30 Helpful Organizing Tips
Updated: Mar. 07, 2023Your house will never be more organized after trying these tips.
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Organize Your Fridge with a Six-Pack
Sink-Front Trays
Wet sponges and dishcloths sitting by your sink look messy, so make the most of the little-used space at the front of your sink cabinet with these tip-out sink front trays from Rev-A-Shelf. This double pack has one conventional open tray to store sponges and cloths, and another accessory tray with ring holder and soap dish. Available in 11 inch or 14 inch sizes, and in white or almond finish.
Even the cleanest kitchen sinks get clogged sometimes, but here’s how to unclog them.
Here’s how to take advantage of the storage space in your kitchen sink base cabinet.
Lazy Fix for a Disorganized Fridge
Digging to the back of your fridge to find a certain ingredient is a pain. Instead, use a Lazy Susan to bring that food to you! Simply place a lazy Susan on a shelf in your fridge and stock it with condiments and other small containers. Nothing could be easier than spinning your ingredients around to find just what you need.
If you’re short on space or just want to add some extra storage, there are some clever kitchen storage solutions you may not have considered. Check out these 30 Ways to Revolutionize Your Kitchen Space.
Tension Rod Storage Hack
Jars on Jars
DIY Small Kitchen Coffee Storage and Organization
Easy Drawer Organizer
My kitchen drawers used to be an absolute wreck; pans and dishes crammed in however they’d fit. And nearly every time I needed something, it was always at the bottom of the drawer. My solution was to cut a piece of 1/8-in. pegboard to the size of the drawer bottom and attach dowels using screws from underneath. Now my pans are organized and easy to access. The 10 minutes it took to build was easily made up for with how much frustration it has saved me.
Garage ceiling track storage
All-in-One Ball Storage
I built this sports storage rack to hold a lot of equipment. We toss large balls into a round hole at the top, and bungee cords span the front to keep them from falling out. Two baskets on the bottom half of the rack hold baseballs, hockey pucks and more. And the storage hooks on the side of the rack hold our baseball bats and hockey sticks. – reader Tim Hausman
Kitchen Storage: Better in a Basket
Make a Shoe Rack with Modern Style
DIY a trendy, modern ladder shelf for your entryway with just $35 worth of supplies and only two tools! You can use the shelf for other things, but it makes a great shoe rack You can follow our guide that shows measurements that can be customized to fit your space. Check out the complete instructions for making this shoe rack.
DIY Tiered Hangers for More Closet Storage
Toe-Kick Drawers
Another concealed storage spot that’s often overlooked is the area beneath the base cabinets. It’s surprisingly easy to install shallow toe-kick drawers that are ideal for storing items like bakeware, pet bowls, or cleaning supplies. It’s best to build the drawers in your workshop and then install them under the cabinets. Most kinds of cabinets are suitable for adding toe-kick drawers, so follow our detailed instructions to see exactly ow it’s done.
Wine Box Shoe Storage
Why pay for a fancy compartment-style shoe storage container when you can just pick one up for free at almost any store that sells wine? Designed to protect fragile glass bottles, a wine box is perfect for storing footwear because it comes equipped with cardboard dividers—a place for each shoe! In addition, the exterior cardboard is very sturdy, again to keep wine bottles from breaking, but also great for protecting your kicks in storage!
You could get fancy, too, and paint or cover the exterior of the wine box with decorative wrapping paper if you plan to keep it in your closet or entryway. Take this quiz to find out your organization style.
Under-Joist Shelf
The unused space between overhead joists in a basement or garage is a brilliant place to install a heavy-duty wire shelf. The wire shelving is see-through, so you can easily tell what’s up there. Store outdoor sports equipment, tackle boxes, coolers and other less-frequently used items out of the way yet still easily accessible. Depending on the width, wire shelves cost from $1 to $3 per foot at home centers.
Belt and Other Hang-Ups
Plastic Bag Holder
Hot Glue Gun Uses: Magnets in the Medicine Cabinet
Mount Electric Toothbrushes on Your Cabinet
Most toothbrush holders aren’t big enough for electric toothbrushes. They end up falling out of the holder or taking up too much room on the vanity. Here’s a clever storage idea: Make a holder for them using large grip-type clips. Mount the clips on your medicine cabinet or on a piece of wood that you can hang on the wall. The clips work great to keep your toothbrushes secure! If you recently upgraded to an electric toothbrush, check out these brilliant ways to repurpose your old standard version.
Garage Door Extension Cord Storage
Behind the Door Storage: Charger and Cord Pockets
Bread Tabs for Labeling Cords
Not sure which cord goes with which electronic device plugged into your power strip? Save yourself the hassle of following the cord from the plugin to the device for each item you need to move by labeling them.
Plastic bread tabs are perfect for labeling cords that are plugged into a power strip because they’re sturdy, have enough room to write on and can easily clip around the plugin end of a cord. Plus, they often come in different colors. You can also use bread tabs to label identical toothbrushes in the bathroom, silverware at a party and even wine glasses at happy hour. So save those tabs when you buy a loaf of bread!
PVC Curling Iron Holsters
Use Empty Space
Put that empty space under the stairs to use with a built-in storage solution. If your basement is finished, use the space to store toys or movies. If your basement isn’t finished, see what it takes to finish a basement so you know what to look for during a remodeling project. Or if you feel like hiring the work out, learn how to hire a contractor.
Skinny Laundry Room Cart
Expand the Counter with a Kitchen Cart
A rolling kitchen cart is the next best thing to adding cabinets and countertop space. The top provides extra work space when you’re preparing that big Thanksgiving dinner. And the shelves below hold items that would otherwise consume countertop space. If you plan to use a cart for food preparation, choose one with a tough top like butcher block, stainless steel or plastic laminate. Some cart tops are glossy finished wood—beautiful, but not very durable. Carts come in a variety of wood finishes, so there’s a good chance you can match your existing cabinets. Or you can go for an eclectic look with a shiny metal or painted cart.
Tucked Away Coffeemaker
For serious coffee drinkers, stowing the coffeemaker inside a cabinet just doesn’t make sense; you’ll only have to pull it out again in a few hours. Here’s a solution: An under-cabinet coffeemaker is always available and doesn’t take up valuable counter space. Plus: here’s how to get those pesky coffee stains out of carpeting.
Under-Cabinet Knife Storage Racks
Pull-down racks give you instant access to kitchen essentials without the clutter of spice racks or knife holders. When the cooking is done, the rack swings up against the underside of the cabinet. The acrylic knife rack like the one shown here, or buy a pair of hinges only and make your own wooden rack to hold knives, spices or other small items that take up counter space.
Off-the-Counter Microwave
Tuck the microwave under your cabinets to get it off the counter. Microwave ovens are the biggest space hogs on most countertops. With a few models, manufacturers offer optional mounting kits that let you mount the microwave under cabinets. To raise your old microwave, consider the sturdy brackets shown here. But first measure its height and the height of the space above the countertop; with a larger microwave, you might find that the space under it will be too small to be useful.
