Does this sound familiar? You have had a hectic day, too many items on your to-do list. You arrive home wanting nothing more than to sit and unwind. However, the general clutter in the living room, the breakfast dishes in the sink, the unmade bed, clothes on the floor, transform your dream of a few quiet moments into a nightmare of here we go again. More stuff to do.
Perhaps you鈥檙e not bothered by mess, or you think you鈥檙e not. But it is a proven stresser.
Unorganized, overstuffed surroundings are difficult to navigate. An 鈥渦ntamed鈥� home creates an environment where everything you set out to do, from cooking a meal to working on a hobby, is boobytrapped.
How to manage the mess is the topic of a new book by blogger and author Carrie Higgins: Organization Hacks, Over 350 Simple Solutions to Organize Your Home In No Time!
The book delivers both ideas and DIY projects illustrated by line drawings that will guide you in the right direction. The remedies are not just simple, they are inexpensive. Anyone can bring clutter to its knees.
If you feel like your life is out of control, take heart. Here鈥檚 the help you need.
To master that tangle of jewelry you have stuffed in a drawer, how about screwing cup hooks into the wall, or paint a board to hang on the wall and line up the cup hooks on that? (Inside a cupboard or armoire door is another good location.) Hang necklaces and bracelets on the hooks. That makes them easy to match up with your clothes, and also makes for an intriguing display.
Bedrooms, especially if they are small, are always short on storage. Use bed risers to lift the bed and add storage space underneath.
If you don鈥檛 have room for a bedside table, hang a row of shoe pockets between the mattress and box springs to hold books, glasses, water bottles, lip balm, etc. Higgins includes step-by-step instructions for this. And you鈥檒l never have to wrestle with folding a fitted bed sheet; Higgins shows you the easy method.
In the bathroom, use the inside of the vanity cabinet door to hang metal baskets for hair dryer, brushes, and lotions. Turn decorative baskets into shelves, or, as shown here, hang them on their sides as a decorative way to hold towels.
Electronics are part of everyday life, but oh those cords 鈥� so many cords. Hide cords by attaching small adhesive-backed hooks to the back of your TV stand and/or end tables.
Wrap Velcro cord holders around the cords to keep them neat. Raising the cords off the floor not only hides them, but rids you of the dust bunnies that cluster on the floor around them.
Pegboards are a favourite answer to 鈥渁 place for everything and everything in its place.鈥�
Not just for garage walls, pegboards are perfect for the office, kids鈥� rooms, mudrooms and entrance ways.
Higgins notes that culinary legend Julia Child not only used pegboards in her kitchen for hanging equipment, but outlined each piece so everyone knew exactly where to put what.
Higgins has a clever idea for even the smallest challenge. How about matching up socks? There鈥檚 a DIY project that you can do with your kids. A board labelled 鈥淪eeking Sole Mates鈥� is painted and colourful clothes pegs are lined up horizontally under the message.
Single socks are clipped to the board until a match is found. Let the search begin.
Written by Debbie Travis and Barbara Dingle. Email decorating questions to [email protected]. Follow Debbie at instagram.com/debbie_travis, facebook.com/thedebbietravis, debbietravis.com.
