Organizing is not nearly as tiresome and time-consuming as many people think; it’s actually a pretty simple task that you can do in just a few minutes. Doubt it? Check out these simple, smart, and creative tips for organizing each room in your house, from the bedroom, bath, kitchen, and beyond.
Bedroom
Under the Bed Storage
Use plastic boxes, storage baskets, or built-in drawers under the bed to add extra storage space in your bedroom. You can store heavy clothes, linens, blankets, purses, or even shoes in containers under the bed for a practical space-saving solution. You can even store books and other items that you use before sleeping to keep them at hand when you need them and tucked out of sight when you don’t.
Bed Rest
Make sure to make your bed every day. It’s a simple task that can work wonders when you’re trying to keep the room more organized. If you get into the habit of keeping your bed in order, you’ll very likely develop a habit of keeping the rest of your room clean, too, like keeping the shoes in their proper place and avoiding a pile of dirty clothes in the corner.
Smart Furniture
Side tables tend to have small and slim drawers, with hardly enough room to store all your essentials. Instead, opt to place a small dresser by your bed or even a stylish trunk, which has plenty of space for all your nighttime necessities (and even extra blankets).
Bathroom
Space Savers
Space is a luxury in almost every bathroom, so it’s better to make the most out of any space. Avoid a cluttered vanity by using utilitarian storage containers that hold multiple toothbrushes, toothpaste, and other toiletries like hand soap and lotion. Additionally, attach a wire basket on the side of your vanity to hold your hair dryer and other gadgets.
Medicine Cabinet
Keeping the medicine cabinet organized is actually a very simple task, you’ll only need to de-clutter it. Get rid of expired prescriptions and medications and rethink all those toiletries in it. Do you really use all of it? If you don’t want to throw away the extras, keep the cosmetics in a makeup bag with a handle and hang it from a hook.
Storage Options
Instead of keeping everything under the sink or in the medicine cabinet and declaring them major bathroom-clutter hot spots, think about adding extra storage space for your bathroom. Place the toilet papers in a basket, the towels on a towel ladder by the sink, and maybe add over-the-toilet shelving.
Closet
Shoe Rack Trick
Make your closet feel more spacious and organized by adding an over-the-door shoe organizer on the back of the door and using it to organize your belts, scarves, beanies, gloves, accessories or even jewelry and makeup, like the picture above. You’ll save space, time, and will keep everything in sight for when you need it.
Rolling vs. Folding
Do you end up messing everything when you want to get a shirt under a pile of folded clothes? Take advantage of drawers and roll your clothes instead of folding: this way, you’ll save more space, avoid a mess, and will even keep your clothes wrinkle-free. Another pro is that you’ll be able to see all the items you have, saving you time when you want a specific item of clothing and avoiding having forgotten items on the back of the closet.
Tame The Shoe Pile
Instead of keeping all your shoes piling up on the floor, add shelves to your closet and display all your most used pairs there. Your closet will instantly feel more spacious and it will look cleaner and more organized.
Kitchen
Keep It Together
Things that work together should be stored together, as close as possible to where they are used. It may seem obvious, but most of us forget about it when organizing. Keep pots, pans and cooking utensils stored near the stove. Plates, cups, dishes and utensils should also be kept together, while coffee, mugs and other supplies should be stored near the coffee maker. This system will save you time while cooking and using the kitchen and will also be easier to maintain and organize during the day.
Keep the Kitchen True to Itself
During busy weeks, it’s very easy for the kitchen to accumulate personal items like shoes, keys, mail, books, pocket change, etc. Create the habit of clearing out the kitchen before dinnertime and to keep everything in its rightful place instead of just leaving them in the kitchen.
Take Advantage of Every Spot
To keep your kitchen organized and easy to maintain, take advantage of every last spot. Add hanging tools on the back of a cabinet door for extra storage space. Add hooks on the side of the cabinets to hang dish cloths and utensils. A hanging spice rack is a real space-saver, while canned goods can easily be stored in basket racks.
Pantry
Purge Your Pantry
To organize your pantry, the first thing that needs to be done is to check everything for expiration dates. It’s too easy to forget about things and leave them in the pantry for a long period of time, accumulating and cluttering. Throw away anything that has expired, and take inventory of what is left so you don't buy what you don't need.
Divide Food Into Zones
To save you time when cooking and baking and to easily keep your pantry organized, divide everything into categories. Put dry goods such as pasta and rice in one place and stack canned goods together. Keep baking ingredients together and take advantage of plastic bins and glass containers. Use labels so you can easily identify what’s in each container.
Pantry Door Organizer
Here we are talking about over-the-door shoe organizer. What can I say, they’re really practical! Hang one on the back of your pantry door to store small things like spices, bags of nuts, popcorn bags, small packages, baking utensils, etc. The pockets are perfect for small things, saving up some shelf space and keeping everything easy to grab for when you need it.
Home Office
File Away
We already talked about the importance of keeping your paperwork organized, but it can never be reinforced too much. A good filing system is essential for an organized office. Keep all your bills and receipts organized by a month, along with other important documents sorted by categories, such as automotive, education, medical, taxes, etc.
Keep the Table Clean
By clean we also include keeping it as simple and minimal as possible. If you have a desktop computer, move your tower to the floor and try to keep the table as cable-free as possible. Use drawers for things that you don’t use that often, and even the printer and scanner can be moved to another shelf or on top of another piece of furniture.
Drawer Charging Station
Instead of taking up space on your home office table or shelf, use your top drawer as a hidden charging station. Just add an electrical multi-outlet strip at the back of the drawer and keep all your electronics charging there, leaving your table clutter-free.
What do you think of these simple tips? Which ones are your favorites? Let us know on our Facebook page or in the comments below!