Every year, I swear I’m going to get organized. For some reason, it never happens. Well this year, I’m making myself and have found a couple of creative uses for things that I’ve had lying around that I bought from Walmart. I know you’ve probably seen both over in the home/school supplies section too!
First, our bathroom is super tiny in our room. The house is a 3 bath, with the other two bathrooms being sized decent. Ours, however, is just yuck. It’s a small, standing shower combined with the toilet. There’s not much room for anything in there because if you put anything in the floor by the shower, you have a hard time opening the shower door. I think most men need their magazines and it seems Truett thinks he needs to read, while on the pot, as well. *sigh* I wouldn’t know what to do if I lived with girls! Anyhow, I decided to take this organizer that I originally bought for my office area, and use it for magazines! It can hang on the wall, hold them all, including the small ones, and be up off the floor. It also had hooks so I was able to hang a towel there as well! I’m thinking that I need to paint that bathroom and get that same organizer in another color to really make it pretty in there! What do you think? The people who lived here before us painted it that dark red and it’s quite streaky. (p.s. the towels came from Walmart too during the Black Friday sale!) If you’re wanting something less, and more simplistic, try this wall pocket to hold your magazines!
Now another issue I have is keeping up with receipts. As a blogger, it’s imperative that I keep them safe and I don’t know about you, but I am TERRIBLE with this. I throw them on the counters, leave them in pockets & purses, and then end up completely lose them. While I do have this awesome Neat Receipts unit that imports my receipts, I still need something to hold them until I’m ready to add them to the computer and still have them safe come tax time.
I have quite a few of these boxes, also found at the home/school supplies section, in all different colors. I use them for different papers and to just hold small things like batteries, chargers, pens, etc. I decided to cut a slit on the lid of the box, big enough for me to slide my receipts in because frankly, I am too dang lazy to open the lid. I know…pathetic. Since one of the first things I do when I come home is to check email at my computer, I use the box as my monitor stand. I sit down, dig receipts out of my pockets and purse, and slip them in the box, all while checking email.
It works for me, you know? Now if you think cutting a slit into a perfectly good box is just wrong, I just found this file folder box that opens from the front. VERY handy! I really like it. I feel like having things organized really reduces the stress, making me feel happier!
So what creative ideas do you have to stay organized? Are you like me and take something that is meant for another use and make it work for you?
Disclosure: Walmart has provided compensation for my time & efforts to create this post as part of the Fresh Start campaign. I truly want to be more organized and with it being the beginning of 2011, now is the perfect time to start fresh yes?! As always (and you should know this by now), opinions are my own, always have been, always will be.
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Great ideas! I’m also guilty of being lazy with receipts, I’d toss them onto the box instead of opening the lid. I love the slot, though. I’m going to have to use that idea!
My favorite organizing item is the lowly mason jar. Any size will do, but my favorite and most useful jar is the wide-mouth pint jar. The jars are really sturdy! I’ve dropped them on the floor and they’ve just bounced, thank goodness! I’m sure if one was full of something heavy it might break, but so far so good.
I use them in every room. There is one on the dryer to hold loose change and whatever else might be found in my family’s pockets. I have one by the computer to hold pens, pencils and scissors, in the living room with wildflowers or roses from the yard, and few of them in each bathroom for toothbrushes, q-tips, razors, etc. I have one in my kitchen that holds a bottle brush that I use to wash the reusable water bottles my kids use, and one with a lid on it that has garden seed packs waiting to be used.
I had to chuckle at this post – it rang so many bells for me. I think “get organized” has been at the top of my to do list since I was 12. I’ve had a photo of a similar organizer tacked to the inside of my linen closet for well over a year. And receipts drive me nuts. When I saw the photo the first thing I thought was – you’re not going to file if you have to lift the monitor every time. Then I read about your nifty innovation – good one!
Yours in organization — Liz
Last year was “year of the purge” for me. Started with one room and purged and organized every drawer and closet in that room then moved to the next room and then the next… one year later I got rid of probably 60 boxes and bags of stuff and donated them to local non-profit. I feel so much better and it really made me “free” of things! I still have a house full, but my house is so much more organized and I really got rid of lots of fluff I did not need. Now, all I lack is the garage for this year. Getting cowboy to get rid of anything will be a huge challenge!