People might think, on meeting me, that I have a super tidy and organised home because I probably appear better organised than I actually am. I tend to live in a state of controlled chaos, certainly when it comes to my office, however I would secretly love to be an organisational guru to rival Monica in Friends or Bree from Desperate Housewives. A perfectly stocked pantry, categorised closet and everything sporting neat labels is my idea of heaven. I slipped into American-isms there for good reason, the American housewife seems to have these things nailed, not least due to the vast amounts of storage space houses seem to have there (outside of the cities of course) but also the organisational items you can pick up to actually complete the task.
When I was on holiday recently I picked up a copy of Real Simple magazine and fell in love instantly with its content and style, with so many solutions for home organisation. I was inspired to look through the magazine’s Pinterest boards and to write this post, focusing on a couple of areas of my home that I think most people can sympathise with. Glory holes of organisational chaos, the kitchen junk drawer, bedside table drawer and under the sink… here are some inspirational images that might spur you into getting organised like me.
Kitchen cupboards
Aside from the junk drawer, there seems to be so much potential for kitchen cupboards to get messy. Stacks of pots with nowhere to house the pan lids; plastic containers and foodsavers for freezing and storing left overs end up in disarray with no lids that match so I love this stationery holder re-purposed as storage for upright items like chopping boards and trays, even baking trays could go here.
Drawers
For me, drawers are a temptation to shove things out of sight but never actually put them where they belong. I’d like to say we have only the standard issue kitchen junk drawer to contend with but we also have a drawer in the living room with things like batteries, remotes, keys, marbles, coins and pens, a whole servery unit full of disorganised dinner-ware accessories (think placemats, coasters and candles,) and the office stationery drawer that once organised soon descends into a paperclip explosion. In fact there’s one in virtually every room.
My bedside drawer is a whole other story with all the must-have essentials that you need next to the bed (face wipes and hand cream,) alongside a whole heap of things I don’t, (matches, old valentines cards and receipts.) I can barely shut it. It would be my idea of heaven to have each of them categorised and divided with everything neatly in its place like in the smart bedside drawer above.
Under the Sink
One place I try to keep tidy is under the sink with its mountain of cleaning products, dishwasher tablets, washing powder and piles of cleaning cloths, sponges and wipes. Despite me re-arranging them into groups and piles they always fall over and I think these little stacking systems might just do the trick for holding cloths and sorting products.
If you’re lucky enough to have bathroom storage under the sink, you could transfer this idea there too for cosmetics.
So tell me, where is the most disorganised area of your home and are there any areas you would like to see solutions for? I can see this becoming a minor obsession of mine…
Love,
Rebecca
xo
I live in a flat with hardly any storage space so I’m always looking out for organisation tips! Best space-saving buy recently has been 2 magnetic spice racks that have gone on the side of one of the kitchen cupboards.
I’ve also got some wire racks in the cupboards that let you double stack things which are very handy too.
Worst bits for me are bedside drawers, the big stack of food containers and the only walk in cupboard in the house, that my husband has claimed as a tiny office. It’s always a mess but I just ignore it!
The little shelf under my coffee table is horrendous! And the worst thing is, I can see it all the time. It stares at me constantly and makes me feel very inadequate! In fact, I think I might sort it out tonight whilst the Husband watches the footie as quite frankly, I can’t take the guilt any more!
Also, if you love a bit of mega-organising you need to check out iheartorganizing.blogspot.co.uk; what that lady doesn’t know about organising your home isn’t worth knowing… she’s incredible!
Oh, great tip thanks Mazz!
There’s a blog about organising…*scurries off to check it out*
xoxo
This post makes me so happy – all the organising bits and bobs are making me think of when you buy a new notepad and have to write extremely neatly on the first page… And then (in my case at least), it all goes downhill!
I like to think I have a pretty tidy flat – but I think that’s more to do with the fact that the only storage we have are the two wardrobes in the bedrooms, the tiniest kitchen units I’ve ever seen and nothing else! It’s been described as minimalist, but I just hate hanging on to things that turn into clutter. I am an ebay fiend, and will happily get shot of something that’s not been used in a while. x
Thank god I am not alone with my hidden messy areas
Not actually sure where my worst areas are – the files/bills drawer, the ‘man’ drawer, some of my clothes drawers, my bedside table or my makeup/beauty products drawer(s)!
