What is your best organizing tip?

[didispunk]

I am doing a huge clean out, clean up and throw away before bub gets here..

What is your best organizing tip, do you use drawers, shelves, etc

Kids toys.. Our house is covered in them and well they dont play with half of them and I dont buy them things..


Help!!
Thank you!

[~Kim~]

DD's toys are in two of those 5 plastic drawer thingies. Each type of toy has it's own drawer (potato heads, puzzles, barbies, kitchen stuff etc) and is labelled so she can put the stuff away.
DS has 2 wheelie bins and some hidden tubs which I rotate into the bins.
I'm also a huge fan of tubs with lids that roll under stuff and stack.

[Epacris]

A place for everything and everything in its place. AND, this is the clincher for us, volume for volume replacement – any new things get put away and the same volume of things must be donated to charity. It doesn’t work perfectly, I know we have more stuff now than we used to, but it does help enormously to keep it in check (the grandparents tend to go a bit crazy with “stuff” and drive me totally insane ).

All the best!

[Kazbah]

When I sort, I don't sort stuff to toss, but I sort which stuff I want to keep. The rest goes.

[AnyDream]

When I sort, I don't sort stuff to toss, but I sort which stuff I want to keep. The rest goes.

That's a gem.

[Roryrory]

Along the same lines as what the others have said, my best organising tip is to get rid of as much as possible. Less stuff = less mess.

With kids toys, I rotate them. For example, at the moment all the jigsaws are packed away with the blocks and Mr Potato Head. I'll bring that stuff out when the boys tire of the toy food set, Thomas train set and etch-a-sketch.

[lindsaymaree]

A friend of mine has those large plastic tubs with the lids, They seperate the toys into the 3 tubs, 2 tubs go into the shed (out of sight/out of mind) and the one tub inside that can be pulled out and played with, etc. Every couple of weeks this tub gets packed up and rotated to the shed, the kids get a new tub from the shed of toys they've forgotten about.

Because the kids forget about the toys that have been packed away, my friend can then get rid of things they normally wouldn't let her part with.

[Liviam]

Great tips ladies. Keep them coming. I'm in massive need of some storage/clean up ideas. My house isn't very big and we have toys and stuff everywhere - it's driving me crazy!!

[didispunk]

Thank you all,

What about kitchen drawers etc, and that utensil drawer etc.. where you can never find anything,
or your bathroom drawers, and food cupboards etc?

[Astrid]

Thank you all,

What about kitchen drawers etc, and that utensil drawer etc.. where you can never find anything,

I am not the most organised person, but I have found what works a better for me at the moment.

I have sorted out the drawer into the following:
Used weekly - large (serving spoons, masher, whisk etc)
Used weekly - small (measuring spoons, bag clips, bottle openers etc)
Large and small items rarely used, but still needed
Sharp things best kept out of reach of small children

The used weekly stuff is kept in the drawer, there is a plastic container for the small items to stop them from getting lost amongst the big stuff.

The rarely used stuff and sharp things are kept in a large double plastic draw set from Bunning and put on the top shelf of the pantry (I can reach just enough to pull out a drawer). The drawers just pull out completely and are clear, so it makes it easier to find things. One drawer is knives, sharpeners, rolling pin, the other is piping bags, small baking things.

Oh I also have a smaller set of the plastic drawers in the pantry for tape rolls, batteries, calculator, allen keys, spare padlocks

[lindsaymaree]

In my bathroom I only have a small vanity with a tiny shelf, so only the used daily things get shelf privledge; foundation, mascara, lipgloss & deoderant. I make it a rule to put any extras or 'weekend' makeup in clear plastic bags in the cupboard underneath.

No advice for the kitchen...mine is the size of a large shoebox and so the general rule is shove it till it fits

[AliBaby]

BASKETS!!!

I have watched so many episodes of Perfect Housewife and Anthea Turner raves about baskets. They look great and are functional, come in all different sizes as well.

[squidipa]

we didnt have much room in kids room so bought pine pantry cupboards as we had height in the rooms one for clothes and one for toys and bought some cheap tubs and sorted stuff out
action men/figurines
knex
leggo
bionical
puzzles
cooking stuff
colouring books etc etc.... and so on totally changed the look in room and now its clean always

[allycat06]

now organised isn't a word bandied around very often in the allycat household but we have one of those timber cabinets with the woven basket drawers which are pretty good at storing toys and all those annoying things that don't have a place.

