If you are like most moms, you understand that clutter is a struggle that binds us all. Often, no matter how much cleaning and purging we do, it appears our family’s “stuff” multiplies overnight. It can be difficult to find a place for everything and make it look neat and tidy.
Go Plastic!
Perhaps one of the best-kept secrets to making the most of your space is plastic. It’s cheap and comes in an endless variety of shapes and sizes. From baskets to totes, plastic is the way to go to turn your cluttered home into an organized and functional space.
Let’s Start in the Kitchen
No matter what size kitchen you have, you can get the most storage out of your space with plastic. Pantries can be hard to keep organized. First, evaluate your shelving space. If the space between your shelves is relatively high, consider using a plastic shelf organizer to double your space for canned goods and other low profile items. For bagged items, such as sugar, chocolate chips, flour, etc., invest in stackable plastic containers of varying sizes. These fit together to fill a space (think Tetris style!) and keep your goods fresh. Hang a plastic hanging shoe rack on the back of your pantry door for snacks and miscellaneous small items that typically get tossed around the pantry and create clutter.
Keep your kitchen clean and organized with plastic storage containers!
For your kitchen cabinets, plastic shelf organizers are an excellent way to double your storage space. Use these shelves to store cereal bowls or coffee cups over the top of plates, or to store your lids above their coordinating bowls. In your kitchen drawers, use plastic baskets to organize utensils and to keep that junk drawer organized. Under your sink, install a plastic tension rod to hang cleaners from and use stackable baskets to store sponges, dishwasher detergent, and more.
The Bathroom: The Smallest Space in The House
The bathroom tends to have the highest “stuff-to-space” ratio in the house. Each person in the home has their own stuff, and by the end of the day the bathroom can easily end up looking like a war zone. Plastic drawers added under the counter are an excellent way to add storage space. Give each member of the house their own drawer to store their personal items. Use plastic baskets to organize makeup, hair accessories, etc., and hang plastic baskets from a towel rod to store washcloths, loofahs, and extra bars of soap. Larger plastic baskets or bins mounted to the wall or stored upright dramatically increases your towel storage. By rolling them and placing them in the basket you can store many more towels than by folding them, and it looks great!
Bedrooms and Playrooms
Keep dressers organized by using plastic totes to store off season clothing. Having less in your dresser makes it easier to keep tidy. Use plastic baskets to store rolled underwear and socks to fit more into your space. For children, consider plastic drawers with labels to keep clothes easy for your kids to find and put away. For toys, plastic cubbies, and stackable plastic bins are your friends! Designate and label containers for things like legos, cars, art supplies, etc. Having a designated home for each type of item eliminates piles of clutter. Use under bed plastic containers to store shoes or extra blankets to make use of the space (and eliminate room for clutter to accumulate!)
Use plastic to contain your closets and declutter your bedrooms.
Closets, Attics, and Storage Units
These spaces provide us with the most hidden storage area, yet they can become a cluttered mess in 2.3 seconds! Use plastic bins and baskets to keep sheets, blankets, and extra towels organized. For other items, such as craft supplies or tools, separate items by category and store them in stackable, clearly labeled plastic tubs or totes. This way, when you need something, it’s easy to pull from and put back instead of digging through everything looking for what you need. For attics and storage units, use large plastic totes to store off-season clothing, Christmas decorations, sports equipment, etc. Imperial Storage NYC recommends either using clear totes or labeling each tote to identify the contents of each one easily. Also, be careful about what you store in the attic as the temperatures up there can fluctuate drastically. You may want to opt instead for renting a climate-controlled self-storage unit if you are short on space.
Virtually any room in your home can be organized using plastic. In no time, you can enjoy the Zen that comes with a freshly organized home, and best of all, it won’t break your budget! Happy organizing!