Make the most of a small kitchen

I recently moved into a new apartment that has a kitchen with about half the storage space—and floor space—as my previous one. For days, I was stuck unable to unpack several boxes because I simply had nowhere to store the gear inside. The kitchen has the distinction of being one of the most heavily used rooms in the house as well as usually one of the smallest. All that kitchen usage requires a lot of equipment. What can you do if your kitchen simply won’t accommodate yours? Here are a few ideas, all of which I am putting to good use in my own tiny galley. These … [More]

How To Organize Your Spices

We’re moving, and the new place has a smaller kitchen than I’m used to. We currently store our voluminous spice collection on a little set of bleachers on the counter, but there won’t be room for such indulgences in our new apartment. What to do with all those jars? A little poking around online told me there are many spice-storage options. The only question is which to choose? For a small place, a wall-mounted model is probably best. These come in a large variety to match your unique style flavor. Another option for those who lack counter space is the in-drawer rack. Some of them even expand to … [More]

Store or Toss: Knowing When to Let Go of Your Belongings

One of the first steps of Spring cleaning is de-cluttering. This is the time to survey your belongings and classifying which items should remain in your household, which should go into storage and which you should sell, donate to charity, recycle, or throw in the trash. While it’s easy enough to make decisions about belongings that you use on a regular basis, making the decision between putting an item into storage or getting rid of it can be a hard one. These items are typically things that you don’t use often, but do have some value. To help you with this conundrum, here are some questions to ask … [More]

5 Storage Containers You Can Make Yourself

Storage can be a dreary business, centered on boring cardboard boxes and garish plastic tubs. Of course you can find more stylish bins and boxes but the prettier they are, they more expensive they get. Luckily, with only a little effort and hardly any cost, you can make your own storage items in exactly the color, pattern, and style that suits your needs best. Here are five projects to brighten up your shelves. Fabric storage bin: Use your sewing skills to put together this cardboard-and-fabric container for all your odds and ends. Cereal box storage bins: Repurpose your old breakfast cereal boxes and add some colorful fabric … [More]

5 Great Decluttering Tips

Clutter is the bane of an organized existence—it’s a constant battle to keep the mess of possessions in our lives from bursting into chaos. Here are a few good tips for keeping things straight in various rooms of the house. Store linens in drawers. Linen closets are notoriously hard to keep straight, since pulling a sheet out of the middle of a stack all but guarantees an avalanche of fabric. A better way to keep your linens from getting that cluttered, crumpled look is to store them in drawers. Subdivide your drawers. Almost all drawers could benefit from being divided up into sections to keep the contents from … [More]

Kitchen Organization Tricks

Having trouble keeping your cooking space in line? Kitchens are notoriously difficult to keep straight. Tips and tricks for organizing this heavily used space are a dime a dozen, but some of the most sensible are worth sharing. Check out these useful ideas. Store your cookbooks well, whether in a shelf built into the wall, in baskets in a cupboard, or on the bottom shelf of a side table. Then put all those stray recipes you’ve printed off the Internet in a binder, categorized by type. Detangle your pots and lids. Consider hanging your pots on an overhead rack and using an in-cupboard rack to keep the … [More]

Five Nursery Organization Tips

Nurseries tend to be small, but babies need tons of stuff. Without a little planning, it would be easy to end up with a nursery overflowing with stacks of diapers, piles of stuffed toys, and mountains of onesies. How can you avoid that fate? The goal is to design a well-organized room in which there’s a space for everything. Here are some tips to get you started. Tip 1: Make good use of the closet. If you don’t have a shelf up top, install one with a rod underneath. Line up canvas baskets on the shelf, filled with things like blankets, extra diapers, and baby towels. Hang … [More]

Alternate Uses for Closet Space

Most people need all the closets they’ve got to store clothes, coats, sheets, and piles of unused Christmas gifts. But if by some chance you happen to have an extra closet on your hands or are so organized you might not need all the storage you’re currently using, there are many other uses for those nooks and crannies. It turns out you can put closets to all sorts of creative uses, from creating a nursery to installing a mini kitchen. Photos from around the Web reveal how much these changes can enhance your living space. Check out these great ideas. Make your closet into an office. Convert … [More]

Closet Organization Tips

If you can afford a closet makeover, redesigning your organization approach will be easy and enjoyable. First, measure your closet and list your storage needs. Next, design a new closet system that involves hanging areas of various heights, a collection of small storage spaces, and a variety of shelving. If you’re not going for the full makeover, you can still do a lot to improve what you’ve already got. Some thoughtful organization and a few well-placed bins will go a long way toward keeping things orderly. Try on these tips for size. Organize your garments. Hang clothes according to category—for example, short- and long-sleeve, casual and dressy. If … [More]

How to Organize Your Winter Gear

Now that all the wet and muck of winter have arrived in earnest, you might be confronting that perennial organization problem: how to store all your gear. It can be surprisingly difficult to keep those hats, mittens, and boots sorted, especially if you have a small place or have more than a couple people in your family. The good news is that there are creative solutions, even for homes without dedicated mudrooms or voluminous coat closets. To figure out how to tackle your own gear dilemma, first take stock of what spaces you’ll need. Usually this will include spots for: drying damp gear; keeping boots; hanging coats and … [More]

Tag Archives: DIY organization