Favorite Organizing Hacks

Declutter. Tidy. Neat. Edit. These words have become rallying cries, especially with so much time spent locked up/down/sideways in our homes! So who else gets giddy about organizing hacks?!?

As a professional organizer these terms are processes and tribes. They also can lead people to believe everything must be folded, or labeled, or stored in certain containers.

While I love my acrylic lazy susans and hyacinth baskets, I also love the thrill of organizing hacks that are unique or simply beautiful. Often those items are already in your house and all you need to do is reimagine or repurpose them.

Look for the opportunity to utilize things in your home to organize in a way that you never thought about before. Here are some of my personal favorite organizing hacks from my home:

Plate Rack for Earrings

I’ve probably had this plate rack for 20 years and guarantee I paid less than $5 for it at T.J.Maxx. It may have been used once as it was intended, but mostly it has held my earrings. I prefer bigger earrings vs studs, so most of mine hang. For the five or so that don’t, I use a pretty china bowl that belonged to my grandmother.

Wire Bins for Stuffed Animals

You almost didn’t get a pic of these for fear of judgement about my inability to say no to my daughter’s obsession with “big eyes”. Thankfully she’s moved on to life-sized Squishmallows, in which I expect to find a deceased animal at some point – but that’s another post.

But hey, look at those great wire bins hung just so on the wall!

Seriously, this is a great way to use toys as art all the while getting them off the bed/floor/desk, etc.

Hay Hooks for Towels

I don’t live on a farm even though I joke about it, so no, I don’t have a need for hay hooks.  My late grandfather made and used hay hooks, and I happened upon a couple. I had no idea at the time what I was going to use them for, but knew I needed them.

After a quick clean and some shellac, my handyman found the perfect clamp to ensure the hooks can’t impale a foot or head, even if a towel is viciously yanked down.

How amazing to have a part of my heritage serving a purpose vs. a typical towel ring?!!

Other favorite “hacks” for organizing items include a tic tac container for bobby pins or safety pins, using different sized pitchers to hold cooking utensils by the stove, men’s pants hangers to hold ribbon spools, a large wooden vase for all the plastic shopping bags you need to reuse.

I’d love to hear about your organizing hacks, so hit me up in the comments or email me!