building full of cast offs from the university, that are for sale to the public on various days of the month. A good friend of mine introduced me, and it was love at first sight. Thankfully, we started going before one of the employees realized just how much money they could make on some of their goods. I scored several vintage maps, a deer skull, and beakers that I use as flower vases…but the card catalog was the best prize of all!
My husband was initially skeptical and asked “What are we going to use that for?”. Visualizing its full potential, I replied “What aren’t we going to use it for?!”.
Many years later, it is still hands down my very favorite piece that we have. I use it for everything under the sun: tools, stamps and envelopes, office supplies, spare keys and drawer pulls…everything. The beauty of this baby is that with the switch of a label, I can keep things flexible. When I no longer needed a drawer full of baby proofing supplies, I just created a new label, and the drawer was available again.
My family has memorized where *just about* everything is. I used different styles and colors of paper for each label, so that while I know the general area of everything, I can remember that the string drawer has strawberry paper, and it helps me find it more quickly…there are a LOT of drawers.
It is large and extremely heavy, but for me, it is an indispensable organizational tool.
Library:
We moved into our current home from a house that was over 110yrs old and had ZERO storage. When we moved in, we had more closets that we knew what to do with. The possibilities were endless! A closet at the end of the hallway was even dubbed “the invisible closet” because my husband kept forgetting that it existed.
One of my very favorite projects that my husband and I dreamed up, was the “library”.
The house has a large hallway closet for coats and such, so we decided that we were going to use the entryway closet as a place to store all our books.
Everyone has a weakness, and books are mine. We are a family of avid readers, and lovers of library book sales. You get to buy books AND support the local library! Win-Win! While Marie Kondo might think that you shouldn’t own more than 30 books, for me, that just isn’t going to happen. I enjoy lending books that I have loved…and have quite a few still on my “to read” list.
Having a designated space for the family’s books (aside from my daughter’s children’s books), keeps us from having to wonder where a certain book ended up. We periodically go through and get rid of books we didn’t love, or that my kids have outgrown. It still fills up, but when that happens, we know it is time to pare down. Having a designated space for books provides parameters for the amount we hold onto and keeps our collection in check.
Pegboards:
The kitchen has been one of my biggest frustrations with our current home. We have made a lot of changes without spending big bucks on our dream of new cabinets and stone countertops.
When we moved in there were a lot of cabinets. While they offered plenty of storage options…they were super unattractive. Our cabinets are the kind you would find in a school, or a garage (where some of them currently reside). We have managed to limp the lower cabinets along with new hardware and new countertop remnants. The uppers did not make the cut. They have been a very useful addition to the garage, but all they did was make the kitchen feel a lot smaller than it was.
To open the space, we built open shelves on one side, and a large pegboard on the other.
The thing that I love most about peg board, is that it works in just about any space. Because we removed so much of our cabinet storage, we were forced to be real about what we used daily. The open shelves hold our dishes and the pegboard houses utensils, scissors, spices, a couple pans, tea, cookbooks, some odds and ends and our most used oils and vinegars. I painted the pegboard the same soft creamy color as the walls, to keep things light and bright, and feeling cohesive.
Pegboard allows flexibility…which I love. In my opinion, when starting any organization or design project, it is VERY important to evaluate the flexibility of your choices. I can easily play around with the placement of items and add and take away as necessary. Adding a pegboard to the kitchen is an easy and inexpensive way to keep everything you need tidy, convenient, and beautiful.
If you haven’t figured it out yet…I LOVE pegboard!
Another way we used pegboard in the house is in the basement. Originally our basement had a huge ugly bar that was set back in the corner of the main room. After we ripped out the bar, we were left with a weird corner that wasn’t carpeted. We ended up putting down some laminate plank flooring, and the area is now home to our treadmill and elliptical. My struggle, because the area is so tight, was finding a good place for our weights, resistance bands, workout towels and such. Pegboard to the rescue! One of our pandemic projects was redoing the basement (which I will touch on in another post). With it came the addition of a square of pegboard, that serves our needs perfectly. All our equipment is within reach, and with the addition of a few baskets, everything is tidy and usable.
IKEA Trofast Sysytem:
This baby has been a work horse for us! Again, I will stress the importance of flexibility with storage… especially when it comes to kids. We bought our TROFAST pieces when we were setting up the nursery for my oldest. They have not disappointed! We initially used them for nursery/changing station essentials when my son was an infant. For the past eleven years they have effortlessly grown with his needs. There are an endless number of combinations based on tub size and color, and shelves. Part of this system is currently in our playroom, holding LEGO, video games, and various other toys. The bins easily slide in and out to make playtime (and clean up) a breeze. IKEA for the win!
DIY Sports+ Firewood Corral:
One of my favorite things to do is solve a problem by designing a DIY project that I call “What’s in the garage?”. We always have a pile of left-over pieces from past projects (or pieces that we purchased for a project that didn’t ever see the light of day). I get SO excited when we can use what we have already purchased to solve an organizational problem.
A prime example is the sports equipment and firewood corral that we built last summer. The stairs to our porch left us with a dead space in the corner that for the longest time left us stumped.
The kids have a space for balls, bikes, and other sports equipment in the garage. The reality is that they use the backyard way more often, and it is a hassle to go around or through the house to get what they need. Like many homes with children, we have WAY more balls than we know what to do with. The kids ended up throwing things in the corner, because they didn’t want to take them back where they belong. Sound familiar? I believe that the key to getting kids on board with organization, is making sure that everything has a home, and that the home is convenient to where the items are being used. Thus, the sports equipment/firewood corral was born.
Aside from the bungees and some hardware, we already had everything that we needed to piece together our new project. With the addition of a coat of paint (also something we had left over), we managed to pull together the hodge-podge of pieces we had, to make a real “thing”. Now the kids know right where everything should go. They can grab or put things away on their way in or out of the house. No more mess, AND we cleaned some of the extra “stuff” out of the garage.
When it comes to solving organizational “problem areas” here are some important things to ask yourself:
- What is my problem, and what does my ideal solution look like? What do I want and need from my space?
- Can I utilize a space that I already have to solve my problem?
- How is my current space used, and how can I change it to help it function more effectively? Are the items that we use and need in this space readily available? Is there anything here that hinders the usability of the space?
*The needs of a certain space (like an entryway) might change seasonally, and that may require tweaking your space as your needs change throughout the year.
I am a firm believer that functionality, design, and beauty can go hand in hand.
Identify your problem and get creative!
If you have a cool organizational space or system in your home, I would love to hear about it! Beautiful things can happen when we share ideas.
