There are hundreds of products on the market today that promise to organize your life. You could spend hundreds or even thousands of dollars on these products. While you may find yourself more organized, you will probably find yourself broke. With a struggling economy, most people would opt for these much more budget-friendly options (most of which you can find around your house).
1. 'Small Parts' Organizers:
Use clean ice cube trays and muffin tins to organize everything from jewelry to paperclips and rubber bands to nuts and bolts. They are also great for sorting and organizing any number of craft items. These trays can be placed in drawers and used as drawer organizers or they can be stored on shelves or desktops for easy access.
2. Utensil Storage:
Many people store their kitchen utensils on the counter in cute decorative pots. You can create your own storage container by using a large vase. If the vase is not heavy enough you may have to add some glass beads or other material to the bottom of the vase to weigh it down. With the handles of the utensils in the vase, they tend to get top heavy and may cause your vase to tip over if not properly weighted.
3. Desk Drawer Containment:
In order to keep everything from becoming a jumbled mess in your drawers, it is often necessary to use draw organizers. Check boxes and clean baby food containers or other small jars work great and you can usually find them lying around your house. The small containers and jars are wonderful for holding smaller objects like paperclips and rubber bands. Pens and pencils fit well in the check boxes or if they are kept out on the desk, they can be placed in large jars. If you have any larger objects that tend to slide around in your drawer, you can always place a piece skid-proof rubberized drawer liner on the bottom of the drawer.
4. Workshop Organizers:
Any clear jar works well to organize a workshop. Mayonnaise jars and pickle jars are tall enough to store screws and nails. Smaller jars, like those from cherries, olives, or even baby food, are just the right size for nuts and washers.
5. Twine Dispenser:
Keep your ball of string or twine from unraveling every time you try to use it. Repurpose an old CD dispenser (the kind that holds blank CDs) to make a twine dispenser. Place the ball of string or twine over the spindle. Then drill a hole into the top of the cover and run the string out the hole. Just be sure to pull enough extra string out each time so it doesn't fall back into the dispenser.
6. Hat, Key, and Trash Bag Controllers:
Adhesive backed hooks come in a lot of different sizes and styles. They are relatively inexpensive and can be used all around your house. Put a few next to the door and they can hold your keys. Place them in your mudroom or in a closet and they can hold anything from ties and scarves to hats. If you place them upside down on your garbage can and hook the drawstring on them, they keep your trash bag from falling in.
7. Plastic Shopping Bag Corral:
Store your plastic shopping bags in an empty tissue box. Any bags that don't fit can be disposed of because you have too many. When you need one, simply pull one out of the top like you would a tissue. The tissue box helps you keep a manageable number of bags organized and easy to dispense. The boxes are cute enough these days that you don't have to feel bad if you leave it sitting out on the counter.
8. Paper Shopping Bag Holder:
Just like your plastic shopping bags, paper shopping bags can pile up and end up making a mess of your closet. A couple of screen door springs and cup hooks can help you get these under control. Screw two cup hooks inside a cabinet door so that you can stretch one of the screen door springs vertically between them. Do the same thing with a second set of hooks and spring so that the springs are parallel to each other. Then all you have to do is place your paper bags behind the hooks.
9. Color Organizer:
When you're painting a room, dip the stir stick into the paint and let it dry. Then write the color, brand of paint, sheen, and room on the end. Store all the paint sticks for each room together in a coffee can near your paint storage. That way, whenever you need to match the color or find a complementary one, you just have to grab the stick and take it along. Also placing the leftover paint in a small, clear jar that is labeled with the room name will also help you save of space.
10. Making It Your Own:
No matter what you might find lying around your house that will help keep your clutter under control and no matter what condition it is in, remember that you can always make it look a little better. You can always disguise the objects by decorating them with paint, stencils, wrapping paper, and wallpaper. With a little bit of TLC, your budget-wise organizers will look like they belong in the room just as much as the rest of your décor.
(by: Get Organized Now: http://www.getorganizednow.com)
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