I don’t know about you, but I am constantly struggling with organization. I feel like I’m always wanting to move things around to a different spot, or I think something different might work better for the space I have. OR things have gotten so UNorganized that I feel like I need to rip everything out and completely redo the entire area from scratch.
The former AND the latter of these issues was plaguing me a couple months ago. The storage I had in my hall closet was not working for me and the storage I had in the laundry room wasn’t working for me. I finally got so tired of the whole thing that I literally pulled everything out of the hall closet. The closet was where we were storing all of our first aid supplies and our medications, along with various miscellaneous items such as extra boxes of Q-tips and the hair clippers. Not to mention of course all of our towels and washcloths, etc. It was mostly just a jumbled mess of everything and you couldn’t ever find what you were looking for without a thorough search of every box. So I did what I needed to do… I took everything out.
After taking everything out of the closet, I had a huge pile of stuff in my hallway. I spent a significant amount of time sorting through everything and in all honesty, tossing out a lot of expired medications and band-aid papers. I threw out a ton of things. After getting rid of things, I then sorted everything into “like” categories and evaluated how much container space I really needed. I knew my current storage containers weren’t working out for me. There’s a great article HERE for some ideas on how to best use containers for organizing.
I then realized that I had problems in my laundry room as well. We had been storing all of our board games there, way up high, where no one could reach them without climbing on top of the washer or dryer. So they never got used, and they looked a messy, jumbled mass of…. well, mess. So I took everything off of the laundry room shelves too… after I finished the closet.
I flip flopped a lot of things between the two areas, and for the last few months, we’ve had a new organization system our laundry room (and closet, but we’re going to talk about the laundry room). It now looks like the above photo. I love it. And there are several reasons why this works for us.
If you look at the very top shelf, you will see each category of cleaners or other items in separate containers. I love this because 1- it’s super easy to find exactly what you’re looking for rather than having to dig around. 2- All of these items are things that are seldom used…so it’s nice to have them up and out of the way. 3- most of the items are chemicals or things that would be dangerous for kids to get a hold of, and way up there, I don’t have to worry about that.
On the middle shelf, are more commonly used items. This shelf is more easily reached by me and my older boys in order to get things they need like the light bulbs or batteries. You can also see on the side a few cleaners that are more commonly used, but I still don’t want the girls to be able to get into.
The bottom shelf is my favorite. All of our medications are in cute little mini milk crate boxes or baskets which I found at the dollar store. I love this for several reasons. The boys can reach them. It’s easy to find things because everything is labeled. This is great for me of course, but especially great when you have kids. They know right where to look and don’t have to make a huge mess digging around for something. The band-aids are the most commonly used product in our first-aid/medicine supplies, and those are super easy to get.
I love that everything is labeled and easily accessible. I love that each shelf not only has it’s own separate type of container, but also it’s own label color. For some reason, this works for our family. Because, I think that the biggest way to know if an organization system is working for you, is if it stays reasonably organized. And for us, this has stood the test of time.
And in case you’re wondering, all our board games found a new home at the top of the hall closet. I can close the door so it doesn’t look cluttered, and they are more accessible and so they are actually getting used more. And that works for us.
What are your best organization tips and ideas?
Thanks Kristi you are so inspiring!
Hi,
Thanks for the great blog post and photo. You just solved a problem I have. I don’t have alot of space in my apartment and have been looking for a solution to my laundry room wall.
Questions…
Did you use string or zip ties to affix your labels to the containers? I can’t tell from the photo.
Also, do you prefer to print your labels on colored copy paper or colored cardstock which happens to be thicker and sturdier?
Hi Susan! You can use whatever you want to affix the labels onto the containers. I guess it would mainly depend on what kind of containers you have… The top row labels are just taped on since the containers are solid plastic. The middle and bottom row have holes or slots in the containers so I just put holes in the labels with a hole punch and tied them on. I actually used yarn because that’s all I had at the time. =) But you could tie them on with anything.
The labels themselves, I printed on colored cardstock… if you printed on copy paper, I don’t know how well or long they would last since they would be really easy to tear. At least I know they wouldn’t last long in my house with 5 kids!
Awesome…thanks for the detailed reply! I am excited to use your advice.
FWIW, I appreciate the ministry and fantastic resource of Courageous Homekeeping that you and your friends have been called by the Lord to share with others. Thank you for the difference you are making in my life!
It’s great to know others struggle with organization too! What a great solution you have come up with for your laundry room! I love what you have done. Thank you for the inspiration!
Kristi, thanks so much for stopping by and linking-up! Would very much appreciate if you would please use my button and link back to me. {Just a small courtesy for hosting.} Thanks. :0) God bless.
{esther} @ oursimplecountrylife.blogspot.com