The following guest post was created by Neena from Almost Practical.
Spring is just around the corner – so it’s a great time to start organizing. Use these simple home organization hacks to quickly declutter. Create the time and space you need to do more of the things you love.
Make a Grand Plan for Your Home Organization
When it comes to organizing, it’s really important to set some goals and make a master plan of what you want to accomplish. If you try to tackle all your piles at once, you won’t get much done.
At the beginning of each week, I like steal a quiet moment to relax and map out my top organizing priorities. In a small notebook, I write down the steps that I need to take – along with the time needed for each one. Then I look at my daily schedule and assign each task to a specific day. This way my project will be complete by the end of the week.
Kitchen Organization Hacks
Almost every week, one of my organization projects involves the kitchen. In our house the kitchen is the one room that gets used the most. It becomes a catch-all for clutter and this space easily gets disorganized.
These are a few hacks that have kept our kitchen more orderly and efficient.
1. Keep an Empty Tray in the Kitchen
An empty serving tray is actually a great organization tool.
Now, don’t expect that tray to stay empty for very long! Use it to collect your mail and other stray items that find their way onto your countertops.Then set up a time (once a day or once a week) to carry that tray around the house and put everything back where it belongs. When it is empty once again, put it back on the kitchen counter.
2. Use Clear Jars for Storage
Clear jars and storage containers are another great organizational tool. You can use these to store dry staples in your pantry or to store foods that you want people to eat quickly.
I use glass jars to store baked cookies in my kitchen, because I want them to be consumed while they are still fresh.
3. Have an Apron Handy At All Times
You may not think of an apron as an organizational tool, but really it is. Think about all the times that you may avoid washing the dishes or cooking something because you are wearing nice clothes and you don’t want to ruin them.
If you have an apron, especially one that you like, at the ready – then you will do those kitchen tasks as they come up and avoid the procrastination. You will probably cut down on your laundry, too!
4. Keep a Cutting Board On The Counter
Another thing to store in plain sight is a cutting board. Whether you are slicing fresh fruit or making a sandwich, a cutting board provides a practical working surface and protects your counters. It also makes clean up easy by keeping the crumbs off the countertops.
5. Use a Mat for Your Pet Food Bowls
You can also keep your kitchen clean and organized by placing a sturdy pet placemat underneath your pet’s food and water bowls. This keeps the floor area tidy and makes spills easy to clean up.
Display Your Memories
Some of the clutter in your kitchen may actually be valuable to you. Sentimental things that you don’t know what to do with tend to float around. These things should bring a smile to your face but instead they start to become annoying. Don’t let this happen to your precious memories.
Instead, use a shadow box to display mementos. Souvenirs from a recent vacation, an award your child has won, photos, or even personal notes can be safely tucked away. Designing the layout and rotating the items inside the shadow box can also be a fun project to do with your kids.
How to Hide the Cable Clutter
One home organization project that was part of my grand plan this week was finding a solution to all the cable clutter in my kitchen.
Like many of you, we are a multi-device family. On any given day, you will find someone’s phone, tablet, or computer, sitting on the kitchen countertop attached to an outlet. This frustrates me on many levels because a kitchen is where we cook and well – things do spill. That does not spell a good outcome for an electronic device.
So, my goal was to create a charging station for our family room (which is right next to the kitchen) – where people could power up. I wanted it hide the cables but also be useful. Because we have so many different types of devices, I actually wanted to place a power strip inside the charging station – this way, people could plug in just about anything.
Make a DIY Charging Station
The first thing I did was find a basket that:
- Was large enough to accommodate a power strip with surge protection, and
- Had slats that were wide apart so that the cord for the power strip could feed into the basket and the cables for the devices could extend out.
As you can see from the photo – the basket by itself was not enough. It still looked really cluttered and messy.
I solved this problem by attaching a piece of pretty fabric around the front of the basket with hook and loop fasteners.
This project was really quick and easy. All you have to do is:
- Measure the height of your basket and halfway around the perimeter.
- Cut a rectangle of fabric in these measurements.
- If you plan to hem the rough edges of the fabric, add an extra quarter inch around all sides.
- Use a sewing machine and to turn under the rough edge.
- Attach hook and loop fasteners to the top of a few of the basket slats around the front of the basket. The nice thing about using hook and loop fasteners is that you can make several fabric rectangles in different patterns and switch them out for a different look.
Now, the front of your charging station will have a nice finished look and hide all the cable clutter inside.
The back of your charging station will be open, so you can easily charge your devices inside the basket, if it is large enough. Or you can snake the cable wires through the back slats and charge your devices on the table or surface right next to your charging station. And, of course, when the station is not being used – you can just tuck the cables away inside the basket for a nice and neat appearance.
Final Thoughts on Home Organization Hacks
I hope that you can put some of these organization hacks to good use in your own home decor. And if you’re looking for additional inspiration, make sure to check out Shutterfly’s DIY ideas and other home decor ideas.
Happy organizing!
