Let’s get organized….I may be showing my age but I am humming those words to the tune of Olivia Newton John’s “Let’s Get Physical”. Anyone out there remember it?
Getting and staying organized isn’t easy. The new school year has started and the organization plan you had in place for the first week may already be a little off track, right? All of those pretty pictures on Pinterest look great but sometimes they just aren’t functional for us, in real life.
So, if you’re struggling to conquer clutter once and for all, here are some simple organizing tips to help you get started. I know and so do you getting organized at home can be easier vowed than done. But even if you’re short on time (and budget), there are dozens of ways you can get your house in order. Here are some low-cost organizing tips; many of them are environmentally friendly, too!
#1 Keep a tray or basket on the kitchen counter where kids can drop off permission slips and adults can put mail requiring immediate action. A second tray can handle lower-priority paperwork.
#2 Don’t waste time constantly topping up cereal-sized food storage containers with dog or cat kibble. Use a metal trashcan to store one bag at a time in rodent-proof style.
#3 Use a recharging station to keep your cell phone, MP3 player and other portable device cords untangled and your gadgets fully charged.
#4 Can’t find fresh garlic or onions? Keep them in clean knee-high nylons. Hang in a cool, dry place.
#4 Post a sheet of paper (or use a wipe board) on the fridge to note groceries and supplies needing replenishing. On grocery day, just grab the sheet and go.
#5 Use small jam jars (or baby food jars) to hold cotton swabs, balls and other essentials inside your bathroom vanity drawers.
#6 A stash of bath towels rolled inside a basket helps, too.
#7 Store kids’ bath toys in a fine-laundry bag. Hang from the faucet ’til fully drained.
#8 Use a shower organizer and just the basics: mild shampoo, conditioner and a body wash. Stash extra shower products in plastic caddies – one per family member.
#9 Keep cleaning products in a caddy, too.
#10 Got kids? Get large tubs that can be used to deploy toys – and quickly move them out of living spaces when company’s coming.
#11 Don’t hold on to magazines. Just rip out any pages you want to keep for future reference, keep in a file folder, then recycle the rest.
#12 Toss dirty socks into mesh fine-laundry bags. Orphaned socks will be a thing of the past.
#13 Recycle old plastic shopping bags. Store them in an empty Kleenex box ‘til you need them. Great for cleaning the litter box or poop bags if you have pets.
#14 Big, busy family? Paint one entire wall in your mudroom in chalkboard paint so everyone can easily leave messages for one another.
#15 Designate a back-to-car zone by your entranceway, and put anything there requiring to be returned to the trunk – i.e. reusable grocery bags, empties – so the next person to use the car will remember to bring them.
What are some of your best low cost organizing tips? Share them with us.
Have a ThirtyOne-derful day!
Hope Wissel 