One word of advice – don’t move house…. it was an absolute nightmare having to go through all of my messy drawers and sort things out!! I’m not ashamed in the slightest to admit that I may just have taped my bedside table closed and not removed a thing (everything’s in storage until we find somewhere perfect!)
xoxo
Ah, I would beg to differ there Katie… I think it’s the duration of time we have been in our house (5.5 years) that contributes to the problem. When I was a child we moved every 3-4 years until I was 11 and I remember Mum having massive clear outs every time. I think if you don’t move you just keep ignoring it. Although I cant even attempt to claim that I would do any better than your taping the drawer shut episode! That’s quite ingenious!
Under the stairs cupboard is my messy corner, everytime I open the door something falls out. Also the loft…we chuck everything up there when the house is getting messy and it’s a haven for those Christmas presents you don’t want but feel rude throwing away!
My favourite oganisation tip I saw somewhere was a bulldog clip clipped on the edge of desk/beside table to thread your iphone charger through, no more having to scrabble through the floor debris to find it when I’ve run out of battery!
Oh god please someone some suggestions for tidying the necessary housey paperwork bills, insurance stuff passports etc!
I loved the real rooms you featured a while back with Eddie Judd!
I was thinking of doing something similar (glamming up some box files) because at the moment everything is stashed behind the sofa in a very broken and exploding bright green concertina file thing.
Yuck. Help needed please flo!
YIPEE! I’m not the only one. We have said drawers in the kitchen, dining room, and also I have a drawer in the bedroom that is SUPPOSED to be for my costume jewellery but it’s actually just everything that I don’t want on the side stuffed in there. We have a snagging list attached to our fridge the length of my arm, and one of the numerous items on there is putting an extra shelf in the cupboard under the sink, just so I can actually find what I’m looking for! However, when out and about at the weekend, I found these (http://www.sabichi.co.uk/kitchen/storage/red-dishwasher-box.html), so am now thinking I’ll get two to store all the cleaning products, AND so that the red accents we have in our kitchen continue – or is that a bit obsessive since they are in a cupboard. Hmmmmmmm, I think the Dishwasher Tins are a quick fix – I might be waiting a while for the Hubby to get his Jigsaw out…
xxx
Aah now THIS is a subject after my own heart (and in which I will hopefully not embarrass myself!) Having recently downsized from a 3 bed house which I had lived in almost 10 years, to a 1 bed flat, I have been forced to clear out LOADS of junk and also to find sensible storage for what is left. And for that, IKEA IS YOUR FRIEND. They do these awesome drawer organiser little box thingies that you can slot into your drawers in many different configurations (bit like pic 4 in your second set of pics) and seriously, they’ve revolutionised my undies drawers!! No more faffing about for multiway bra when late for night out!! I no longer have a study
but again thanks to Ikea my paperwork is neatly filed away in wooden magazine files that match the corner-of-my-living-room-that-now-has-to-be-the-study. Best of all are their huuuuuge clear plastic storage boxes which are just the right size to sit on top of my wardrobe and hold spare bedding and pillows, and my craft/jewellery supplies.
Basically, god bless Ikea. In fact I can feel another trip coming on…
Oh jesus I have loads!!! I do try and be organised but we have a massive walk in cupboard off the bedroom, not quite head height and basically it just houses loads random stuff, I did try and get some shoe racks to put my many shoes on but they keep falling off!!! I do like to de clutter though and i’m quite ruthless!!! xx
PS: If anyone has a solution for storing pan lids then please let me know – mine always seem to get lost – along with Tupperware lids too!!
Oh I could have a major obsession with these pics. We live in complete chaos, both of us really really messy and I swear I long for beautifully organised drawers. There is a particularly bad one in the kitchen that no longer shuts as everything explodes out of it – I am now going to plan an Ikea trip specifically for drawer organiser thingies
Lovely post Rebecca.
Have you seen http://ariannabelle.com/blog/ – This site is a bit of a gem for a bit of pretty organisation x