1. Furniture. When we built our home and moved in, we had a completely different floor plan from our old house. Two large sofas, two large arm chairs, two end tables, two coffee tables, an ottoman, large flat screen, TV cabinet... all fit just fine in our old living room. Although we have more space now, our floor plan dictates a lot less furniture to promote traffic flow. Furthermore, all of that furniture made our house look like the home section of the Thrifty Shopper. SO, it took me a year and a half, but we ditched an end table, an arm chair, a rocking chair and several other pieces. The living room still has plenty of seating, but it's uncluttered and easy to navigate.
2. Pan lids. I have spent the better part of my life with pan lids roaming freely throughout my cupboards. They could end up anywhere, and were rarely where I can find the one I needed. SO, Finally, I took an old roasting rack out of the roasting pan. Let's face it I roast a large piece of meat about once a year, and I chase my pan lids 3 times per day.
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Roasting pan turned pan lid storage[/caption]3. Utensils. I keep the utensils I use for every meal near the stove in a glass vase. No digging in the drawer. I fill half of the vase with lentils (you could use coffee beans, kidney beans, etc.) and use it to keep the utensils standing upright for easy grabbing.
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Utensil storage[/caption]4. Tupperware. I have A LOT of Tupperware. (Mostly because my parents give us lots of yummy leftovers and goodies. I steal it and never return it. It's not a felony, but I guess I should say "I'm sorry Mom and Dad"). On the bright side, my ill-gotten Tupperware is very well organized. Stacked by size. Lids in a large container by size as well.
5. Q-tips and cotton balls. Idea from Pinterest. Keeps them handy without taking up a lot of space on your counter top.
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Cotton Balls and Q-tips[/caption]6. Makeup brushes and eyeliners. I keep them in a glass candle holder filled with glass beads (or something similar) so that they stand up and you can find what you need easily and quickly.
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Storing make-up brushes[/caption]7. Bathroom storage. Use large baskets either side of your bathroom sink plumbing to hold hair dryer, brush, straghtening iron etc.
(Note: Bathroom storage is for women only. Men only have store a bar of soap, a razor, a towel, and a toothbrush. Women need to store at least 674 products and hair appliances.)
8. Winter boots/Summer shoes. My family (excluding moi) leave their snow boots, sandals, Timberlands, Uggs, flip flops, sneakers, and indoor soccer cleats, ALL OVER the house. I took two plastic laundry baskets, and put all out of season shoes in an office closet. The closet by our door houses only the shoes they use now. Anything good lives in their idividuals closets.
9. Hats and Mittens. The same closet in the office has a large sturdy basket for all ski gloves, hats and scarves that aren't used on a daily basis. Throw in a bouce dryer sheet so that they stay smelling good. Everything else is stored on the "mitten tree" by the door (that my Mom and Dad gave us).
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Mitten Tree![/caption]10. Technology. We have an office. But we like to use the "good" laptop daily and it inevitably ends up on our kitchen island. Same with kindles, portable dvds, leap pad, ipods, etc. SO, enter the large media storage cabinet. We keep it in the kitchen, where it doesn't take up too much room. When I want a clean counter, it all goes into the cabinet. Voila!
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Kitchen storage[/caption]11. Crafty stuff. Scissors, glue gun, staple guns, command hooks, tape, duct tape - all share space in the same cabinet as the laptop. I like having the basics at hand. Larger items that I don't use often are in the basement.
12. Bedside table "stuff". I keep a pretty fabric covered box on my bedside table. It holds my glasses, ear plugs (guess who snores like a dinosnore), and benedryl (for when the ear plugs don't cut it). If I find myself lying sleepless in the middle of the night, I don't have to get up and go to the bathroom or dig through a drawer.
13. Children. They get everywhere. I keep a room for each child and neatly store them for periods of time. (I find the basement works too, but some people find that objectionable.)
Ok, well there are 13 things that are actually organized around our home. (Okay, well maybe only technically 12. Clearly, I have a lot of work to do.)
Today, I think I will start on my reverse stencil. All this organizing makes me feel like I need to do something uplifting and fun. :-)
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