I recently saw this wonderful storage idea!!!!! I love it for two reasons:
1. It is a cheap, inexpensive way to organize your home.
2. I am all about Reusing items for a new purpose to help you get more organized.
Showing posts with label Organize on a Budget. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Organize on a Budget. Show all posts
Wednesday, April 14, 2010
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Purpose is in the Eye of the Beholder
The other day my family was in the car on a trip that lasted about an hour. I noticed that my oldest son was being exceptionally quiet... something that normally makes a mother nervous. When I looked back to see what he was doing in the back of our minivan, I was not prepared for what I saw.
He was having a wonderful time, entertaining himself with two full pads of yellow post it notes. He had made paper airplanes, origami trees, houses, and even a paper video camera! He was having a wonderful time, even though there were post it notes stuck all over his car seat and the window next to him. I realized as I watched him and his creativity at work, that the just like with art's beauty being in the eye of the beholder... purpose for an object is also in the eye of the beholder.
To me the two pads of post it notes were to make notes on, mark my calendar with, and other various office tasks; however, to my son they were nothing more than a fun craft supply.
Often as a professional organizer, my job is to be a new pair of eyes for an individual, family, or business and give them a new perspective. Many of my clients are trying to get organized on a budget and the more creative we can be by reusing objects around their home the more we can stretch that budget for them.
We have used tin cans to store pencils, shoe boxes to divide drawers, egg cartons to organize jewelry... the point is that many people would look at those items and see trash... in my eyes I behold invaluable organization purpose.
Don't be afraid that your budget will prevent you from finally achieving your goals of getting organized... I pride myself on stretching budgets as far as we can be being as creative as possible. I may not be able to make an origami village out of post it notes, like my son... but I can organize a house on a super tight budget and help you get organized at last.
He was having a wonderful time, entertaining himself with two full pads of yellow post it notes. He had made paper airplanes, origami trees, houses, and even a paper video camera! He was having a wonderful time, even though there were post it notes stuck all over his car seat and the window next to him. I realized as I watched him and his creativity at work, that the just like with art's beauty being in the eye of the beholder... purpose for an object is also in the eye of the beholder.
To me the two pads of post it notes were to make notes on, mark my calendar with, and other various office tasks; however, to my son they were nothing more than a fun craft supply.
Often as a professional organizer, my job is to be a new pair of eyes for an individual, family, or business and give them a new perspective. Many of my clients are trying to get organized on a budget and the more creative we can be by reusing objects around their home the more we can stretch that budget for them.
We have used tin cans to store pencils, shoe boxes to divide drawers, egg cartons to organize jewelry... the point is that many people would look at those items and see trash... in my eyes I behold invaluable organization purpose.
Don't be afraid that your budget will prevent you from finally achieving your goals of getting organized... I pride myself on stretching budgets as far as we can be being as creative as possible. I may not be able to make an origami village out of post it notes, like my son... but I can organize a house on a super tight budget and help you get organized at last.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Friday Five: Five Places in your home that you can use an Over the Door Shoe Organizer.
I am a huge fan of over the door shoe organizers! They range in cost from $10-$20 and they are a cheap way to organize a LARGE variety of small objects around your home and office.
When implementing any of these ideas, I suggest that you use a clear plastic shoe organizer as opposed to a canvas or solid colored one. The reason for this with the clear pockets you can see exactly what is inside of each pocket and you can avoid having to label each pocket.
Room one is the Home Office. There are some great ways to use an over the door shoe organizer in your office:
Store and separate USB cords, chargers, remote controls and other misc. cables that are often lying around or clogging up a desk drawer.
Store small office supplies in each pocket like; hole punch, stapler, pens, pencils, stamps, scissors, extra post it’s, etc…
If you work from home in a business that requires you to have small samples on hand you could store them easily in here.
Room Two is the Bathroom. I love using an over the door shoe organizer in the bathroom when you are tight on cabinet space, especially when you are required to share a bathroom.
Hang the organizer on the back of the door and then you can store hair brushes, combs, hair spray bottles, misc. cosmetic products, and other items you often use in the bathroom to keep them within easy reach.
