Before

Before

Before

Before

I have been fighting a losing battle with the linen closet for a while now. It was so full that it didn’t seem to matter how much straightening I did. Towels, sheets, blankets and tote bags were falling out all over. I spotted some Space Bags while at Marshall’s a few weeks ago and couldn’t get them out of my mind! Finally I went on Amazon and ordered a set. I got 5 jumbo, 4 large and 2 medium bags, as well as 3 of the roll up bags for $34.

Space bag pre-vacuum

Space bag pre-vacuum

Space Bags are heavy duty plastic storage bags you vacuum the air out of. They compress things down, making them easier to store. The roll up bags are meant for travel – you remove the air from them by rolling them.

The bags were easy to use. We filled them to the fill line, zipped them and then held the vacuum hose to the nozzle in the bag. It sucked the air out and quickly compressed the bags down. It was actually quite amazing how much space we saved – it reduced it by about 2/3, which is a significant difference when you’re tight on space!

We used 4 space bags and have tons left for future use. They were very easy to pack and shrink. They’re waterproof and reusable and also airtight. It’s a great solution if you need to store something in an attic or basement. I can also see using these to

Space bag after vacuum

Space bag after vacuum

store winter clothes if you are pressed for space.

The bags solved my closet problem. I had lots of blankets, comforters, mattress pads, pillows and sheets that we don’t use but I can’t bring myself to get rid of. No one likes flannel sheets, but I keep them thinking “What if we lost power for a week and were cold?” I also can’t help but think that my kids will soon be going out on their own and they will want to have extra blankets and pillows, so it seems like a waste to get rid of them!

As you can see, the space bags made my closet much easier to organize. The things we don’t use are now in the bags, compressed down and completely contained, leaving room to neatly stack sheets and towels we do use. Nothing is falling off the shelves and I can see everything now.

I did do a little purging. We donated some of the tote bags I always seem to have too many of, as well as two pillows. I had been hoarding those plastic zipper

After!

After!

bags sheet sets come in, but I threw out a ton of those. Now that I have Space Bags, I don’t need them.

After!

After!

I have been fighting a losing battle with the linen closet for a while now. It was so full that it didn’t seem to matter how much straightening I did. Towels, sheets, blankets and tote bags were falling out all over. I spotted some Space Bags while at Marshall’s a few weeks ago and couldn’t … Read more

Before #1

I’ve won one storage battle. The kids’ bathroom has a little narrow closet I use to store medications and supplements, as well as first aid supplies and any potion or lotion you can name. I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to this stuff. While I do regularly purge and toss expired prescriptions, I have managed to gather a pretty large A to Z collection of vitamins and supplements as well as OTC meds. The ones that are taken regularly live in a drawer in the kitchen. The rest were in this closet. Yes, it was ugly. I am loathe to throw them out since we seem to cycle back through ailments pretty regularly. However, even though I KNOW I have, say, ginger, or stinging nettle, I’m usually damned if I can actually find it when needed. I’ve been saying for a long time that what I need is a supplement library, where I could store everything alphabetically, so that I could find it when I need it.

It occurred to me that although this closet is tiny, the

before #2

shelves are set in pretty far and there is room to put shelves on the backs of the doors. Genius moment. I Googled to find shelving.  Here is what I  ordered from DrawerSlides.com. It was hard to find shelving narrow enough for this tiny door, so these were a bit pricey. We ordered three of them so we could outfit the door from top to bottom.

We installed the shelving (simple job with a power drill) and I got to work. First it was time for another purge, so I sorted through everything and filled a garbage bag. Next I organized supplements and OTCs that we would be mostly likely to use on the door. This was a challenge since some of the shelves were not very wide. I had only three shelves that would hold big bottles.

I organized it in roughly alphabetical order so I can find things. The shelves are so narrow that there is just one row per shelf, so there’s no chance of anything getting lost. Then I organized what was didn’t fit on the door. Prescription meds went into one plastic bin. OTCs went in another. Big bottles stood on shelves. First aid supplies went into two smaller plastic boxes.

After

I also tackled the job of the top shelf of this closet which holds extra shampoo (people and dog!) as well as sunscreen and bug spray. I tossed a lot of almost empty bottles and used a plastic shoebox to put all the sunscreen together in one place so I can just pull it out instead of rummaging in the closet for it.

