Organizing is one of my favorite things to do. Saving space is another. I decided to compile a list of my favorite organizing tips I use throughout my house. Get ready. As I began to write, the list got longer and longer. I just love this stuff! The saying is true. A place for everything and everything in it’s place. It really does make life so much easier and keeps your mind clearer. If I find I’m always looking for something or continually annoyed by an issue, I think to myself, “What can I do to solve this problem?”. Below are some of the solutions I use around my house. A little extra effort organizing in the beginning is so worth it day to day.

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NAIL POLISH STORAGE
Still a favorite is the acrylic organizer we mounted on the back of the hallway closet door. I wrote about it HERE. It is compact and allows us to get the polish out of a basket and onto the door where we can see what we have. This year I am going to add a few more shelves to the door for my essential oils, too.

SPINNING LAZY SUSANS
I use lazy susans everywhere in my home. In the medicine closet, in the spice cabinet, for my crafts, and my newest obsession, in the refrigerator for condiments.

BASKETS
Baskets are great for keeping items contained and out of sight. We have a basket near the front door that hides the towel we use to clean the dogs paws after they have been outside. I have a basket in the living room that holds magazines we haven’t read and random remotes that we don’t use often. There is a cute basket in the bedroom that I put the decorative pillows in when we are using the bed. Let’s be honest, sometimes the bed doesn’t get made and the basket is full of pillows for days. We have a random space in the kitchen that is actually a spot for a desk chair. We don’t use that spot for a kitchen office so I put a large basket in the hole that houses extra paper towel rolls so we don’t have to go to the basement each time we need a refill.

DEDICATED SPOT FOR RECEIPTS
One of the best things I did for my sanity was to create a specific place for receipts. Before, they inevitably sat on the counter for days, stayed in the bottom of my purse for months, got piled on my desk by others that didn’t want to file them or simply got lost. Owning multiple businesses, keeping track of receipts is a must. And no matter how hard I tried to record them on a regular basis, it never actually happened until tax time. Now I have three separate spots for our receipts – one for personal receipts, one for my business receipts and one for my husband’s business receipts. We just toss them into the correct spots. When tax time rolls around, everything is in one location ready to be sorted and recorded. It’s a sanity saver. I also have a dedicated spot for documents needed throughout the year so they can easily be found like property tax receipts for licensing vehicles.

DROP ZONE DRAWER
Do you have family members that make piles on your counters? Car keys, a wallet, random notes and business cards, AirPods, loose change. Not for me, thank you. I emptied a drawer right below where family members dropped everything in the kitchen as soon as they came in the door. Now they can simply pull open the drawer and drop their crap in their designated compartment. There are also sections for notepads, grocery lists, pens, scissors, a box opener, and a lighter – things we use often but I don’t want sitting out on the counter. I use these little acrylic drawer organizers all over the house. Out of sight, out of my mind is a good thing.

KEY ORGANIZER
One day I had had it. There would be no more random keys laying around or key rings full of keys that no one knew what they were for. We spent time figuring out what each key went to and labeled them with a fine Sharpie. Then I hung dedicated hooks in one spot for all unused/spare keys. I also picked up this cute organizer from Amazon.

RANDOM CORD DRAWER
I think if we looked, we could all find random cords around the house that we probably don’t have a clue what they are for. My solution to that was to label EVERY cord that I felt the need to keep and I store them all together in one designated drawer. I made labels using solid washi tape and a fine Sharpie. Charging cords, tv cables, power cords, adapters, they are all marked and stored in one drawer so the whole family can find what they need without bugging mom.

USB OUTLETS
To keep charging cords discrete I like to have USB outlets installed where we regularly charge our phones, watches, AirPods, tablets, etc. That way the regular outlets are free for other items and devices can be plugged into the USB ports. No more stealing someone else’s charging block and parents having to listen to the complaining. We have outlets in the kitchen near the drop zone drawer, in the office and by our bedside tables since we use our phones as our alarms.

METAL FILE CABINETS
I love me some cheap Craigslist/Marketplace metal filing cabinets. For about 20 bucks I have an awesome spot for storage. I use the drawers for the obvious filing away bills and housing client files in my office. But I also have a cabinet dedicated to holding the chosen school artwork and awards divided by each kid and each year they were in school. I have a small two-drawer cabinet with dividers that hold all the household owners manuals with copies of receipts. One drawer holds office supplies. One drawer holds new file folders, binders, clean notebooks and printer paper. The possibilities are endless.

TRASH CANS FOR STORAGE
I like to use clean trash cans for storing wrapping paper rolls, random yard sticks, dowel rods, kraft paper, etc. and seasonal greenery stems. They keep items condensed in one spot and easily accessible for the few times a year they are needed.

RECIPE DROPBOX
I cook often and get tired of the same old recipes over and over again. I search the internet and print new recipes or rip recipes out of magazines when I create my weekly What’s for Dinner meal plans. That led to having piles of random recipes stuffed in the cabinet. I couldn’t remember whether I had tried them or if they were worth making again. When I wanted to find a specific recipe, it took forever to find. I developed a system where I immediately threw away the recipe if it was a fail and dropped the keeper recipes in a box. When I have free-time, I add the recipes to my “favorites” recipe binder organized by recipe type. It makes meal planning and finding recipes so much easier.

MAGNETIC KNIFE HOLDER
I think we have the world’s smallest kitchen drawers. Next to nothing will fit and storing knives loosely is not only unsafe but can cause them to dull, as well. I also don’t like things on my counter (unless they are cute, of course). A knife block is not something I want taking up my precious counter space. Instead, I opted to hang a magnetic knife block which safely holds my best knife set and leaves more room in the drawers for other kitchen necessities.

KITCHEN WRAP/BAG ORGANIZERS
One might think these are unnecessary. Let me explain why I love them. As I mentioned, there is very limited space in our shallow kitchen drawers. When I lined the various wraps and Ziploc bags in a drawer, they wouldn’t all fit or the boxes were a tad too tall and would catch when the drawer was opened and tear. Enter the kitchen wrap/bag organizers. By removing the excess packaging and placing the wraps and baggies into the organizers, space was gained. I could fit everything perfectly into one drawer. An extra bonus is the wrap organizer has cutting strips so the wrap can be pulled out and cut right from the drawer. It’s wonderful and worth the money in my opinion.

APPLIANCE CLOSET
My absolute number one favorite organizing idea in my house is the broom closet turned appliance closet. No more ugly appliances on my counters (except my beloved KitchenAid mixer because it’s heavy…and cute). No more unloading an entire cabinet to get to a rarely used appliance. All my appliances are now neatly lined on the narrow shelves of the closet ready for use at anytime. I freaking love it! I wrote about the magic closet HERE. I realize not everyone has this option. But if you do, it is AMAZING!

COMMAND HOOKS
My master closet is not one of those fancy closets with built-in drawers, shoe shelves, and floor to ceiling hanging space…YET. In the meantime, I use command hooks anywhere there is open wall space for hanging hats, scarves, belts, robes, jewelry, etc. You can stick them anywhere and they won’t damage the walls when you want to remove or reconfigure. I like things behind closed doors, organized and easily accessible so I use any and all space available in the tiny closet until we can turn that spare bedroom across the hall into the master closet/laundry of my dreams.

ACRYLIC WALL SHELVES
I admit this is a little excessive but it makes me happy. I have several pair of sunglasses I switch out as desired. I also can’t wear my contacts much anymore so I have invested in a couple of pair of glasses I wear daily. I like to keep them all displayed together on acrylic shelves hung in my closet. All in one dedicated space and easy to access is always the goal.