Pinterest Test: Organization Ideas

If you know me well, you know that I am OCD and always trying to sort, organize, clean and de-clutter. Since I had moved out on my own last year, I was trying all sorts of ideas in my apartment that I loved. Sadly, I did not think to take pictures or share the ideas at the time. Now that I have moved back home with my family, I am determined to implement my organization ideas all over my family home! (Mom and Dad both need help keeping things organized)

Pinterest is like the Holy Grail of ideas for organization on a budget and I have had a blast trying them. Here are reviews on ideas I have tried from Pinterest, ideas I have come up with on my own, and ideas that I plan to try here soon! (Hey my fall semester doesn't start for 15 more days so I need to entertain myself!)

First up is a very cheap and easy way to organize cables that are not in use. I have a ton of charger cables, camera cables, and cables that I don't even know what they go to. I found the idea for organizing them here. All I had to do was save the cardboard rolls from toilet paper and paper towels! I have all of these canvas organizers in different sizes from Ikea, so I just collected them in there and they fit perfectly. A show box would work really well for this as shown in the Pinterest link. Then I slipped in the cables and VOILA! No more keeping them in a tangle in my Ikea organizer. I can easily find which cable I am looking for now and I don't have to worry about tying them up and making sure they don't end up in a knot.

I also like this idea, where you can decorate the rolls and then slide the cables through them and keep them in a drawer. I am sure this one will come in handy too!




Next up, boxes! I love a nice box. A good looking shoe box, a box that something I bought comes in, big boxes, small boxes.....you get the picture.

For right now, I am keeping my perfume bottles in a Roxy shoe box that I recently got. It is working for the moment, as I keep this shoe box in a drawer next to my jewelry. Its nice because its like a desk drawer organizer and keeps the bottles from falling over into the jewelry and its like they each have their own area. I currently use shoe boxes to hold my craft and scrapbooking stuff, Christmas decorations, and large boot boxes to store wreaths I have made. You could also use the shoe boxes in you night stand drawer, in the cabinet under your sink for hair or cleaning products, or even under you bed for storage. I don't like to throw out shoe boxes because they are so versatile and sturdy.

Speaking of boxes, any one like to keep their huge Coach purse boxes? I do! They are huge and they are a nice neutral cream color so they can be left out with out being an eye sore. My only complaint is that if you put anything that is kind of heavy in there, the box needs to be reinforced. I finally found my solution though. I have desk organizers from my last job that I have not been using and then it dawned on me- use these metal organizers to help the integrity of the box! So I dumped all my nail polishes and stuff out (the box was a mess before) and VOILA! Now the polishes stand up nicely, it divides the box up so polishes, removers, nail care and cotton rounds all have their own space, and when I pick the box up it doesn't threaten to fold in half. Not to mention I am not staring at those desk organizers any more wondering what to do with them.

I have started a small collection of empty subscription boxes lately. They are small, of very good quality, they are very nice looking, and they always come with nice tissue paper. I am still wondering what I am going to use these for. The possibilities really are endless! I have also found myself saving perfume set boxes. I got an Ed Hardy perfume a few years ago and the box was really nice and had a picture of a geisha on it. I used to use that as my "miscellaneous" box for a long time. I also got a Viktor & Rolf perfume set with a gorgeous gold box and that is where I put all of my lipsmackers and lip glosses (I have a collection of a few hundred.....don't judge me).



Ok enough about my love of boxes, now on to plastic! I drink quite a bit of Crystal Light, especially now that they have the "mocktails" in mojito, peach bellini, and pomtini. They come in these plastic tube thinks that have a lid and when you use the last packet and you pull off the plastic label, you are left with this awesome little storage container. Here is just one example of how I use these in my house. I have a ton of hair pins and clips and these containers keep them neatly together in one place and the lid keeps them from going every where. I also use them for beads and other scrapbooking materials that I have. Doing a general search on Pinterest gave me a bunch of results I had never thought of. One lady saves her block cheese in these air tight containers. Another one decorates the containers and glues a magnet on the back for writing utensil storage. I think I would like to try this one but for my eye liners and other make up. And another woman uses them as a sunglass case! The possibilities with these things really are endless.

I love French memory boards and I have one in my bathroom. I also get all these samples of products from my subscription boxes, and needed a place to put them where I would see them and remember to try them. One day I was going to use a packette of hair product and needed a place to put it while I was in the shower and stuck it on the memory board.....and that was all it took! I stick the product information card on the board with all the products for easy reference and the board has held 90% of the products have been sent. It is right in my bathroom adjacent from my mirror so it reminds me of the products I have to try and they don't get lost in a drawer.

Here are some links for Pinterest finds that I would like to try and make sometime soon. I have the materials for all 3, so maybe after I complete them I will have another post!

Wine Cork Board

Cell Phone Outlet Caddy

Magnet Make Up Board

Happy organizing! XOXO

Jenn