This post is sponsored by the makers of Clorox® Disinfecting Wipes, the quick and easy way to clean and disinfect your home!
My pantry serves as our laundry room, storage room, cleaning closet, china hutch and tool shed. It can get a little crazy up in here. There’s lots going on.
We have two huge bookshelves (twice the width you see here) for holding everything, as well as the big filing cabinet, which holds all of our bigger tools.
A while back we installed two pegboard panels above the tool cabinet. I usually say that everything should be put away for a clean, uncluttered look. But sometimes, especially in a small space, things can get buried quickly. Making this pegboard has made my life so much more efficient.
Since the pantry door is usually open I wanted the pegboard wall to be as clean and simple-looking as possible. I thought about painting the pegboard a cool color at first, but I didn’t want it to stick out more than it already does, so I left the white. But I did spray paint all the organizational hardware the same rose gold color.
It’s subtle, but I like the little bit of shine.
I also use about a dozen clear tupperware bins. I bought them at Home Depot for a dollar each.
I have them labeled with these cute chalkboard labels from Martha Stewart’s label line for Avery.
Each bin holds something small and specific, like upholstery staples or tape or wall anchors.
Another thing that helps keep this room running smoothly is my little whiteboard. I jot down things on this board that we’re running out. They’re usually things I wouldn’t remember while making a shopping list (like laundry detergent or light bulbs).
Other things that make the room special to me- the persian rug I bought in Belgium for just a few euros (I think it was only three!) and the pair of porcelain animal hooks I got in Delaware at the Amish flea market. We usually hang aprons from these and the girls adore them.
The pantry is sort of like the command center of our home. It’s been surprisingly good to us these past two years (not that I won’t be excited for a little more space when we move!). I think this room was a great learning experience for me and reminded me how well a space can function when it is well-organized.
So, I’d love to hear about your best organizing tip. What do you do to keep your challenge spaces tidy and running smoothly? Share your tip in the comments section for a chance to win a whopping $500 in gift cards! $250 to Target AND $250 to the Container Store!
Contest ends June 24. Rules can be read in full here. Good luck!
I bought some old chicken/rabbit cages from a farmer down the road from me to store all of my office supplies. The farmer was totally grossed out by the idea but I sprayed it down with clorox and soap in my driveway for a couple of days and couldn't be happier with the results. I can lock up all of my items when people are around or just leave all of the cage doors open when I am working.
We just bought a peg board for our storage room. I am hoping it turns out as organized as yours!
My favorite thing about organizing is finding beautiful and unconventional containers that I love! Whether it's a sweet porcelain teacup that holds paperclips or a vintage mason jar that holds paintbrushes – it brings personality and beauty while being functional!
Baskets and clear containers are good friends to our family of eight.
I have a skirted table in my entryway. Under the table I keep a small recycling bin, a shredder, and a file box. When I get the mail I toss the recycling in the bin, shred the credit card offers, and file the bills/ records. Taking care of this right away when I get the mail keeps things from piling up.
My number one organization trick is baskets! They keep things seperated by category, the kids can easily throw things in without much effort, and they can be really beautiful!
Such great tips! Love the space. I hae a teeny tiny little master closet to share with the hubs…so we have gotten really creative with space…taken advantage of height, multi use containers to store things…and clothes tucked {neatly} into every space imaginable
Cheers
~Jillian
http://www.hersplitends.com
I cut the tops off and reuse plastic fruit and vegetable containers to organize things like my makeup drawer, junk drawer, and medicine cabinet. A blueberry container is the perfect size for lipsticks! My other tip is to throw/give things away like crazy. The less you have, the less you have to organize. :)
Of course your "pantry" is gorgeous! I don't think you need to hear this tip, but mine is to label EVERYTHING.
My husband and I are moving from his bachelor townhouse into our first single family home this month and I plan to organize the heck out of it. $500 in gift cards would be amazing in helping me start off on the right foot!!!
Label makers and lots of little bins are my key to keeping things tidy. Especially in my craft area. I have probably 25 shoe box size bins that I use to organize everything from tape to tags.
I have lots of pretty trays and boxes. The boxes are messy inside but pretty outside.
My best organizing tip is to take time to think through what you're storing and to store like with like. So I corral all my lightbulbs together or all my batteries together and store them in a single box, rather than in one huge junk drawer.
lifeblessons -at- gmail.com
I have four boys close in age. Putting away their clothes was always a headache! I started a system to help. For the first boy, I put one dot with a sharpie on the inside of his clothes. When he out grows them I add a second dot for the 2nd boy. Oldest – one dot. Youngest- 4 dots. Now my husband even knows which child wears what!
I used a giant white board, covered half with cork, and use the white board for a to-do list and the cork for announcements, calendar items, etc. It has been so nice to have and reminds me of what I need to do. And it's hanging right in my kitchen, so it's extra handy. LOVE your blog!
I make sure to have a place for everything I bring home and I pick up the house every night. Putting thing away doesn't take long if you know where it goes. thebelchamber4@gmail.com
This is just the inspiration I needed to get all my supplies cleaned up and organized in one place. I use a lot of baskets and clear plastic bins and hooks to organize my storage/coat closet. Sometimes things get buried in all the stuff so I find it's good to do a clean sweep of everything once a year.
So the problem at my house is I don't keep my spaces tidy and running smoothly! I think starting with some bins and cute labels is very doable for me, so thanks for the visual. Great post!