Room Three is the Craft Room. Think of all the small items that are laying around in your craft area that can be stored in a shoe organizer.
Markers, Scissors, stamps, stamp pads, beads, knitting needles, glue sticks, hot glue gun, ribbon, punches, rulers, eyelets, and so much more.
Room Four is the Pantry. A shoe organizer can be the perfect solution to helping you organize your pantry. Hanging the organizer on the back of your pantry door is a great place for you to store seasoning packets, seasoning bottles, cool aide packets, food coloring, cake sprinkles, and much more.
Room Five is a kid’s room. I have found this to be an excellent way to help kids get more organized.
I hang it on the back of their door or the front of a closet door and teach them to keep small items in the shoe organizer. Small toys like cars and trucks are great in a boy’s room.
In a girls room jewelry is great to be stored in these as well as hair bows, barrettes and other small accessories.
When implementing any of these ideas, I suggest that you use a clear plastic shoe organizer as opposed to a canvas or solid colored one. The reason for this with the clear pockets you can see exactly what is inside of each pocket and you can avoid having to label each pocket.
Room one is the Home Office. There are some great ways to use an over the door shoe organizer in your office:
Store and separate USB cords, chargers, remote controls and other misc. cables that are often lying around or clogging up a desk drawer.
Store small office supplies in each pocket like; hole punch, stapler, pens, pencils, stamps, scissors, extra post it’s, etc…
If you work from home in a business that requires you to have small samples on hand you could store them easily in here.
Room Two is the Bathroom. I love using an over the door shoe organizer in the bathroom when you are tight on cabinet space, especially when you are required to share a bathroom.
Hang the organizer on the back of the door and then you can store hair brushes, combs, hair spray bottles, misc. cosmetic products, and other items you often use in the bathroom to keep them within easy reach.
Room Three is the Craft Room. Think of all the small items that are laying around in your craft area that can be stored in a shoe organizer.
Markers, Scissors, stamps, stamp pads, beads, knitting needles, glue sticks, hot glue gun, ribbon, punches, rulers, eyelets, and so much more.
Room Four is the Pantry. A shoe organizer can be the perfect solution to helping you organize your pantry. Hanging the organizer on the back of your pantry door is a great place for you to store seasoning packets, seasoning bottles, cool aide packets, food coloring, cake sprinkles, and much more.
Room Five is a kid’s room. I have found this to be an excellent way to help kids get more organized.
I hang it on the back of their door or the front of a closet door and teach them to keep small items in the shoe organizer. Small toys like cars and trucks are great in a boy’s room.
In a girls room jewelry is great to be stored in these as well as hair bows, barrettes and other small accessories.
Friday, July 17, 2009
Five great uses for Old Shower Curtains
In this frugal time for many of us, part of being organized is also being resourceful! I teach clients that being organized can save them time AND MONEY! Being able to creatively reuse items in your home for another purpose will save you time and is part of being organized.
Our Friday five today is great uses for old plastic shower curtain liners, they do not have to be thrown out. They can have many great uses still in helping you around the house. First, wash your old shower curtains in the washing machine with detergent or bleach to get rid of any germs or mildew that are hanging around on it. Then once it is clean, try one of these five suggestions to give your shower curtain a new purpose:
1. Use it as a paint drop cloth when you are painting a small area.
2. Use it under the craft table when kids are working on a project to catch drops of glue, paint, glitter, and play dough from getting on your floor. When kids are finished with the project you can carefully pull the curtain out and carry it outside to shake it off.
3. Use it as a liner for your car's trunk when you are carrying things that could spill or make a mess.
4. Use it to cover outdoor items that you do not want getting wet, like the grill or an outdoor chair.
5. Use it as a drop cloth when you are working under your car. Simply lay it down and then lay on top of it, the plastic will catch oil spills and other drips before they have a chance to stain your driveway or garage floor.
