Some random organizing ideas

Usually when I am organizing, I try to keep to one room or a section of a room. But, over the past few weeks I’ve done some random organizing, unrelated to specific rooms or items, only because there was an urgent need to organize. The situation just got out of hand and I couldn’t stand the clutter anymore!

Some things we don’t use on a regular basis and therefore we can often forget to organize those items or that these actually exist. Also, these items might only be used during certain seasons, items like Christmas decorations or cozy blankets for the winter.

Here are five organizing ideas that really worked for me. They were for items I’ve been putting on the back-burner for so long and now since I’ve organized them, I am so happy I did it! That I eventually did something about it. Maybe you have some similar organizing issues.

Here they are:

• If you sew, you’ll probably have loads of fabric left over from clothes or other items you’ve made. I have been sewing for many years and have so much left-over fabric. Maybe you are more organized than I am, but I’ve just been dumping all the left-over bits of fabric in a big round basket. The thing is I can’t throw it away, because I always think I can use it for something, maybe a place-mat or Christmas tree decoration. So, my first random organizing job was to sort out my fabric. I threw everything out on the floor and sorted it in different kinds of fabric, like cotton, lighter or mixed cotton, soft flowing fabric etc. And then I rolled them up and tighten it with a string. Also, I made a list of all the different pieces I have and now I can just look at my list before buying anything new.
• Envelopes, cards, old photographs, pretty pictures or pieces of paper, is another headache to organize. I used carton boxes from Ikea and to organize these items. These boxes are not heavy duty but ideal for storing these lighter items.

• Our utility room is very small, but it contains also many items. We never had any cupboards in this room, only open shelving. The space is anyway so small you’ll struggle to open the doors. So a while back I added clear plastic boxes to the shelves. They work really well for a cohesive look and also to see what is in them, although I did label them for the sake of the other people living in the house.

• If you have magazines, loose recipes or in my case also sheets of music lying around, why not sort them using upright file holders which are available from most stationary shops but also from home stores and online shops like these from Etsy. They look neat and you can make them look funky by covering them with pictures or pretty paper, especially if you re-use older ones or make them yourself.
• With the colder weather in the northern hemisphere, who doesn’t love to snuggle up under a cosy blanket in front of the fire? But having blankets and throws all over your living room is not a look I’ll recommend. So, recently I got this basket for all our extra blankets and throws. It is very handy and you can just store them away during the day. I use many different baskets for pot plants or storage all over the house, so this one fits in perfectly with the décor of the living room. In a recent blog I wrote about how to use baskets in your house.

And when you’re organizing, it is vital that you don’t immediately go out to buy new containers. See what you have, what you can re-use and repurpose. Good sturdy boxes are always very useful. You can cover them in paper and make them look pretty and cohesive.

Happy organizing.