5 Cheap Organizing Ideas

As a single mom, I'm always looking for ways to save money.  As much as I could go crazy spending money on cute little things or organize my home with, I've learned a few ways to do it cheaply... 

Hangers:  Who doesn't have a few unused hangers in their closet??  I use them to organize my pocketbooks, belts, scarves, bras and bathing suits.  Sure you can make a pile of purses in your closet floor or stuff belts, scarves, bras and bathing suits in your dresser drawer (which I've tried before) but I can find what I need a lot faster since I started hanging all of those things up.

my purses, scarves and belts

Hooks:  I use hooks all over the place.  Since we are in a rental house and I don't want to leave any holes or permanent marks on the walls, that I'm going to have to repair later, I love the 3M Command Hooks.  I have used them to hang pictures as well as organize.  Here's how I used them to organize our school stuff.

I used scrapbook stickers to put each child's initial on their hook

Shoe Organizers:  You can buy these for a few dollars and use them to organize all kinds of small things.  My son has one on his closet door for shoes, hats, gloves, ties, etc.  My daughters share a closet but both have their own shoe organizer hanging on their side of the closet.  Putting their shoes in that, frees up a lot of floor space and allows them both to have room in the one shared closet.  We also have one hanging in the art supply closet.  It holds all kinds of small art things (paintbrushes, pipe cleaners, fabric, glue sticks, paint, art smocks, pencils, etc).

I just cleaned Archer's organizer out so it's got some pockets ready for this fall/winter season's stuff

Storage bins:  All of the plastic storage bins I have purchased have been on sale and I haven't paid over $3 for any of them.  I keep our pantry organized with these bins.  It keeps it looking good without much effort.  As you can see, we just throw things in the bins but since they are labeled, it makes it look nice and tidy.  This method has made it so much easier for my young kids to go in and get themselves breakfast, snack or help me pack their lunch.

I also used the plastic bins when I was organizing our school stuff.  I realized they needed more than just a hook to hang their backpack and coat on, so I got each child a bin to keep under their hook.  They throw things in there that they will need for school the next day (like shoes, socks, lunchbox, show and tell, library book, etc). 

Self Stick Tiles:  Great to use on wire shelving.  It creates a space for things you wouldn't otherwise be able to put on that type of shelf.  I used them on the top shelf in my pantry to store my cookbooks on, in the art closet to put coloring/activity books on, and even in my closet so my folded clothes wouldn't end up with those darn wire marks on them. 

$9.99 for a box of 25 tiles at Ollie's

I'm always looking for new and creative ideas so please share how you keep your home or car organized!!