Our Friday five today is great uses for old plastic shower curtain liners, they do not have to be thrown out. They can have many great uses still in helping you around the house. First, wash your old shower curtains in the washing machine with detergent or bleach to get rid of any germs or mildew that are hanging around on it. Then once it is clean, try one of these five suggestions to give your shower curtain a new purpose:
1. Use it as a paint drop cloth when you are painting a small area.
2. Use it under the craft table when kids are working on a project to catch drops of glue, paint, glitter, and play dough from getting on your floor. When kids are finished with the project you can carefully pull the curtain out and carry it outside to shake it off.
3. Use it as a liner for your car's trunk when you are carrying things that could spill or make a mess.
4. Use it to cover outdoor items that you do not want getting wet, like the grill or an outdoor chair.
5. Use it as a drop cloth when you are working under your car. Simply lay it down and then lay on top of it, the plastic will catch oil spills and other drips before they have a chance to stain your driveway or garage floor.
Friday, July 10, 2009
Five great uses for the Large Sized Ziplock Bags
I LOVE, LOVE the bigger sized Ziploc bags that are out on the market now!!! They have so many versatile uses and are great to keep on hand! Here are five of my favorite way to use the Large sized bags:
1. I keep an extra change of seasonally appropriate clothes for each of my children in one large bag in the back of our van. This is great when we have been at the park and the kids got a little dirty... if we don't have time to run home and change before our next errand or stop, I can have them change quickly in the van or in a bathroom. The bag then works great to keep all the dirty clothes in!
2. I love to use them to keep mittens, scarves, hats, together. I keep these bags in our coat closets hanging on a hanger (the Large size has a handle hole that makes it perfect to hang.) Then when winter comes, you do not have to search high and low for every one's cold weather essentials!
3. I use the Large Size Bags in my Linen closet to store clean pillow cases in. My son has a dust mite allergy so keeping his pillow cases extra clean is very important... storing clean pillow cases in the easy to grab bags in the closet ensures they are really clean when I put them on pillows and it prevents me from having to dig to the bottom of the piles to find a pillow case.
4. I use the Large Size Bags in my laundry room to store clothes pins in. Since the bag seals shut I can lay a full bag of clothes pins on the shelf and not worry about it spilling. When I need to hang laundry up I can quickly grab the bag and be good to go!
5. I create a to go bag that has emergency supplies in it to keep in the car. This sized Ziploc bag is perfect to keep a first aid kit, extra bottle of sunscreen, bug spray, ace bandage, ready to use ice bags, and other items that you may need on the go. Keeping them in a bag like this keeps all your supplies together so they do not roll around the car trunk and you can find them when you need them.
1. I keep an extra change of seasonally appropriate clothes for each of my children in one large bag in the back of our van. This is great when we have been at the park and the kids got a little dirty... if we don't have time to run home and change before our next errand or stop, I can have them change quickly in the van or in a bathroom. The bag then works great to keep all the dirty clothes in!
2. I love to use them to keep mittens, scarves, hats, together. I keep these bags in our coat closets hanging on a hanger (the Large size has a handle hole that makes it perfect to hang.) Then when winter comes, you do not have to search high and low for every one's cold weather essentials!
3. I use the Large Size Bags in my Linen closet to store clean pillow cases in. My son has a dust mite allergy so keeping his pillow cases extra clean is very important... storing clean pillow cases in the easy to grab bags in the closet ensures they are really clean when I put them on pillows and it prevents me from having to dig to the bottom of the piles to find a pillow case.
4. I use the Large Size Bags in my laundry room to store clothes pins in. Since the bag seals shut I can lay a full bag of clothes pins on the shelf and not worry about it spilling. When I need to hang laundry up I can quickly grab the bag and be good to go!
5. I create a to go bag that has emergency supplies in it to keep in the car. This sized Ziploc bag is perfect to keep a first aid kit, extra bottle of sunscreen, bug spray, ace bandage, ready to use ice bags, and other items that you may need on the go. Keeping them in a bag like this keeps all your supplies together so they do not roll around the car trunk and you can find them when you need them.
