This is clear. The mood for January is: declutter and reset. I spent the entire weekend assessing the countless piles of clutter and abundant reorganizing needs that have accumulated in my home. how bout you? If you are following M InstagramThere’s a good chance you’ve seen him do just that, and I’m impressed. She’s tackling one disorganized area at a time (nightstand, kitchen drawer, kids’ closet), eliminating the chaos with passion and determination. You may have seen the amazing storage round-up Jess shared last week, which highlighted some great organization solutions for almost every space in your home (here are my personal favorites). over the door storage and this Perfectly Narrow Shoe Cabinet).
In many cases, it makes sense to purchase new, specialized solutions for your organizing needs. The purpose of this post is not to discourage you from looking for a ready-to-move system. I think if your linen cabinet is bursting and your sheets refuse to stick together These sheet organizers An incredible, affordable, easy solution. But this weekend, as I started taking down my Christmas decorations (yes, I’ve been procrastinating), piling it up next to the pile of my “must take for recycling” cardboard boxes, I started wondering what I needed to buy to properly store it until next year… and then a lightbulb went off. Did I really need to buy a new, plastic tote to keep it all together? Or can I make the most of the Amazon boxes I have in front of me? I made my Christmas decorations from brown paper bags and old magazines; What was stopping me from giving these boxes a similar redesign? And what other items do I (or you) already have at home that could be reused or reimagined for storage? Well, here are some of the outfit DIY-ds I (and the internet) came up with:
Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, Repurpose with Cardboard:
Cardboard is a very underrated material for me. And I know this is what happens in all of our homes. My plan for large piles of empty boxes is to paint or cover them in patterned paper or fabric to give them a new, slightly more aesthetic life. Painting seems to be the easiest and most entertaining way for me, but if you want to spend a little more time How cute are these fabric boxes? I will be storing my holiday decorations in them, so I think I will paint them with large snowflakes or small collections of trees and stars, to reflect what’s inside. Will they be perfect? Probably not! And that’s fine by me.
Smaller-sized boxes can be similarly decorated to use as drawer organizers (or not, just leave them as is!). Are you one of those people who hold on to their iPhone box for years and years? Use that perfect box in your bathroom drawer to store your hair ties or bobby pins! Or you can follow this tutorial to make a custom cardboard drawer divider (so easy), simply by gluing strips of cardboard together, adding tape to meet the edges. Fully customizable to fit whatever you like 🙂
@thecardboardqueen My Top 5 Tips for Cardboard Crafting!! 📦📦📦🤎🤎👸 #cardboard boxes #cardboard #crafting #craft #craft tutorial #craftvideo ♬ Original Sound – Sherry Madison
More easy cardboard ideas? Use toilet paper rolls to group and organize loose strands. Take cereal boxes, cut them diagonally and cover them to make magazine holders. Or cut, stack, glue and decorate on one side to make a paper organizer. A milk carton can be cut up and decorated to make a great pencil holder (or use a tin can or glass jar wrapped in fun paper, or not!). An empty tissue box is a great way to store loose plastic bags that can be easily pulled over the top. A shoebox is lidded storage, just waiting to be customized! Cut a hole in the side, and you’ll have a cable/cord organizer. You can really let your imagination run wild. This woman’s video has some great tips to keep in mind when working with cardboard. I think I’ll try the inside-out method for my Christmas storage to avoid all the labels!
Level up with wooden crafts:
@paige.falk I love a good shelf 🫶🏼 #diy #cabinetsdecoration #shelvesidea #room decoration #newhomeSLAY ♬ Let’s Have Some Fun Alt – The Desperados
I hope I’m not the only person who has random pieces of wood lying around. If you’re like me and you’re not afraid of a little sawing, there are plenty of easy DIY storage builds to make. I’ve made a “floating shelf” like this before. A little paint or stain can take it to the next level, but a narrow plank of wood and some L bracket/screw Make a perfect little storage wall.
@allstylelife My thermostat was recently promoted as wall art 🖼️🙌🏼. I love this easy DIY for hiding small eye spots at home. All you need are two @IKEA Rodlam picture frames, some hinges and magnets to keep the frame closed. I used @Command brand strips to hang mine–so easy! Would you try this DIY? #ikeahack #diypictureframe #TorontoLife #TorontoCreator #diypictureframehack ♬ Man I Need – Olivia Dean
This fun idea requires some time simple picture frame Anything else small hinges To create hidden wall storage! A great place to hang your keys or the perfect way to hide an ugly wall electronics behind a nice piece of “art”. Use an old frame and some scrap wood to lift it up a bit from the wall and hide shelves inside, like this girl did Here.
