20 Low-Cost Ways to Organize Your Home

1. Create a designated place for items you need to take with you everyday (purse, keys, wallet, gym bag, etc.) It could be a large basket by the door, hooks on the wall, or even a shelf in a closet. The key is to put those must have items in the same place everyday so you know where to find them and they don’t clutter up your table or counter.

2. Hang belts, scarves, and ties on hangers or racks so they don’t end up in a tangled mess.

3. Group like foods together in your pantry so you can see when you are getting low and need to restock. Don’t buy more of something until you need to.

4. Recycle magazines that are over one month old. If there is a particular article you want to keep, cut it out and keep it in a 3-ring binder for future reference. If you have to flip through the whole magazine, chances are you won’t find the article you are looking for. If you haven’t read an issue in a month, you may want to consider unsubscribing from that particular magazine.

5. File your paperwork. Every household has some paperwork and important documents that need to be kept organized. Even if you can’t afford a full sized filing cabinet, invest in a small filing box and some files to keep everything in order. Make sure you label everything clearly so you can find it quickly.

6. Place large baskets in children’s rooms for quick and easy clean-up and toy storage.

7. Hang pots and pans on hooks from the ceiling or use a pot rack to free up space in your cabinets and make these everyday items easily accessible.

8. Clean out your refrigerator every time you go grocery shopping. It’s a great way to check what you have and what you need before you hit the store and if you clean it frequently, it won’t be overwhelming. Set aside one day a month to give the shelves a good scrub.

9. Place a small decorative basket on the coffee table to hold remote controls.

10. Free up counter space and reduce clutter by only leaving appliances and other items out that you use EVERY day. Put everything else in cabinets or the pantry.

11. Get rid of clothing that you do not wear. If you haven’t worn it in the past year, you’re probably not going to. Donate it and free up some valuable space.

12. Take advantage of out-of-site spaces like under the bed or under other pieces of furniture.

13. Organize your clothing by purpose – work clothes, weekend clothes, special occasion, etc.

14. Use a 3-ring binder that matches your kitchen décor with sheet protectors to organize recipes that are hand written or clipped from magazines.

15. Keep small food items such as seasoning packets, loose tea bags, and Jell-O packets in a small basket to keep them from getting lost.

16. Organize small items such as earrings, thumb tack, paperclips and buttons in muffin tins or ice cube trays for an inexpensive easy to find storage.

17. Use decorative boxes to store DVDs and CDs on a bookshelf.

18. Install hooks in your closet to hang purses and hats on for easy access.

19. Separate your clothes by season. Put out of season clothes in another closet or on out of reach shelves.

20. Create a message center in your home where you keep a calendar with family activities, a note pad for leaving messages, and a bulletin board for posting important documents. In boxes for the each individual can also be helpful.