And just lots of baskets, just those seagrassy ones from The Warehouse or similar tacky discount store. They are functional and look nice. We have them scattered all over our house. Nappies, blankets, computer cables....you name it, we have a basket for it!

[~Kim~]

Each of us have a smallish basket in the bathroom cupboard (labelled with names). Everything we use is in there, and the rest I just got rid of. Wasn't being used. Mummy gets two though

In the kitchen my most used utensils are on the bench in a canister and I chucked the rest. Only the most important other stuff got to stay (can opener, grater, garlic crusher etc) in the drawer. Basically be ruthless, the less mess the less mess.

[DoubleK]

my pantry- everything has a place, and everything goes back in its place. i have Decor containers, all labelled and filled with everything that needs to be kept sealed. i also use containers to store things together (eg, in one container is the patty pans, food solouring, candles. or gravy sachets- DP like s the Maggi sachets)
all the seasonings are in a small white tray together, spreads together, the sauces/marinades are in another. breakfast cereals up the top, bread/wraps down the bottom, veggie storers on the bottom shelf.

utensils- only stuff we use weekly are in there, tongs have a tray, a smaller tray for can opener/garlic crusher and other small things, and the rest are just in next to the trays. i have a container in the plastic cupboard with the 'never use' items.

plastic container cupboard- you know those big 5L rectangle containers form the reject shop? i find they dont seal air tight, so i threw out the lids and use them for storage in the cupboard- one for lids, one for cake tins, one for measuring spoons/cups/jug, breat pump & bottles (which are only there just in case we should need them) all containers are stacked, rectangles, squares and round. mixing bowls are stacked.

i go crazy if my house isnt sorted like this, its become habit, and now its just the way it is!

[jackrose]

The words/phrases that stand out to me here are 'Ruthless' "in its place' and 'rotate'.

We just moved house and I have taken the opportunity to be ruthless, find a place for everything and stick to it and to make a more concerted effort to rotate toys regularly. It is working so well!

Peter Walsh has a number of books about decluttering which are handy if you want some direction. I got one from the library - no point buying one and adding to the stuff in my house . The best message I got from the book is to look at an item, ask yourself "Is this enhancing my life?" and toss it if it is not. I have boxes of stuff to sell at a garage sale now because of that idea! He also said to not hold onto things because of guilt - ie Grandma really loved this old teapot. If you don't love it or use it, sell it, pass it on or throw it away. If you really need to take a photo of it to remember Grandma (!) but don't let it clutter up your life. Similarly, if you are holding onto things cos you think someone wants you to, eg, I had a dress mum loved and had made for me years ago, I felt guilty turfing it as I knew it ment a lot to mum. Peter suggests giving it back to the person if it means that much to them, so I asked mum if she wanted it or minded that I got rid of it, no problem in her mind!! Silly me has been hanging on to it for years!!

I am big on the basket/box thing. I got a variety of storage containers from Ikea which go under beds, in shelves and everywhere and they are awesome for controlling mess. We have a craft box, dress up box, puzzle box, kitchen box, odds and ends box (DD's fav as there is such a mix in there!) All in the Strikt - they look really nice so don't hurt to have out on display. I use the Kusiner for underbed storage - extra clothes, clothes for later etc and then those vacuum-able storage bags for longer term storage.

The other great suggestion for toys is a rake! Mum used to rake all our toys into a corner of the room if we didn't put them away and she wanted to clean up. I haven't needed to implement that yet as I only have one so the spread of toys is minimal but I plan to if need be!

For the rest of the house, again, simplify and cull are the order of the day here. then drawer dividers and baskets (Howard's storage world has been excellent for this) contain things.

Now, if only I could sort out the paperwork and the desk....

[Roryrory]

A rake for toys is a FANTASTIC idea

One thing I did in my pantry is to have a baking box - a big 14 litre (?) decor box with a handle holds all my food colouring, vanilla essence, opened packets of icing sugar, choc chips, baking soda, etc. That way when I bake I grab the box and know that 90% of the ingredients I need are in there.