@tinaleymac After moving from living in a house to this apartment, I immediately realized I needed to add more storage. I got creative with these DIYs and hacks to maximize these small spaces and they are still some of my favorite projects to this day ☺️ Can’t wait to see what else we’ll create in the new space!! #diyideas #diyhome #diyproject #apartmentideas #apartmenthacks #tenantfriend #Kitchenideas #diyhomeprojects ♬ After Midnight – Chapelle Rhone
This girl is making DIYs that are a little more advanced, but I totally want to steal the sofa sleeve/table idea! Essentially, simply join three pieces of wood with L brackets or pocket holes if you have a jig, then decorate as you like! If you can make it, you can easily make it Make Some Custom Shelf Risers Using the same method. Or, similar to cardboard drawer dividers, you can make an interlocking X-shaped, wooden organizer (great for magazines or books), and this tutorial Shows you how easy it is to make. Even easier? Cut short boards to the depth of your dresser drawers to create sturdy dividers to attach with wood glue, nails or small screws.
Reimagine existing storage solutions:
@purrfecthomee ikea hack #Home #kitchen #organize #home improvement #Favorite #ikea #Organization #decoration ♬ Come Inside My Heart – IV of Spades
Now, let’s say you don’t want Permanent Drawer dividers, and you won’t want to spend money on the classic expandable drawer dividers. One of the most versatile, existing storage solutions This plate holder is from Ikea. Check out how this guy uses them to organize a drawer! Very clever. You can even put them on your desk and store mail, open papers, art, or of course, use them exactly as they were intended – to organize plates (or pans, etc.) in the kitchen!
@kylenct At $10 per rack (I got 2!), this is a super affordable and beautiful way to display your books! I’m also downsizing my book collection because I’m not really a maximalist in that way, so it’s fun to highlight a more curated selection in a way that doubles as decor. Original idea by @grillodesigns! #diybookshelf #bookshelfhack #livingroomdecor #bookstorageideas ♬ Runaway – Pluko
But did you know that you can also hang these on your wall as a floating bookshelf?? that is so nice? And again, your creative options with paint or stain are endless. Alternatively, you can take the pieces apart, turn them 90 degrees, and leave only the doweled sides hanging to act as peg rails for hanging jewellery, hats, scarves – you name it!
@thedoerandthedreamer I also have a whole blog post about mudrooms if you want more details! . However it is an easy DIY and can be so customizable! #diyproject #organizationhacks #mudroomidea #shoe storage ♬ Original Sound – Tara – Slow DIY and Home Ideas
Speaking of wooden dowels, another great idea I came up with was to use closet rod As shoe storage! This girl installs it just like you install a normal closet rod, but much lower, so you can squeeze shoes between it and the wall. But if you don’t have two walls to hang it, you can always hang one curtain rod Place it below the ground to use it in the same way. An easy way to get your shoes off the floor (but to protect your walls from extra dirt, maybe put down some contact paper or put a piece of wood behind it).
We can’t talk rods without talking hangers-on. You may already have some hangers for your kids hanging up, and if you do, they are perfect for hanging pants or jeans in the closet as they are a far more effective size for hanging clothes off the bottom. Also great for slinky tops or skirts! Another great idea for jeans is to hang it in your closet s hook On stick. Simply hook the belt loop onto the S hook and you have a very simple way to store your pants.
I’m struggling with a bit of a jeans storage problem at the moment, and I’m actually thinking about using the shoe rod storage technique on the wall behind my bedroom door, but not for pants. Think about it, a few short rods stacked together and hung on the wall with enough space between them to fold and wrap my jeans? I’m still working on the idea, but as of right now, I don’t hate it.
There are so many DIYs I have saved and could share here, but I’m running out of time and don’t want to drag it out. So I’ll end with this. I think storage is something we all have to deal with, some more aesthetically than others. In the past, I found it absolutely necessary to buy all the matching bins and boxes from IKEA or The Container Store and I used HAM on plastic drawer organizers. And if that’s your jam, more power to you! But as I spend time decluttering and organizing, I realize how much stuff I have lying around. Stuff I need to purge, stuff I need to store, stuff I can reuse to refill my stuff. Of course, it’s very tempting to buy it fresh and new, and for some things, I still do. If you’re less inclined to DIY, I highly encourage you to check out your local thrift store or Facebook Marketplace for storage solutions. There are plenty of baskets and bins already out there that may be perfect for your space. But if you have the time and are willing to have creative flexibility, maybe try one of these storage ideas or let one of them inspire you to an entirely new solution! And if it does, please feel free to share your clever ideas in the comments 🙂
Sincerely, Grech
Opening Image Credit: Photo by Caitlin Green | From: Finally Organizing Four Huge Problem Areas (…and My Case of Loving January)