I love to use baskets to contain clutter. It makes cleaning so much easier
Our home was built in 1953, so we have small closets. They can be difficult to organize and use well. So, we put peg board on the back of our closet doors to hang camisoles, jewelry, stuffs on. You can see my post here:
http://thelovelylifestyle.com/2011/12/28/peg-me/
It was a great, quick weekend project and I can't imagine us without this help.
I gave up on putting baby toys out of site. I found a great looking basket that we can just throw them all into.
I'm also in NYC which means super small space. I make sure to use as much tall space as I can – stacking things, using the space on top of cupboards, and creating storage in the top part of my closer!
I'm also in NYC which means super small space! I make sure to use as much vertical space as I can, like putting things on top of our cupboards in the kitchen and creating storage at the top of our closets.
Baskets! I use baskets to corral & store everything! I also set a timer for 15 minutes and clean as much as I can in that window.
My two organization rules that we live by in our home are 1) If it doesn't have a place, it doesn't come in the house and 2) Once a space is full (ie. my closet) nothing new can come in until something old goes out. Keeping the clutter minimized is the only way to keep myself sane :) Great giveaway! Thanks!
this would be awesome!
my tip is to toss whatever we're not using or haven't used in a year! it helps keep the clutter down! :)
i only keep the necessary things and purge often…i love pretty containers so everything has its place! and i always try to remember "things" are just things!
Use matching containers and labels! The key is that they're matching. It looks so much more organized and pretty when everything matches.
Plan! I plan for time to do the little things like putting away clothes or dishes or other things that get left out. I plan which chores I'll do. Plan, whether it takes writing down or just thinking out!
I use plastic bins, hooks, pegboards, add-on shelves to turn my storage closet into an organized place for storage.
Sushmita
email: sushmitaprabhakar@gmail.com
We have an older home and it has tiny closets. Our shoes were piling up on the floor and you could never find what you were looking for. So we bought several nice large seagrass baskets and organized the shoes in there. Now I can find that missing flip flop and it looks so much cleaner and organized when you open the doors.
Several times a year I go through all of our cabinets, drawers, and closets to get rid of we don't need or don't use. It's very cathartic!!
Thanks for the great giveaway! :)
I use Kroger wine bags to organize our cleaning supplies – they an hold 6 cleaning bottles and it makes it easier to carry to the bathroom etc.
Have a good week!
I make sure to reorganize the fridge and pantry every time I get home from the grocery store! I hate when the fridge/pantry is cluttered so cleaning it out before I put new stuff in there helps to keep it organized.
My husband has a 5 active project rule. We have 5 bins for each of the projects, and I cannot buy a new project until one of the bins are empty. This has helped me finish projects and frees up a ton of space! Also, we love hooks, bins, and bookshelves, but if it looks cluttered we sit down together and figure out what has to go. (My hubby is a bit of a clean freak.)
A place for everything is must. Plus cleaning as you go keeps from any build up. What a great giveaway!!!
I have found that organizing my tupperware has saved so much time when preparing and packing meals.
I love having a label maker… it helps keep the linen closet organized (so my husband knows where to put/find things), our spice rack, etc. It's perfect for keeping things in order!
Purge! And I make a basket for each person in the family so that they can decide if they want to keep the case the sunglasses came in or the free sample of sunscreen we pick up and all of those other things!
The only way I can keep on top of it all is to make sure to do at least a bit a day…..don't save everything for the end of the week or you'll find you have so many tasks you don't know where to begin!
I have a holiday organizing tip! For each Holiday I organize my decorations by room, which makes decorating and un-decorating a breeze. In my basement I have a large metal shelving unit for my totes of decorations. Top row is all my outside decorations, 2nd row living room decorations, then kitchen and dinning, and misc decor. I love using dryerase markers on the totes to label them and also write down the contents. If I change my decor up, I just wipe down the tote and re-label it :)
My biggest challenge was organizing our master bathroom. I purchased containers to store items by type (nail polishes, lotions, hair, etc). I also got a couple of cute boxes where my husband and I store the toiletry items we use every day. That way when we are getting ready we take out our little boxes and when we are finished we put everythign back in them and under teh counter. That was I don't have a cluttered bathroom counter anymore. So far it's been working :)
Lately I have been using mason jars for everything- from dry ingredients to little things around the hous. I have been using my label maker to label each jar, but I think those chaulkboard labels would be much cuter!
Hi Jenny – I have separate cleaning caddies in my kitchen and two bathrooms. I don't have to lug in around from room to room and it makes cleaning a cinch!
The only thing that I find makes a difference is to just keep up with things. Don't put things in piles to put away later, just put them where they belong now.
love those chalkboard labels! so cute! I use baskets everywhere to help with our organization. Thanks for the chance!
I don't, that's why I need this. Our work room is a disaster. I will definitely try the peg board route.
cute baskets! our home would be a (bigger) disaster without them! you can put all your little notepads, random items, remote controls all into baskets in each room, it make the space much prettier and less cluttered :)
Very timely post–I've been thinking about putting up some pegboard to organize my tools too. My trick for keeping things organized is using various sized bins for each item type. Everything has its place.
I think the best tip for organizing boils down to one goal: minimize excess STUFF! We try to get rid of one thing for every new thing we bring into the house. If we don't want to get rid of something else, whatever that new thing is probably isn't worth it in the first place!