The Frugal Organizer

A common misconception about organization is that it takes a lot of money to get there. While organizing products can be very important in various projects and even do a great deal to manipulate the amount of storage a certain space can provide, they are not actually required to bring your home into a state of orderly bliss. I have organized spaces with everything from cardboard boxes or product packaging to plastic containers from the dollar store. When my daughters were small and were gifted magnetic doll sets with outfits and accessories, I excitedly repurposed those wooden containers for drawer organization. While we find inspiration in the many pins and posts on social media today, it’s important to remember that it isn’t the imagery we are seeking, but actually the feeling it creates. We are yearning for that feeling we get when things are under control and in order.

You wake up in the morning and open your coffee cabinet to get brewing. You open your lunch-making drawer with everything you need to create some great lunches for the kids. Your dinner recipe is out and ready for prepping. Your calendar app reminds you what’s ahead today. Your kids wake up and put on the outfits hanging on their doors with their day of the week felt hanger label. They know to put their clothes in the hamper and brush their teeth after breakfast because they want to move their chore chart pieces over to “done”. You know where the picture day forms are because you filed them in your “Upcoming” paper tray. Your daughter knows to take her permission slip to school because it’s in her mail slot next to her cubby labeled “Bring to School”. Your son knows where his cleats are because they live in his hall cubby with his coat and backpack. Your spouse knows which drop off or pick up belongs to who because it’s on your dry erase calendar as well as on the family calendar app. You will get a couple of workouts in this week because you actually penciled them into your schedule. Doesn’t this sound like the feeling we dream of when we’re looking at pretty pictures online? A happy, calm, coordinated life with smiling faces.

Well I’m here to tell you that you can get this feeling without breaking the bank. You only need a little creativity, a little time, and maybe your friendly neighborhood organizer to take you and your home from Hot Mess to Healed. Pick a smaller space that you can feel confident about such as a drawer. Pull everything out. Yes, everything. Get two trash bags (preferably different colors) and decide which one is trash and which one is donation. Pick up each item and make a decision. Donate bag, toss bag, or keep pile? Now take the opportunity to give that empty space a good wipe down. Look at what you’re keeping. The trick is to contain like items in a way that separates them from other items. How can you prevent them from getting all mixed up and messy again? Tiny containers, shallow cardboard boxes, old tupperware, empty glass jars from food, silverware trays or craft boxes from the dollar store… use your imagination. Anything like this works and helps you to create a “home” for each of the kept items. Arrange these containers in the drawer like you would puzzle pieces. Think about the size and shape as you arrange. Shake off the concern about how well your containers match and instead focus on the beauty of seeing such order and the functionality that will follow. 

Closet not big enough? Grab a $10 over-the-door shoe organizer and discover how useful this can be for small items like office supplies, hats and gloves, sunblocks, umbrellas, kitchen items, cleaning products, snacks, even water bottles. Need an extra shelf inside of a closet? Three pieces of 1x4” boards can be used to make cleats for a quick shelf to sit on. Sometimes just the way we fold something can neaten a space and keep items separate from each other. The shape of some product packaging can make it ideal for certain spaces so things like foils, cling wraps, and sandwich bags can fit together like a puzzle in a shallow kitchen drawer. Dollar stores often have a variety of plastic and fabric bins that can neaten any space and throwing a simple label on them helps to remind the whole family where things go. You can use small plastic sauce containers from the dollar or grocery store to keep tiny pieces organized. Ice cube trays can organize jewelry. Plastic cups can house crayons, markers, and pencils in a homework or art station. Paper trays and magazine holders have endless solutions to organizing problems. Throwing some hooks on a wall can work magic. And for paper and life organizing, never underestimate what folders, labels, expanding file folders, and binders can do for your life. Rolling carts, turntables, and pegboards, while a bit more money, are other fun ways to quell the chaos. Rolling carts can be moved to where you’d like to use their contents, but also placed back in a closet to get them out of sight.

So if you don’t have the extra cash for pretty baskets and exciting furniture solutions, don’t let it discourage you from achieving your dreams of an organized and happy home. You can always update things further down the road, but in the meantime, just being organized will save you stress, time, energy, and free up your mind to allow it to function at its best. Imagine how much more capable you’ll be when you’re not bogged down with clutter and scrambling to remember what’s what and what’s where. A healthy and efficient mind is one that’s not overwhelmed and overburdened. So open your mind to creative possibilities, give those empty pickle jars another look, and know you have the power to improve your life without spending too much. After all, my favorite part of organization is the empowering feeling that we do indeed have control over our lives.

Now go pick a drawer and get cracking!