My mom had the latest Better Homes and Gardens organization issue and I flipped through it at her house. It got me motivated to organize a few spaces in my house that I've let slip a little. When living in a small space, you've got to use every place you've got for storage. I realized I wasn't making very good use of many of our drawers (nightstands, desks, etc.), cabinets and such. I'm big on everything "making sense" as far as where it goes, so this takes a little bit of thinking for me. It's easy to put something somewhere and then never question it again, but you may not be using your space as well as you could. For example, we have a dresser in the boys' closet that was filled with TONS of old baseball cards. I cleaned it out and now it stores all of the blankets and sheets for their beds. I feel so much better.
I put some crates on the shelves in their closet to keep everything organized. I'm not even sure what to put in them yet...can you believe it? I found EXTRA space!
I also did some desk organizing.
We don't use our drawers. We put things in them that we don't want to see and then close the drawer, look around shiftily, and pretend it never happened. I decided to clean out my desk drawer and our nightstands to try to utilize them more. Rather than stacking his books and headphones on top of his nightstand, Jared can now put them in his drawer. Success! Here's mine.
The containers your things are stored in can make a big impact in feeling organized. I have a friend who keeps all of her pasta, rice, nuts, etc. in mason jars in her pantry. It makes everything look so much nicer and feel so much more organized. Likewise, if you put a bunch of random things in a pretty tray in your bathroom, voila! It's organized!
I like for my fridge to be organized, too. That bottom file/holder thing is from anthro. I ordered something online and when it arrived, my receipt was in that. I glued a magnet to the back and stuck it to the fridge because it was just too pretty!
Inside my fridge, I keep things compartmentalized by using plastic bins.
**Another trick of mine is to use my furniture to hide unsightly stuff.
The breakfast nook is awesome because the benches have storage. I can keep art supplies and tablecloths inside! I hope to make cushions for it someday but that's another post.
Here is my buffet table. I got for $50 on craigslist and I think it's supposed to go in a dining room but we use ours for a tv stand and it works beautifully. We used to have a low tv stand from Target but it didn't hold anything. I thought it was such a waste, so I set to work finding something that could hold everything I need to keep in the family room. I have toys, movies, blankets, even books in there!
One more tip for keeping organized in small spaces is to get rid of stuff. It has to be done. We somehow manage to accumulate all kinds of junk that just sits in the garage and the closet. Don't be afraid to get rid of it!
Do you have any tips on keeping organized in a small space? Share!
Have a great weekend!!
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