Total time for this project: about an hour. Total cost: $90

Satisfaction level: Priceless!

I’m so happy with how this worked out that I’m ordering more of this shelving to put inside a similar closet in the master bath.

Check your house for backs of doors where you can add some extra storage. I’ve done this in my pantry. The doors under your kitchen and bathroom sinks are usually a good spot to add some extra storage if you don’t have a closet like this!

I’ve won one storage battle. The kids’ bathroom has a little narrow closet I use to store medications and supplements, as well as first aid supplies and any potion or lotion you can name. I’m a bit of a hoarder when it comes to this stuff. While I do regularly purge and toss expired prescriptions, … Read more

Getting your pantry/food storage organized can be a challenge. Sometimes it’s just a matter of purging and moving things around. But honestly, for most of us, it’s about making better use of the space. And that means you need to invest in a couple of inexpensive products to make it easier to see and store things. Here are my favorites:

  • Under-shelf racks. These essentially add another shelf and it’s much better than stacking things, trying to balance them and having them tumble all over the place.
  • Wall or door-mounted shelves. These allow you to use space you didn’t even know you have. Use spice rack size for small items and wider shelves if you want to store canned goods.
  • An elevator. A graduated stepped shelf that you set on an existing shelf allows you to finally see what’s behind everything! You’ll no longer buy duplicates of black beans and tomato paste because you’ll finally be able to see what you own.
  • Plastic shoeboxes. I love these to store bulk bags of spices I buy from Penzey’s, to keep all the individual size canned fruit packages from rolling around, and for tea and drink mixes. I also use one for my collection of sea salts. They’re easy to take in and out and keep all those little things organized.
  • Square glass storage jars. These are my pick for storing baking goods, cereal, pasta, and other products. Because they’re square, they stack and fit together. Glass contains no harmful chemicals and they are see through, so you know exactly how much you have left.

The glass jars are the most expensive items on the list. You can get everything else for $50 or less. I suggest gradually replacing your plastic with glass over time. You can find many of these are discount stores like Walmart or Target. Amazon is a great online source. The Container Store also have a lot, but their prices tend to be a bit higher.

Getting your pantry/food storage organized can be a challenge. Sometimes it’s just a matter of purging and moving things around. But honestly, for most of us, it’s about making better use of the space. And that means you need to invest in a couple of inexpensive products to make it easier to see and store … Read more

My husband was recently out of town for 10 days. Being a single mom kept me busy, but I found the evenings and weekends very long. I used this time to tackle some home projects. I cleaned out the fridge and pantry. I cleaned the inside of the dishwasher (possibly the nastiest job ever). I put away the Halloween decorations and got out the Thanksgiving decorations. I washed the duvet cover. I grocery shopped. Several times. I decided the dog was no longer going to be allowed to eat poop outside, which meant he could only go out on the leash. You get the picture – it was a long 10 days.

A job that needed doing was my top desk drawer. I spend most of my time at my computer desk and my regular desk is mostly for storage and stacking. The only time I use it is to write bills. As a result, the center drawer was a hodgepodge of notepads, pens, paper clips, old insurance cards, rubber bands, and a few treasures. I tackled it on a Sunday afternoon, first emptying everything out.

I tested all the pens and threw out those that didn’t write (a surprising number!). The remaining pens went into two narrow plastic organizing trays.

I threw out the numerous business cards that were lurking. I purged the notepads tearing off pages that had been written on and throwing out those that were crumpled, ripped, or useless (like the pens, there was a surprising amount of junk). I did the same with the post-it notes. I stacked the notepads and post-its in an organized way so I will be able to grab them when I need them.

The paper clips were sorted by size (big and little) and placed in two paper clip holders (after I undid the paper clip necklace a child made at some point). The binder clips were placed at the front of the drawer. The rubber bands were removed and put in a plastic bag in another office drawer since I never use them. I gazed longingly online at some cute ways to organize all of this, but I don’t have room in my drawer for china teacups, muffin tins, or pottery bowls. The most efficient use of space was boring office paper clip holders!

I realized I have not one, not two, but three staple removers. Those got tucked in the front corner. I also have two rulers, which fit nicely against the front of the drawer.

