Come 2016, you’ll be a home organization guru with these tips and tricks!
Press The Restart Button With These Home Organization Tips
With the new year just around the corner, there are so many things to worry about that organizing your home may not be a top priority. There’s no doubt that the longer you put cleaning and organizing off, the harder it gets to actually do it. Believe me, I’ve definitely been there before.
But every new year signals a new beginning and instead of ringing in 2016 in a dump, why not flex those muscles, put on that dirty t-shirt you reserve for occasions just like this and take comfort in knowing that, with these tips and tricks, the grind of cleaning and organizing won’t be as taxing and boring as it once was.
It’s time to get started so let’s head into the room where the magic happens!
1. Bedroom
Your room is your tranquil haven, your solitude after being out for the entire today. Thus, you have to make sure it is tidy, clean, refreshing, and offers a relaxing abode for your tired mind and body. Here are some organization ideas to get your room looking like the sanctuary it is:
Your jewelry and accessories can be stored and accessed easier if you make this DIY jewelry frame organizer. One thing I hate in the morning is going through my drawer of accessories to find my treasured piece for that day. But with this frame, everything is put on display so I can easily choose what I want.
What about your books? There’s actually a way to use them as a display, while neatly storing them at the same time. All you need to use are bookends to make these books appear like they’re floating. Check out how to do it here.
Now on to the closet: that vast jungle where clothes roam freely when they shouldn’t. It is so hard to keep closets organized because we have so many things in there — clothes, bags, belts, shoes, artifacts from high school. Hence, you really need to find a foolproof way to keep your closet organized for the long haul. To do this, you may want to try this $50 closet makeover.
Check out this guide for more ideas on how to organize your shoes and scarves.
2. Kitchen
The kitchen may only get busy at certain times, but you shouldn’t underestimate the mess it can make at home. It is a must that you keep it organized to ensure a fun, productive cooking space, and a clean, bacteria-free abode.
With kitchen organization, start by getting the right containers, particularly for food that needs to be sealed for freshness. You don’t want plastic bags and boxes left unopened on the kitchen as this can also attract rats and cockroaches, the two guests you LEAST want in your home. DIY and Crafts has wonderful kitchen storage ideas you can check out.
When it comes to spices, I’m sure you’re more than familiar with how easily these little guys can turn your kitchen counters into a clutter-filled booby trap. The best way to keep those counters clutter-free and organized is with a spice rack. Check out how to make your own spice rack and other ideas from Homedit.
Want to organize your kitchen cabinets in a creative way? Use chalkboards and labels! Live Love DIY shares its kitchen cabinet organizing tricks.
3. Pantry
Do you have kids at home? If so, you must already know how hard it is to keep the pantry organized. With kids trying to scavenge the pantry on their own, this part of your kitchen is a disaster waiting to happen. Here’s an affordable way to tidy it up:
I suggest you try this frugal way to organize your pantry. See the boxes that look like wooden crates? Those are just painted cardboard boxes! Those plastic containers cost a dollar each. Next, you need to get some boxes and bins for extra storage, which really comes in handy. Pretty neat, huh?
If you want to try out this frugal pantry makeover, head over to Blesser House. And please, don’t forget that pantry inventory list!
4. Laundry
Having problems with keeping the laundry room tidy and organized? You’re not alone. Here are some valuable ideas to help you create your own laundry system and one that will keep your dirty and clean clothes organized.
See how neat that laundry room is in the first photo? Looks impossible, right? Nah, it is possible. You just have to find the right containers for whatever it is you need — laundry soap, detergent, fabric conditioners, and etc. See those clothespins? That can help dry your socks. See that white organizer? That can hold all your pins that can look like a mess if not tidied up. A clean laundry room can actually inspire you to do your laundry. Try this laundry organizing idea for inspiration.
If you have kids at home, there’s a more urgent need to come up with a laundry system that will work well for everyone in the family. For larger families, this laundry system can preserve your sanity.
5. Bathroom
One of the most important areas in the house to keep organized is the bathroom. These rooms have little space and any clutter will be highlighted. The worst part is that even though it’s a smaller room, it is frequently used and loaded with toiletries you and the family need. Here are several ideas to help you organize your bathroom:
The trick to bathroom organization is to go vertical since that’s really the only way to increase the space in that tiny little room. Hang baskets to keep towels, soaps and other toiletries. You can also use this cool ladder with shelves idea to organize towels and toilet paper.
