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Organizing by Room

  • Kitchen-Sink Organizers
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    Kitchen-Sink Organizers

    To keep your kitchen sink uncluttered, shop at flea markets or housewares stores for pretty little trays to hold sponges, brushes, and hand soap.
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    No-Slip Drawers

    Artists' drawing-board liner (available at art-supply stores) has a slightly rubbery surface that keeps sharp implements stationary and wipes clean easily -- perfect for storing cutlery.

    No-Slip Drawers

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    Dishwashing-Liquid Bottles

    When it's kept in an attractive glass bottle, dishwashing liquid doesn't have to stay hidden beneath the sink. Decorative bottles and pour spouts are available at housewares stores; vintage bottles work well, too, as long as they are perfectly clean.
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    Recycling Station

    Recycling may save the planet -- but it ruins the corner of your kitchen until collection day. An easy-to-make sorting station will help you get in order.

    Recycling Station

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    Pot Racks

    You don't need a prairie-size kitchen to manage the chaos of pot storage. A handrail and several S-hooks will turn a few square feet of wall into a convenient rack for kitchenware.
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    Baking-Pan Organizer

    Gather the small items you store on the shelf into a spare baking tray, then treat it like a drawer, carefully sliding it in and out for easy access. The pan will also catch drips, speeding cleanup.
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    Broom-Closet Organizer

    Screw hooks and spring-loaded clips inside the closet and use them to hold brooms, a dustpan, a mop, and a duster. Do the same with tools on the door and you won't have to get out the toolbox for quick repairs.
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    Pot Lids

    Place a wooden-peg rack in a cupboard, and line up the lids vertically between the pegs. You could also attach a graduated rack to the door. Whatever you do, arrange lids from smallest to largest, with their partner pans close by.
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    Compartmentalize

    Choose cabinets that offer separate spaces -- preferably one for each person who uses the bathroom. Lazy Susans make accessing toiletries, stored in pretty clear containers, a snap.
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    Bathroom Cubbyholes

    Keep bathroom items neat and accessible with cubbyhole shelves for large items and surgical jars for small toiletries and accessories.

    Bathroom Cubbyholes

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    Medicine-Cabinet Organizer

    Make the most of a tight space with these easy tricks.

    Medicine-Cabinet Organizer

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    Terry-Cloth Caddy

    Clear off bathroom countertops by storing toiletries in a hanging organizer. To make one, just stitch a few seams in a hand towel.

    Terry-Cloth Caddy

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    Towel Ladder

    Hang bathroom towels from the rungs of a progressive or apple-picking ladder propped against a wall. To prevent the ladder from slipping, attach rubber tips made for chair legs to the ladder's feet. Secure the top to the wall with hooks and eyes.
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    Vertical Towel Rack

    The walls and doors in this bathroom were underused. Towels and washcloths needed to be handy for bathers, so a hotel-style multitiered rack was installed on the wall next to the tub.
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    Bottled Containers

    Uniform plastic bottles look better than the usual shampoo and soap containers, and they fit neatly in storage devices. Identify bottles with laminated labels, adding either the names of family members who use them or listing the contents.
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    Note Clips

    Keep track of important notes, invitations, and bills to be paid with binder clips hung from cup hooks screwed into a wall.
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    Coordinated Containers

    Turn empty gift baskets into stylish household organizers. (Similar receptacles are sold at floral shops and crafts stores if you need to supplement your supply.)

    Coordinated Containers

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    Paint-Can Cubbies

    Inexpensive, unused cans can be purchased at paint stores; lined up on a shelf and anchored in place with Velcro, they become organizing cubbyholes with a modern flair.

    Paint-Can Cubbies

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    Office in a Chest

    Transform a traditional piece of bedroom furniture into a multitasking mini office, complete with bulletin board and filing cabinet. Learn to reconfigure a chest with minimal construction.

    Office in a Chest

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    Bulletin Board

    Have a piece of 1/2-inch Homasote or foam board cut to fit inside a frame. Cover with a piece of colorful linen, stretched tight and stapled on the back side with a staple gun. Wrap ribbon across the front, tacking at the center and stapling in back. A drying rack can find new life as a place to store magazines and sheets of wrapping paper.
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    Dream Desk

    Stocked with everything a student needs, this hideaway is an inviting place to pore over homework.

    Dream Desk

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    Children's Bookshelves

    A ready-made plate rack can be easily transformed into a child's bookshelf, displaying both toys and books.

    Children&#039;s Bookshelves

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    Storing Toys

    Buy a child-safe chest -- one with features to keep it from closing and sealing shut -- and customize it to your child's needs.

    Storing Toys

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    Play Tables

    It's a project that will appeal to everyone in the family: Kids get a special surface (three of them, in fact) to play on, and adults can clean up faster because toys will be confined to one area, not scattered all over the house.

    Play Tables

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    Stuffed-Animal Organizer

    Make a pocket quilt from the fabric of retired shirts, or simply use a hanging fabric shoe organizer. Each stuffed animal, with its face and arms peeking out of a pocket, will be neatly displayed and protected.
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    Space-Saver Desk

    Using a twist on under-bed storage, the area below a store-bought loft bed becomes a welcoming small-scale study. An adjustable desk is made of painted plywood attached to a homemade wooden frame.

    Space-Saver Desk

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    Art-Project Storage

    Label mailing tubes, available at office-supply stores, by semester or year, and fill with rolled-up stacks of artwork.

    Art-Project Storage

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    Kids&#146; Closets

    Just a few simple, flexible additions can expand the capabilities of your child's closet.

    Kids&#039; Closets

  • Kitchen-Sink Organizers
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Comments

Reviews (14)

  • sesamom
    27 Jun, 2012

    what a useless tip! If my daughter only had 9 stuffed animals this would be great but the fact that there are more than 9 is what requires organizing.

  • KSCE
    27 Jun, 2012

    Great if your kid only has 5 stuffed animals...how about a great storage idea for those who have 100? :)

  • jacquirosa
    9 Oct, 2009

    ikea actually has a ton of different jars on many sizes for CHEAP! also, most stores like pottery bar, target, etc have jars like that for the bathroom, but they are kind of expensive. i love ikea!

  • lilysnana55
    24 May, 2009

    I got the thumbnail images accidentally when I clicked on "see all" for the comments!

  • lilysnana55
    24 May, 2009

    I got the thumbnail images accidentally when I clicked on "see all" for the comments!

  • Lindr46
    22 May, 2009

    How do you get the thumbnail view at the beginning. I have to look at all 28 pictures before it comes up. Too late then.

  • petlover123
    22 May, 2009

    where do you get surgical jars? I love that idea

  • MadamMW
    21 May, 2009

    These are really great ideas for minimal space..

  • want2decor
    18 Apr, 2009

    these are all great ideas

  • brokoli
    28 Jan, 2009

    I like the idea Space-Saver Desk .its so good

  • brokoli
    28 Jan, 2009

    I like the idea Space-Saver Desk .its so good

  • UNCVW
    16 Jan, 2009

    I like the idea of a wall pot rack, but how do you keep the pans from marking up the wall?

  • PatyRomero
    16 Jan, 2009

    I loved these ideas! I can't wait to start using them.
    Paty R. from Monterrey, Mexico.

  • rachelray
    20 Nov, 2008

    What some neat ideas, i like them all, thanks alot. carol from germantown, wisconsin

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