Easy organization tips for the toughest-to-tidy areas of your home
Spending lots more time in your home lately? You might be noticing the weak points in your home organization system, or that once-tidy spots have slipped into disarray. If these realizations coincide with some enforced down time at home, let us help you get it fixed up! Here, we will concentrate on some of the small, toughest-to-tidy areas of your home that you can spiff up in a couple of hours, so that you can luxuriate in a feeling of accomplishment as you binge a new series guilt-free!
General organization tips
- Purge before you organize.
- Only purchase storage solutions after you have identified a need.
- Use the garbage as a last resort—gift, repurpose or donate everything you can.
- Take photos of sentimental things you wish to pass along.
- Be ruthless. It’s simpler to replace a kitchen gadget later than to store an unused one indefinitely.
Your kitchen junk drawer
Ah, the kitchen! Home of endless single-use gadgets, take-out condiment packets and the ominous “junk drawer.” Let’s talk about that junk drawer. Do you really need it? Do you have enough precious kitchen drawer space to give an entire drawer over to “junk”? You could put the skewers with the barbecue tongs, the birthday candles with the cupcake liners and the batteries in the tool box and regain an entire kitchen drawer! But who are we kidding? The junk drawer is as American as apple pie, so let’s talk about taming this tough-to-tidy spot.
- Throw out what you can.
- Identify items that have a proper place elsewhere and put them away.
- Consider lining or painting the inside of the drawer—it’s both hygienic and attractive.
- Use bowls, trays, boxes and drawer dividers to demarcate spaces for like items.
- Sort like items, and if you feel ambitious, label the spaces.
Your bathroom cupboard
Ladies get blamed for overstuffed bathroom storage, but gentlemen have plenty of products, styling tools and extra contact lenses, too! Add in general necessities like first-aid items, extra hygiene products and the odd magazine or two and you have the perfect storm to create a messy, disorganized bathroom closet or cupboard. Bathrooms are one place where lots of pretty sea grass sea grass storage baskets do a great deal of good! Here are some ideas to help tackle that bathroom confusion.
- Check the expiration date of every single thing you touch, and throw away outdated items.
- Store cleaning supplies away from your personal care items.
- Either group like items together or designate a shelf/drawer for each family member.
- Stash everyday-use items within easy reach to simplify morning routines.
- Make sure items that guests may need are easy to find—a basket or tray is perfect for this!
Your linen closet
Have you ever dreamed of having a linen closet as perfect as that of a homekeeping guru on television, and then dismissed the dream as an impossibility? The linen closet is very often an out-of-sight-out-of-mind spot in even well-run homes. However, with a few little tricks, your linen closet can not only store more and with greater efficiency, but also give you a great feeling of contentment and accomplishment. You could impress a guest, but we think you can do this just to treat yourself!
- If any bath towels or throw blankets are tattered beyond general use, donate them to an animal shelter.
- Designate shelves for towels, bed sheets, blankets, out-of-season linens, etc.
- Fold sheets in sets and then slip the set into one of its own pillowcases for efficiency.
- Maximize storage by figuring out the best towel folding configuration for your shelves.
- Include special touches; tuck cedar sachets among the wool blankets for example.
Your bedside table
You know you need a clock and a lamp and maybe a box of tissues, but have you ever thought about organizing your bedside table or nightstand drawer to make your whole bedroom more comfortable and relaxing? Your nightstand is quite likely the last thing you touch every night before you go to sleep and the first thing you see each morning; make this tough-to-tidy spot a touchstone of calm organization and start each day on the right foot!
- Have a clear-out—toss outdated aspirin and glasses, shelve the book you finished.
- Think of what you do need, such as a candle lighter, lip balm, lavender spray. . .
- As well as practical necessities like spare batteries for the bedroom TV remote.
- Designate a dish or tray for your jewelry, watch or glasses so they are never lost.
- Tuck in antacids and bug bite ointment; these are things that can keep you awake!
- if you lack a shelf under your table, place a canvas storage bin there to keep overflow tidy.
Keeping those small, catchall spaces in our homes orderly is akin to meditating. When you meditate, your mind will wander; it’s your goal to pull it back to the moment over and over again. Your nightstand and your bathroom cupboard are just like that. Try not to be too hard on yourself if they creep out of your control! These easily-disheveled spots in our homes are great places to go back to over and over again, to keep us living in the moment in our homes, gauging our needs and how they are changing, reveling in small accomplishments, enjoying the act of making our homes ever more comfortable and welcoming. Consider our tips for organizing the toughest-to-tidy areas in your home the next time you want to tackle a small clearing-up project. You may find just the trick you needed to level up your home storage and organization!