Organization is my friend!

Since moving into the new house I have really tried to stay organized because the first few years I lived at our old home, it was always so hard to find anything and it was always so cluttery. My mom has really helped me in the organization department and the older I get, the more I appreciate her and her gifts. I really believe that staying organized saves me so much time and stress because I know exactly where everything is.

I thought I would list my favorite organization tactics in case you are looking for ways to organize too!

-Lazy Susans. Great way to organize spices and medicine cabinets. I was able to find some nice stainless ones at Lowes for $8.00!

- Label Maker and bins, bins, BINS. Labeling things makes it so easy to find stuff because you don't have to open the bin or box to see what's inside. Plastic bins allow you to group similar things together for easy access. I label EVERYTHING with my label maker because then you can change the name easily by just peeling it off.

- Plastic Storage Drawers (tall). I have one for my craft room and one to organize manuals and warranty information. My mom gave me both and lableled them for me :-) In the craft room the drawers are labeled:

Pens and Scissors
Tape and Glue

Gift Bags
Bows and Ribbon

Ribbon

Scrapbooking

Cards

For the manuals and warranty information it's labeled:

Large Appliances

Furniture and Fixtures

Household and Electronics

Audio/Visual and Cameras

Outdoor and Tools

Kitchen and Small Appliances

You can label them however you want and have them hold whatever you want. I think they would be great for receipts too.

-Wrapping Paper Bins- I have one for Christmas wrapping and one for regular gift wrap. Just keeps them nicely organized and out of the way.

-Key hooks- I installed this cute key hook I found at Bed, Bath and Beyond for $7.00 and I never have to go search for my keys!

-Bulletin, magnet or wire boards- Just a nice way to display invitations, pictures and reminders all in the same place.

-Mail baskets- Sometimes you don't have time to go through the mail or you need to bring something out to the car with you but you don't want it on the counter. I found this one at Black Goose and it has worked great for us, although I would suggest getting one with a bottom since little things tend to fall out of it.

-Drawer Organizers- I love drawer organizers. I use them for everything from my kitchen, to my bathroom, to my office. They just keep everything so tidy yet keep similar things together.

-Fabric Bins- I bought a bunch of fabric bins right after we got married and love them. They are really nice in bedroom closets because you can just throw spare sheets, things that need to go to the dry cleaner, purses, etc. in them and your closet stays looking clean. They have tons of different sizes so you can buy them based on your needs.

-Plastic boxes from the Container Store- These plastic boxes are great for buttons, thread, needles or anything else little and are super cheap.

-Battery Organizer- My mom bought me this battery organizer a few years ago and I love it. I always know where my batteries are and it has a tester on it so if you can see if the battery is bad before you use it.

-Baskets- My favorite basket is my two tiered under the sink basket, which doubled my space and allows me to organize my rags and sponges yet keeps them accessable. I have one in my bathroom too and use it for hair stuff!

-Wire Pantry organizer for the door. I had one of these at my old house and it doubled my pantry space. I put all our spices and little things in there and was always able to find what I needed.

-Packet Holder (for things such as taco seasoning and oatmeal). I found mine at the Container Store a few years ago but they no longer make the ones that hang on the wall. They still have a few but I really like the wall kind.

-Broom and such Organzer- I always know where my broom and shark is and they are out of my way, never fall over and keep their dust outside.

Hope this helps a bit! As I said before, I love being organized and the hardest part is just setting all of it up. Once everything in my house had a place, I found my house stayed cleaner and Mike was able to find things on his own and keep him organized and clean. The Sig house taught him some bad habits so this has helped our marriage TREMENDOUSLY :-)