Clothing Clutter
Purge your closet and dresser. Anything that doesn’t fit or hasn’t been worn in a year goes to Goodwill. Anything stained, torn, or damaged beyond repair goes in the dumpster or rag bin. Be especially ruthless when it comes to shapeless, frayed, or uncomfortable undergarments, and toss all the socks that are missing their mates; those are never coming back. Organize the remainder by keeping like items together: one drawer devoted to undergarments, all pants hanging together in the closet, sweaters folded and stored on a closet shelf.
Linen Closet
If opening your linen closet releases a deluge of mismatched sheets, it’s time to declutter. Animal shelters and rescues love donations of old sheets and towels, so bring them stained, threadbare, or mismatched linens. Keep just a couple of complete sheet sets for each bed in the house, two or three towel sets per person, and an extra blanket for each bed. Shelf dividers are a must for stacking towels. A small bin for each family member’s sheet sets makes it easy to grab the right one on laundry day. Simplify the task even further by storing the folded fitted and top sheet inside their appropriate pillowcase.
Kitchen Sink Storage
Open up the cabinet door underneath your kitchen sink and take a peek inside. What do you see? You should see the plumbing, but if you can’t because the pipes are hidden by a nest of old paper bags, cleaning supplies, pet food, and various junk, it’s time to get organized. First, pull everything out and get rid of unneeded or expired items. Next, corral your cleaning supplies in a handy caddy or two so you can grab and go on housework day. Finish up by adding an expandable shelf organizer rack so you can keep supplies under control while still having easy access to the sink’s plumbing when necessary.
Refrigerator Door
Those shelves along the inside of your refrigerator door are the perfect storage spot for condiments of all types. But those small bottles and jars tend to tip over and spill, often unnoticed, leaving a mess of congealed ketchup or soy sauce. An ingenious solution: Slip a few of the cardboard six-pack holders from your soda or beer into the fridge shelf space—after first removing everything, wiping the shelves clean, and tossing expired items—and now you have little corrals to keep your condiments standing upright. Goodbye, messy spills.
Cooking Utensils
When your stir-fry is starting to smoke is not the time to discover that you can’t find your favorite spatula in the overloaded kitchen drawer. Make food prep easier by using a small, pretty flowerpot to hold your most-used cooking utensils right near the stove. You’ll never again suffer the frustration of hunting for a slotted spoon, whisk, cooking fork, spatula, or vegetable peeler while your dinner begins to burn.
Charge Your Batteries
The struggle to find fresh batteries is a real one in many households. The solution? A small plastic tackle or craft-supply organizer—you can often find one at the dollar store. The various compartments of these organizers are ideal for separating different types of batteries, including AA, D, C, and even 9-volt. Even better, you’ll be able to tell at a glance when you’re running low on each battery type, so you can stock up before you discover that you are all out of D batteries for your flashlight in the middle of a power outage.
Mugs and Glasses
If there are four of you in the family, but 20 mugs and drinking glasses in the cabinet, you can safely let a few go. Toss any with cracks or chips, outgrown childhood motifs, or excessive staining, then organize what’s left. Get creative with storage by screwing a few hooks along the outside bottom edge of your cabinet to display mugs with colorful or cute designs, or add a couple of wire shelf racks inside the cabinet to double the space for cups or glasses.
