organizing- using what you've got and thinking outside the box

As I mentioned previously, I love to organize. I dream one day of having a perfectly clean, perfectly organized house where all my organizers match and are visually appealing. Someday...

Until that day comes though I still find a lot of satisfaction in organizing with whatever I have on hand.

These are things I use in my house that I love:



1. A notebook to store odd and end recipes. There are many products out there that will help you organize recipes. For now, I love my simple white notebook that merely has clear plastic sleeves in it. I stick any old recipe in it in any order. I have recipes from friends, family and magazines simply placed in the plastic sleeves in no particular order, which surprisingly, I haven't minded that they are not categorized as of yet. It is kind of fun to go through and never know what type of recipe I will find next. It makes it super easy too.



2. A bunch of files to keep favorite magazine articles, images, and pieces. I love magazines. Over the years I have kept bunches of my favorite magazines until I have moved and then thrown them all away. I found that I loved some of the articles and imagery, but never really had time to thumb through them again. Then I had the idea to cut down on having to thumb through them by tearing out my favorite articles, images, sources, etc. and keeping them filed away in categories. You could organize these in a binder like my recipe binder with clear plastic sleeves, but I find the files quicker, easier and cheaper. I have a category for every room in my house, every holiday, gift ideas, crafting, sources, flower arrangements... and I think that's about it.



3. I find that using office desk organizers works wonderfully for my make-up.



4. Here is a crazy thing I have done with my make-up... I have used little bead and scrapbooking organizers to salvage and repurpose lipstick and eyeshadow that has been dropped or damaged by my toddler (or me :) ).




5. A few favorites for my closets are pictured above. I use the hanging shoe and sweater bags for everything from shoes, to my husbands hats and workout clothes, to my craft supplies and projects, to blankets. The sky is the limit with these. I also have loved using the hanging shoe organizer to store my markers, crayons, colored pencils, pens, paint, paint brushes, etc.



6. I have been known to use tackle boxes for beading and scrapbooking supplies.


7. I also use old cereal boxes to store some magazines that have too many good features to go through my #2 suggestion with.



8. I use shoe organizers and stacker shelves in all of my cupboards and closets to utilize the space in there better.



9. I use bead organizers for sewing supplies, cake decorating tips, and anything else that suits my fancy.




10. I love using old suitcases and baskets to store things like toys, remotes, exercise mats and weights, phonebooks, etc. and serve as decorations as well.



11. And last but not least... I use good old fashioned boxes of course. Old diaper boxes seem to be the most popular around here.