To go along with the money saving thread, how about some tips on how to keep organized this year? I got rid of over half my junk! YAY! Now, what do I do with the rest of it?


I spend a lot of time picking up, but there's no place to put it away - it ends up in junk drawers and boxes. Not cool.


Closet ideas? Drawer dividers? Pull outs in the cabinets? Little baskets? How do you keep things in their place?

My problem is that my hobbies/interests are flooding our house!
Esp after I retired! Hubby is sort of a packrat too, so at least there is no conflict. But I have to get ready for my seed starting and this year, well, I am embarrassed to say, is more challenging than others have been!

We have an old house with very small closets too. I have 2 wall storage things, but with all our windows, there are no walls left.

BGB .. I'm probably weird .. but I have to "see" things ... the last place I lived in - I took off the cupboard doors .. and cleaned out the shelves to see things nice and organized ...

but, I'm the TOTE queen .. the clear ones ... not the solid color (don't remember what's in them!) ...

even on the totes ... I put labels on (the address label types) with capital letters of what's inside (especially for my fabrics: BLUE, COLORFUL for KIDS, etc)

there - that's enough to get you started!

We have an old house too - lots of attic, no closets. Had to build them ourselves and dd's room is so small (12x13), we never did put one in there. She has a little chiffrobe (wardrobe/cabinet).

There's no entry closet, just hooks on the wall. There's a couple shelves by the back door, no pantry. A couple drawers under the stairs, no linen closet. It's a challenge. They did not have a ton of stuff back in the day.

My closet is maybe 4' wide, lol. TG we thought to put in shelves.

Lots of articles and shows about this, as this is the time of year for it...
I put seasonal clothes in a dresser in one of the kids' old rooms...I saw on Ikea.com some covered boxes with a place for labels for things like scarves, hats, gloves, etc.
I need to go through old photos & start pitching. How many photos of sunsets and trees do I need, anyway?
I use totes, too...I label them...we have lots of totes with the kids' old toys in our crawl space. Waiting for grandkids, I guess...

I finally got my kitchen organized.


In the pantry soups and soup mix are together as are canned goods, boxes of mixes etc. Flour, sugar and all baking supplies are grouped as are other like items and I can see what I have now as they are not a jumbled mess. It looks more like grocery shelves instead of a trash bin.

The very top shelf holds snacks so I have time to think about what I could eat which would be more convenient which I don't have to get out the step ladder and climb for!

I have a notepad inside the door for items I am getting low on so I keep a running list. The spice shelves are on the inside wall of the pantry too and organized so I know instantly where everything is.

Also; the cabinet above the coffee pot holds coffee (regular and decaf), coffee cups and mugs, teas, tea cozy and pretty tea cups for company.
The other side of that cabinet holds breakfast hot and cold cereals, cereal bars, instant breakfast mix, pancake/waffle mix and gravy starters along with the bisquick.

I have drawers where things are more convenient too. The kitchen tools and potholders and trivets are in top drawers on either side of the stove.

I re-did alot of drawers and cabinets and anything I hadn't used last year went to Goodwill so they got a lot of pots, pans, dishes and plastic mixing bowls etc. that someone will get some use out of and I got an extra cabinet!

I just wondered who put all the crumbs in the drawers because every drawer I cleaned out had crumbs in it???

I'm too old to start that stuff now..

I did a major cleaning out and organized everything in my house. Drove my DH and DD crazy because they had to help me. I bought a labeler and labeled every bin, every box, everything I could so that it would be organized. Now when I need to find something the labels help me find them more quickly.

Clear plastic bins labeled so finding and storing things is easier and they stack great.
Those plastic filing cabinets on wheels with three or more drawers work well.
Different sized small plastic trays in the junk drawers to sort everything.

I have small baskets or containers throughout the house that we use to put things in. When I pick up things, I can just put them in those containers and they are where they need to be. Near our chairs, the bathrooms, DD's toys, etc.

I freecycle alot of stuff, what i don't need anymore i just post what i have.

I would rather someone get it who really needs it, it's just taking up space in my house.

I don't always have the time to bring it to the thrift store so this saves me alot of time.

Use CLEAR containers for storage. Never buy anything that is not clear. Then label the container. This includes everything from sweaters, purses, hobbies, make-up. If it is not a clear container....don't buy it. Then, buy yourself a label maker and label the container. Then NEVER EVER EVER put the wrong thing in the container.

This really has helped me!

Also, once you get a desk, closet or room the way you really want it...take a photo of it and store it in that room.

Once or twice a year (Your birthday month and six months later) or Jan. and June......go through the house and clean up the messiest rooms and/or closets. Put anything that you haven't used in two years and do not plan on using again, into a box for Goodwill or a similar organization and get it out of your home. Clutter is not your friend. IF it is worth more than $50, consider selling it. But be careful that you don't think it is worth more than it really is.

If you have to, hire someone to help you. Again, take a photo when you are done and put it in a prominent place.

There are good books about organization from the library!