Tuesday Tips-Make life easier (and cheaper)!
Want to organize your home, but can’t afford organizing bins and totes right now? Today’s tip is to organize cheaply using items around your house. This isn’t Better Homes and Gardens organizing, but will do nicely if you need a temporary solution to save money.
BATHROOM
We don’t have a lot of storage in our bathroom, but I had purchased this organizing basket for $1.00. The basket corraled everything so these items weren’t loose under the sink, but they still were not really organized and I hated looking through the jumbled mess to find things.
Instead of purchasing more organizing supplies, I used quart size plastic zipper bags that we already had. I placed all of the travel size items in one bag, ready to go on my next trip and perfect for air travel.
I placed the medical items in another bag.
I gathered all of the loose makeup into my cosmetic bag and now everything is very easy to find.
KITCHEN
Our kitchen “junk” drawer was, well, junky.
I used the bottom half of plastic berry containers to group like items together. Now we can easily find what we need at a glance, and it didn’t cost anything!
CLOSET
I disliked the messy look of our sheets, which fell into disarray every time one of the children pulled a set out of the linen closet. This extra laundry basket was the perfect solution for us. Now even if the sheets aren’t perfectly folded, the shelf still looks neat.
What creative organization ideas have you used in order to save money? Leave a comment.
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I created the mess with my sheets in the pillow cases….
I’m short and the only shelves in our house are high because we don’t have a linen closet (a problem with many tiny houses…) I would think I was being careful and then BAM! – sheets all over the place!
I used two boxes from the local grocery store (free). I painted them, and I fold the sheets and stack them in the boxes. Since the boxes have already cut handles, I can pull down the box, choose my sheets, and put the box away easily. 🙂
Good idea Attalie. 🙂
ooo,I need velveeta boxes for teabags…but I don’t eat velveeta…..sigh…… LOVE the basket for the sheets idea, I tried the ‘put each set into a pillowcase idea (pinterest) which quickly became a mess when the kids pulled random stuff out anyway….
My experience with the sheets in pillowcase idea was just like yours. :0
I once took apart/ unwound a wire coat hanger to hang my ribbon spools on. Just put it back together and wallah instant ribbon hanger. And yes, I have collected a most fine collection of boxes and organizing items to the point I need storage just for my “storage” things – LOL.
That’s a smart idea Mandi. 🙂
i put the folded sheets inside the coordinating pillowcase 😉
To better organize my pantry I cut the flaps off of several diaper boxes and sorted everything into them – we now have a ‘sweets’ box, a ‘salty’ box and a ‘pasta & grains’ box. This method not only keeps everything organized but it also makes meal planning and grocery shopping so much easier because I can see everything we have, or don’t have. I have also used diaper boxes in a similar fashion with all of our craft and art supplies – which we seem to have an over-abundance of. =)
Great way to recycle those diaper boxes. 🙂
for sheets – put the entire set inside the pillow case, so when they are changing the sheets they can just grab pick the set they like, plus it just looks like a pile of pillows in the closet
I never thought of using berry containers–what a great idea! I use the bottoms of Velveeta boxes to organize my smaller kitchen utensils like peelers and such–I haven’t bought Velveeta in years but the boxes last a long time!
I also use Velveeta boxes to hold my assorted tea bags – they fit perfectly and I can have a good assortment when guests are over.
Great tips! I especially love the berry container idea!
I spotted a mail sorter made from a cereal box on Pinterest a while back. It inspired me to use a large cereal box hanging sideways on the wall right above my son’s backpack as a place to put all the papers he brought home from school. Anything important that I needed to be reminded of (permission slips, picture day forms, etc.) I just clipped to the front on the outside. Everything else went inside to be sorted and filed once a month. To pretty it up, I just used some leftover contact paper to cover the outside.
Thanks for the tips! Now I have yet another packaging item to hoard and repurpose! My husband will surely be rolling his eyes the next time I catch him about to throw away a berry container! 🙂
Yes April, the container hoarding can be a problem. LOL!
Great ideas Kimberlee! I have that same basket for my teenagers makeup and it is quite a mess. Need to come up with something else that will hold it all and be portable for her life as a college student.
Love the berry containers for office supplies in the junk drawer. Free AND you upcycled. Awesome! 😉
To keep the toothbrush mess in the bathroom drawer under control, I have all of them along with the toothpaste in a silverware holder from the dollar store.
OOH, love the silverware holder idea Kris!
Love the berry container idea. I save large glass jars. I currently store my coffee in a very large jelly jar. I also use large jars (from spagetti sauce, pickles, etc.) to store bulk-bought popcorn kernels, oatmeal, flax seeds and the like. I have re-used a detergent bucket to store my household cleaners in and cleaned a kitty litter bucket to hold the cat food. Reusing the plastic container that some lunch meats come in is a great way to get a “free” container for leftovers.
As for my linen closet, once the sheets are laundered I take them and fold them and place the entire set into one of the pillow cases. This way everything is all together and you don’t have to search for a pillow case or fitted sheet and it also looks nice and neat on the shelf.
We put our bed sheets folded inside the pillow cases so everything Is all in o e bag!!
That is genius! I’m definitely going to use that!
Thanks Tricia. 🙂
my junk drawer looks just like that! My husband doesn’t appreciate my small box collection, but that’s just too bad! I use them all the time in drawers like this.