I did discover a couple of treasures: several of those pennies you flatten in machines to be souvenirs of places you visit. I came across a wooden coin from a horse riding stable we visited in Colorado. And a very weird strand of beads I got as a product sample once: it’s supposed to be used a fertility/cycle tracker with different colored beads for different parts of the cycle. That one got stuck in another drawer: maybe someday there will be grandchildren who will want to play with some colored beads. I found the instruction manual for my office phone – maybe I can finally figure out how to change some of the settings!

I think I will now finally be able to find a pen, post-it or paper clip when I need it without a lot of digging.

 

 

My husband was recently out of town for 10 days. Being a single mom kept me busy, but I found the evenings and weekends very long. I used this time to tackle some home projects. I cleaned out the fridge and pantry. I cleaned the inside of the dishwasher (possibly the nastiest job ever). I … Read more

My book, The Organized Kitchen has just been released and as it happens, January is National Get Organized Month. Here are a few tips to help get your kitchen organized for the new year!

  • Tackle one drawer, cupboard or shelf a day to make progress. Completely reorganizing your entire kitchen is an overwhelming task, but if you can find 5 minutes a day (while your pasta is cooking or your broccoli is steaming), you can get a lot done over a week.
  • Think about the activities that are happening in your kitchen. Most people use the kitchen as a multi-purpose room and homework, laundry, crafts, bill-paying, and more all take place in this one space. If you can shift some of these activities to other areas of the home, it will free up storage space (keep your scrapbooking supplies in a hall closet and move your household files to a box under your bed, for example) and make the kitchen feel less cluttered and over-used.
  • Too often when we organize we forget about comfort. The kitchen needs to be a room that is welcoming and warm, so although you are clearing your counters and shelves of clutter, don’t forget to keep some touches that express your personality and make the room comfortable.
  • Transfer pantry items like flour, pasta, cereal, rice, beans, etc. into square glass or plastic storage containers. Square containers stack and fit together on shelves much easier and actually save space (eliminating those gaps between round containers).
  • Create zones. Store all baking equipment in the baking zone. All items for drinks such a blender and glassware should be together in one area. Cookware and cooking tools should be positioned near the stove. This way everything has a place it belongs which also makes it more convenient to use and reach for.
  • Find extra space by using metal standing shelves to add an additional layer inside cabinets. Bring in an unfinished book case and paint it to match your cabinets and give it the same pulls–it will look like additional built in cabinetry.  Use the insides of cabinet doors for storage for spices, pot lids, a message board, plastic bags and more.
  • Look up for more storage. Install a shelf over the doorways of the room. Hang a three-tier basket from the ceiling. Put shelving around your soffits for tons more storage. If you have a separate pantry with a door, install storage above the door on the inside.
  • Get rid of your junk drawer. This is additional storage space you are losing out on. Everything in that drawer belongs somewhere else. Move it to where it belongs and suddenly you have an additional drawer.

With a little thought you can make your kitchen a place you love to cook in!

My book, The Organized Kitchen has just been released and as it happens, January is National Get Organized Month. Here are a few tips to help get your kitchen organized for the new year! Tackle one drawer, cupboard or shelf a day to make progress. Completely reorganizing your entire kitchen is an overwhelming task, but … Read more

My next book, The Organized Kitchen, is now listed on Amazon (for pre-order) and I got to see the cover for the first time! I think it’s a pretty Martha-worthy title. And my years as an unofficial Martha apprentice definitely taught me a lot and helped me write this book. I’ll be talking more about it once it’s closer to the pub date (which is January – perfect for New Year’s resolutions!) and sharing some of the tips then.

My next book, The Organized Kitchen, is now listed on Amazon (for pre-order) and I got to see the cover for the first time! I think it’s a pretty Martha-worthy title. And my years as an unofficial Martha apprentice definitely taught me a lot and helped me write this book. I’ll be talking more about … Read more

I just had to share my excitement. My book, The Organized Kitchen, is now listed on Amazon (for pre-order – it comes out in Jan, perfect for New Year’s resolutions). I was excited to get to see the cover at last and see it up on Amazon!

The book is all about making your life in the kitchen easier, simpler and more streamlined.

I just had to share my excitement. My book, The Organized Kitchen, is now listed on Amazon (for pre-order – it comes out in Jan, perfect for New Year’s resolutions). I was excited to get to see the cover at last and see it up on Amazon! The book is all about making your life … Read more

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