As for your bathroom cleaning materials, make sure you find a container for them so they’re not haphazardly stored under your bathroom sink. Check out more brilliant DIY bathroom organization ideas at DIY & Crafts.
6. Kids Room
It is safe to say that the kids room is the genesis of a mess. Walking in there is kind of like walking into a war zone. There are shirts and pants strewn across the floor, posters are falling off the walls, and pencils are EVERYWHERE. There are probably more pencils in a child’s room than there are at Staples. But before you despair and rock on the floor in the fetal position, know that there is hope!
Thank goodness for genius DIY and organizing gurus, right?
If your children like to play with Lego and blocks, using plastic containers is the best way to tidy them up. For what seems to be an endless supply of coloring materials, pails are always great for keeping those buggers where they need to be. If you have a daughter, you know how messy those headbands and hair elastics can get, so I definitely recommend using use a plastic shoe or jewelry organizer to keep them together in one place.
Get more organizations tips here.
7. Home Office
Whether it is your office-office desk or home office desk, it has to be tidy! Need organizing inspiration? Check out the ideas below:
When working, being productive is your ultimate goal. However, if you’re working at a desk that’s cluttered with candy wrappers, papers and empty coffee cups, that’s more likely than not going to affect your focus. Organize everything on your desk from papers to pens. Organize your cables too. There are great ideas from Homedit that will get your desk looking like it belongs in an Ikea showroom.
Another thing you can add to your home office is a transformed old cabinet. If you have one lying around the office, take it home and follow the instructions from LiveLoveDIY on how to turn an old filing cabinet into a cool one.
8. Garage
Alright, the garage is actually a place where you put every single thing you don’t need. Cluttering is imminent but you think it’s fine because no one’s actually hanging out in your garage. Out of sight, out of mind, right? However, your main problem with not organizing your garage is first, safety, and second, the pile of mess you have to deal with later. Here are great ideas to keep your garage danger-free and organized:
It’s really all about putting things you need together and organizing them in a way where you don’t have to dig through boxes and drawers just to get the things you need. Also, you have to make sure that the garage is a safe place for the kids too. Find more garage organizing ideas here.
9. Living Room
Apart from your bedroom, the living room is the other place in your house where you unwind and relax. It should be as Zen as possible. If you don’t feel relaxed in your own living room, it’s time to change things.
Is it time to organize the picture frames? The books? The records? The memorabilia? Most likely! Aside from the organization aspect, you can also save on living room décor by doing it yourself. DIY and Crafts Magazine have awesome ideas to refresh your living room.
10. More Organizing Ideas
We can’t get enough of these organizing ideas, can we? I feel obliged to give you more helpful ideas because I know for a fact that we all have different organizing needs. Some of the ideas above may not suit you… so here I am giving you more and more organizing tips and tricks. Yey!
If you’re the DIY kind of person, you can enjoy these 58 home organizing ideas and DIY projects. There are projects for everyone from simple ones like making your own hanger to more time-intensive ones such as a mason jar organizer that is well worth the effort.
If that’s not enough, here are 20 creative organizing ideas you can try too.
11. Decluttering
It’s all about what you can handle at home.
Organizing and decluttering goes hand-in-hand. You can’t organize without decluttering and decluttering will be futile if you don’t know how to organize. I know it’s a pain to declutter, but this table below can help you prioritize what you need to declutter first.
Family Handyman shares clutter-busting strategies that will keep every room in your house looking spic and span.
12. Cleaning
Together with organizing and decluttering, you also have to know the best tricks in the book when it comes to cleaning.
How do you clean your washing machine, stove top, couch, mattress, wooden table, bathtub, porcelain, shower head, microwave, chopping board, air vents and a whole lot more? DIY Joy has the ultimate cleaning guide for all of your germophobes.
Before writing this, I had no idea that home organization with simple, everyday materials was even possible! But after all this, you should be the organizing guru of your neighborhood! Teach your neighbors, charge for classes, or just get started on making your abode the dream home you’ve always wanted.
We hope these organization tips help you fall in more in love with your home or apartment!