Friday, June 19, 2009
Friday Five: Five creative uses for Old paint cans
Old paint cans can be used in many creative ways around your house, just make sure that you wash out the cans before using.
Check out these five ideas:
1. Use them to store small items in the shop like paintbrushes, screwdrivers, ratchets, and more that you can set on top of the work bench to keep things in easy reach.
2. You can mount them to the wall and use them as small round cubbies that you can cover in matching paper or paint. These are great to store small items in bedrooms, kids rooms, and toy rooms.
3. You can decorate them to match a bathroom and store hairbrushes, curling iron, etc in.
4. You can use them as cute and creative gift baskets: Movie night in a Can, Spa Day in a Can, etc... (You can decorate the outside and fill them with small gifts.)
5. They make great storage for art rooms. You can keep rulers, paint brushes, colored pencils, and scissors in them.
Monday, March 9, 2009
Organize for free... creativly reuse.
Spring Fever is in full swing in many households, which means that many people are starting their spring cleaning. According to a recent study 46% of people rank getting more organized as the top thing they want to accomplish with spring cleaning.
With that many people desiring to get more organized... why is it that so many have trouble following through on this lofty goal? I have found one of the biggest things standing in between people and thier organization dreams is the potential costs. Many people assume that to get organized means that you are going to have to invest in containers, boxes, racks, shelving systems, bags, labels, and much more.
While it is true that you may require some of these items for certain organizational tasks... you may be surprised to discover that you can also achieve a large amount of reorganization by simple creativly reusing items that you already own. Here are a few easy examples to consider using in your house to save money on your next organization project.
With that many people desiring to get more organized... why is it that so many have trouble following through on this lofty goal? I have found one of the biggest things standing in between people and thier organization dreams is the potential costs. Many people assume that to get organized means that you are going to have to invest in containers, boxes, racks, shelving systems, bags, labels, and much more.
While it is true that you may require some of these items for certain organizational tasks... you may be surprised to discover that you can also achieve a large amount of reorganization by simple creativly reusing items that you already own. Here are a few easy examples to consider using in your house to save money on your next organization project.
- An old dresser could be repainted and used as storage for all kinds of various items.
- Oversized bags could be hung in kids rooms to store toys and books.
- Old suitcases can be stored under kids beds and used for toys, dress up clothes, and other items.
- Old paint cans can be cleaned out and screwed to the wall from the bottom and used as round cubbies in laundry room, garage, mudrooms, craft rooms, etc... they are perfect to keep tools, paint brushes, markers, stain sticks, keys, etc... in.
- An old towel rack can be rehung on the back of a door, then using S hooks you can let kids hang backpacks, coats, and gym bags on them.
So if cost is holding you back from finally tackeling that organization project that you have been putting off... try looking around your house for items that can be reused in a creative way to contain your clutter. If you need some help looking at old items in a new light and find uses for them around your home give me a call and I will be happy to help.
Check out our website at http://www.simpleorganizedsanity.com/ for our special Spring Cleaning Special!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Downsize your Clutter and find new space.
According to the National Association of Professional Organizers, "About 80% of the clutter in your home is the result of disorganization, not lack
of space."
In this real estate market, homes are not selling without homeowners taking a hit to the wallet. It is a buyers market right now which means that many families are putting off selling their homes until there is a rebound to home values. This also means that lots of families are having to make due in smaller homes... which can be frustrating.
One of the best things that you can do to make your smaller than desired space more accommodating to your needs it DECLUTTER it! Go through closets and rooms and purge things that you no longer use, wear, or need and get rid of them. You can donate these items or sell them to make some extra money.
Then go through what you have left and ORGANIZE IT. Organizing things means that you give EVERY items a specific home.
Organizing your small space will instantly make it feel bigger and help you feel more like you are in charge of your home instead of it being in charge of you.
If you need help learning to declutter and getting organized contact Simple*Organized*Sanity either through our website http://www.simpleorganizedsanity.com/ or email us at christie@simpleorganizedsanity.com .
I will be happy to set up a phone consultation for you to discuss how I can best help you make your current home's space last for you and your family longer.
Have a blessed day.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)