If your house is anything like ours right now, it’s crazy town! During the holidays things just seem to fall apart around here. New toys and gifts with no place to put them makes for a messier house than normal. So…it’s time to organize! Out with the old and in the new. Time to clean out closets and put things back where they belong. Just like new running clothes seem to make me run farther, new organizational materials inspire me to organize better! So here’s what I’ve found to get myself organized for the new year…
In our laundry room I found inexpensive canvas bins at K-Mart. They’re fresh and clean and fit my shelves perfectly. Printed labels in the pockets make it easy to keep things organized within the bins.
In the garage, I desperately needed to organize everything from painting supplies, to car cleaning supplies to dog leashes. To do that, I used these great metal bins from Lowe’s. They are nice and sturdy and are such a refreshing change from the jumbled up mess we had before. To label them, I used Martha Stewart Brown Kraft labels from Staples. The templates are free online, so you can just type in your bin name and print it off! (I got a little carried away and labeled a few more things in the pantry- why not!)
For our mudroom cubbies, I searched far and wide for bins that would 1) use the space most efficiently 2) look nice as they are directly across from our powder bath 3) not knock out a child if he or she were to pull it down on his or her head. I finally decided on the Pandan Bins from Serena and Lily. They look great, hold what we need and are nice and light.
In the playroom, I’ve been using huge baskets from Pottery Barn. They’re very sturdy, look great and hold a lot- like the giant blocks that we’re keeping in this one. Also, they make it so easy for the kids to clean up!
And, one last project that I’ve been working on for awhile, and continue to update as the need arises, is our home office. We have a tiny office and although it’s a wonderful space, we need to keep it very organized or it is not functional at all. To keep extra stationary or banking necessities together, I use large letter boxes. The blue boxes shown here are from See Jane Work. For items such as phone books and directories (which are not very pretty and don’t stand up well) and loose notes and even printer paper, I use magazine files. I’ve found white options at Ikea, Wal-Mart and See Jane Work. And to keep paperwork organized, I use inexpensive white binders and line the spine with coordinating scrapbook paper. Easy solutions to make the shelves so much tidier and pleasant!
Good luck organizing! Start the year with fresh, clean and organized spaces!
(P.S. I apologize for the poor photography. If only our photographers were with me all of the time! I need to take a class from them, but in the meantime, I hope you get the general idea!)
