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Home Organizing - Think Outside The Box by Bonnie P Carrier
Along with warmer temperatures Spring also brings out the cleaning bug in many of us. After being cooped all winter we just want to start with a clean slate. If your starting to think along these lines de-cluttering and organizing cabinets, closets and drawers is a great place to start. When you begin this process try think beyond the norm when it comes to storage containers. Yes, there are tons on the market for every conceivable item but sometimes things you already own or something made for another purpose would fit the bill. The following are just a couple of examples;
In The Kitchen
Keeping plastic storage food containers neat and accessible has always been a pet peeve of mine. No matter how I tried to organize the various shapes and sizes they always seem to have a mind of there own. Finally I found a perfect solution, Canvas Sweater Boxes.
These boxes from Stacks & Stacks are a great size plus they have a top which keeps dust and dirt out. I purchased three boxes and use them on the bottom shelf of our kitchen island, each box holds a different size container plus their correct lid. The best part is now not only can you find exactly the container you need easily but they get returned to their correct home by everyone in the house.
Odd Stuff
If seems that no matter how much you organize everyone always seems to end up with a ton of odd things that you need but are just not sure where to put it. I found during one such clean up I had collected quite a few boxes from Christmas. Now I don’t mean the simple ones that come 3 or 4 to a pack that you throw out, I’m talking about the really heavy cardboard decorative one, that can be used without wrapping.
I really hate to throw these away as they tend to be more expensive and they are just pretty, so I began to think what could I do with them. Answer - Storage, they are perfect for holding office supplies, hardware, extra batteries and all those annoying little things that just don’t seem to fit into any category. Another great things it they stack neatly on a shelf, just remember to label them otherwise you’ll find yourself having to open each one when looking for something, which takes time and defeats the purpose.
Kitchen Cabinets
Moving back to the Kitchen for one last idea. In the medicine cabinet of any bathroom your going to find the usual things aspirin, Pepto tablets, eye drops, band aids, first aid creams etc which is OK except it’s not always convenient to trek there every time you need something. Maybe it’s just me but if I’m in the kitchen and happen to have a headache I’d rather just open a cabinet and grab the aspirin, but I also don’t want everything to go everywhere when reaching for the bottle.
These small mesh baskets were perfect for the job, I originally purchased these from Target for my husbands desk, well they never made it. I now use them on a lower shelf in one of the cabinets close to the sink in the kitchen. Each basket holds like items so it’s simple to grab just what you need. I also use several more of these on another shelf for similar items.
So when the de-cluttering and cleaning bug hit you, look for items that were made for one purpose but with a little imagination would be perfect for the job at hand.
The Author: Bonnie P. Carrier is the creator of Savvy Home Decorating - The Information Center. She is the mother to two grown daughters and two very spoiled Shelties - Sebastian & Oliver. www.savvy-home-decorating.com
This is a share ware article. Give this article away for free on your site, or include it as part of any paid package as long as the entire article is left intact including this notice. Copyright © 2011 bonnie carrier.
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