Guest Tutorial: Organization Tips

1.25.2011


Hey everyone!  This is Cheri from I Am Momma - Hear Me Roar.  Emilie and I go way back....well at least to June :)  We competed in SYTYC together and she made some amazing things.  I am excited to be a part of this organizational series.  Why?  Because when I finally conquer an area of my home and fully organize it I feel like I can conquer the world.

Today I'm going to show you what my unsightly cabinets over the desk area in our kitchen looked like.  Yup.  It was bad.  There was no real structure, which means it became the collection area for all random objects.  I wanted to make the space logical and organized.


So, after an afternoon of sorting, labeling, and more sorting.......we arrived at this.   Ahhhh!  So much better!  Now there even room for growth.


So, I'm going to share four tips with you to help in organization.  Let's hit it!

1) Containers are obviously a must.  When dealing with small objects, you just need containers.  It's nice to use the same ones so that the area will have some consistency.  The silver bins are from Target.  I found them in the dollar section, but they were $2.50 each.  Not bad. 


These stackable shelves were from DI.  (Maybe it's Goodwill where you live.)  This is a great place to find cheap bins and containers.  They were $. 75 each and at Wal-mart the cheapest thing I saw that was similiar was $8.


This little puppy helped a ton!  It was also $2.50 at Target and it perfectly houses all those tiny little knick knacks that don't really have a place.


See?  Yeah, I bet you have most of these random little items, too.


I also got a little container for my coupons, which helps me remember to use them.


They are divided by catagory.


2) Labels.  I LOVE labels.  They are so nice because then everyone knows where things go - not just you.  I created these with my Silhouette machine, but you could also order some HERE.  (She takes custom orders as well.)  Don't labels make everything look nicer?


3) Find the right place.  Put the things you use all the time in the most reachable area.  Use bins for storage that's up high.  Then the bins are like drawers and you can access things by just bringing it down, rather than climbing up high to see what exactly all the small items up there are.  Try and keep dangerous things out of the reach of your little ones.


4) Once you've got your system down - USE IT!  If you start to casually leave things out or stop putting them back where they go it won't take much time to be back where you started.  Ugh!  Not pretty.

That's it!  So, pick an area of your home and TACKLE it!  It feels so good when it's done.  I'm off to find another area right now.  Thanks for having me, Emilie! 

All of you are welcome at my place anytime. -Cheri

6 comments:

Rebecca Bany said...

I've actually started doing this recently. It really does help! I did it with my kids toys too. We have a "tool" bucket and a "car" bucket. We even have a "transformer" bucket!

www.rebeccabany.com

Charissa @ MiMi's Babies said...

Love love love love the idea of using a divided storage container for all the little pieces. I never know what do with them so they all end up in a misc. box and then I can't find anything. Thank you for inspiration to tackle my "office cabinet." The labels look great. It is amazing how much easier it is to put things back where they go when it is labeled. :)

Trina Curran said...

Oh, I love the little silver buckets! Those are super cute. I might need to get my little office cabinet set up this weekend. :) Great ideas!

Biz said...

Lovely!
If I would have thought about it I would have taken pictures of my recent organizational projects...I guess I could go mess them up again and show you that way...nah! haha
Biz

Erin said...

Love the post! Came over from your blog to check out Emilie's....love some of the posts....Would love to make a constructive critisim (sp?)...set music player to mute and let other hit play if they want to listen (just woke up my sleeping kiddo cause I didn't realize my speakers where up so loud :(

BBQGAL said...

I use a similar binder to org. my coupons. Got it from Target at the dollar section. Love it!