Organization is the key to any home. When you get rid of clutter, it is like a burden lifted. Traveling also entails a lot of organization. I just came back from a trip and I felt as though my trip revolved around all my wires and chargers. If you don’t have them, you truly cannot function in these days.
Looking for a way to keep cords and other electronic accessories organized? Clear plastic cups work great. You just have to label the cups with what you are putting inside and store them all in a small plastic tote or basket. You can get several cups for just a few dollars and you just need a holder for all of them. This helps to keep cords from tangling and ensures that you always know where all of your accessories are. When you travel, consider storing your cords/chargers in bags meant to hold jewelry or accessories that come with hangers. You can see through the pockets and/or label the outside of each pocket for which device the cords match up to. When you get to your hotel/destination you can hang them up for easy access.
When traveling, use a large weekly vitamin container to put your jewelry in. It is easy to slide into your carry on. Just keep the jewelry that you are planning to wear together in each slot or use different slots for different types of jewelry. The compartments are large enough to hold earrings, bracelets and necklaces and keep them all neat and tidy. To keep your necklaces tangle free when you travel, thread one end through a straw and fasten it. No more tangles!
If you have a lot of belts and little room in the closet or drawers, you can make a great organizer using shower curtain rings. Just slip the belt on the ring and hang from a regular hanger. You can also purchase scarf organizers that they make and sell now. I took one of these scarf organizers that I found at a local store to corral all my reading/sun glasses. This worked like a charm. I just hang them from the round holes and now I can pick them out in a quick glance.
Who says you have to spend a small fortune organizing your home office? A great solution for smaller office supplies is to use an ice cube tray. You can get these at any Dollar Store for about $1 (for 3 of them). Keep your push pins, paper clips, rubber bands and other supplies in the individual slots and they fit easily into any desk drawer
How many times have you wished you just didn’t have any toys to pick up? If you are looking for the perfect toy storage solution, consider pop-up hampers. While they are not originally designed for toy storage, they do make a great choice. You can even get the little ones excited about picking up their own toys when you let them “pop open” their own toy hamper.
Hanging shoe organizers are perfect for keeping video games, controllers and other accessories together and organized. You can hang them over the door to your child’s room and he or she will always be able to find what they are looking for. Smaller game systems will also fit into the shoe slots. If you don’t have a need for video game type storage, you can still use shoe organizers to keep dvds, coloring books or even stuffed animals organized. I also use the shoe organizer for my gloves, scarves and other winter accessories. In another closet I use the shoe bag for all my pharmacy items and label each compartment, “For Colds”; “ For Stomach Issues,”” For Sore Throats”; “First Aid” etc. etc. If you don’t have room in your laundry area to dry clothing, try using a retractable clothing line. I have one and couldn’t live without it. These can easily be purchased at: globalindustrial.com.
A great way to corral all those ponytail holders, try a large key ring.
To help get the kids’ clothing ready for a week of school, simply organize a plastic dresser and label the outsides of each drawer with the days of the week. You can involve the kids in picking out the clothing and then there will be no hassle in the morning.. If you are traveling with young children another great thing I used to do is to put their daily outfits for each day in separate plastic zip bags. Put them in drawers at your hotel and let the kids pick them out as needed.
If you are like me, I love buying beautiful wrapping paper for all different occasions, but then they seem to multiply and get disorganized. So I simply take them and put them into a garment bag and hang them up. This way they stay all together and I just pull out as needed.
This is one tip that I like to repeat in case you missed it last time. Because of an incident I had with a family member getting injured with a knife in my drawer, I came up with this idea: take a flat iron case and store all your knives in the drawer. Some come with more than one pocket so you can add additional knives. This works great and I feel that the knives are safely put away.
I’d love to hear from you if you have any great organizational tips to share.
Gail Hochman has been a resident of Bergen County for over 30 years and has been blessed with many grandchildren.
By Gail Hochman
