Organization Tip: “Intended Purpose” is Just a Suggestion

I don’t recommend using your iron to make grilled cheese sandwiches, but do keep an open mind about uses for things.  Sometimes using an item for the “wrong” purpose is the perfect solution to an organizing problem.

The intended purpose of ice trays is to make ice, but they also make excellent organizers for jewelry.  They work especially well side-by-side in a shallow drawer, or you can stack them.

Here's another jewelry storage idea.  A mesh letter tray hung on the wall will hold a LOT of earrings.  This one came from Dollar Tree and cost - you guessed it! - just $1.

There are all kinds of shoe organizers on the market.  Too bad they're less than useful for sizable goth footwear such as Demonia platform heels or New Rock boots.  I use two sizes of wire stacking shelves for my shoes.  ClosetMaid vertical organizers are perfect for boots.

Perversely, I’ve used an IKEA shoe rack to hold towels because it was shallow enough to fit the small bathroom space.

How about an Estee Lauder faux crocodile makeup bag...very posh. ;) I bought it new at a thrift store for $3.

It makes a luxurious home for my spools of ribbon.

What kinds of creative storage are you using?

A Purple Home for Tools

Pegboards are super useful. With a myriad of hooks available, you can customize your board to your precise needs. They're also easy to hang. On drywall:

1. Find the wall studs.
2. Using wood screws and making sure to drive the screws into the studs, hang two horizontal strips of wood on the wall. Space them so one will be near the top of your pegboard and the other near the bottom. I used 1" x 2" strips about 3' apart for my 4' board. If you have a large pegboard or you plan to hang heavy things on it, you may want to add more horizontal and/or vertical strips of wood.
3. Using wood screws with heads larger than the pegboard holes, attach the pegboard to the wood strips.

DIY Network offers a good step-by-step tutorial. 

red lines show the approximate location of the 1" x 2" mounting strips

Useful, easy to hang... but not much to look at. Pegboards are often associated with garages and workshops, where aesthetics aren't top priority. But there's no reason you can't use pegboards in living spaces. Paint the board the same color as the wall and it becomes almost invisible. Or make it more of a feature by painting in a coordinating color.

Spray paint works well for pegboards. A roller with latex paint will also work if you load the roller lightly and use very little pressure so that paint doesn't drip through the holes. I used a spray primer and then gently rolled on purple latex paint for a nice, even finish.

My tools and supplies now have a purple home near the ponies' new lilac abode. :)

Anyone else using pegboard in your home?

Organization Tip: Bucket Budgets

Trying to organize finances can be frustrating and stressful.  Budgets are about as much fun as dental work, but how can we track our spending without them?

My solution is a percentage budget, or what I call my Bucket Budget.  It has been such a huge stress relief for me that I thought I'd share it.    

The details of percentage budgets vary, but the general idea is the same.  Your income (based on gross or net) is divided into three or four categories or "buckets" of money:

• taxes (if basing on gross income)
• savings
• living expenses
• fun money

As long as money is going in and out of the appropriate buckets, you don't need to track every dollar.  And if you set it up so your buckets don't mix, it's like putting your finances on autopilot.

To get started, determine how much money you need for your living expenses, which include all of the basic costs of living -- mortgage or rent payment, transportation, utilities, food, etc. -- that you have to pay every month.  Base this amount on recent spending history.  BE REALISTIC.  Add a little for contingencies if you want.

Whew!  That concludes the complex calculations portion of this process.  You can use round percentages for the other categories.  Let's say your net income (take-home pay) is $3000 per month.  You've determined your living expenses are $2100, or 70% of your monthly pay.  That leaves 30%.  Most financial experts I've read suggest putting 20% into savings, so we'll go with that.  That leaves you with 10% ($300) for you to spend on whatever you want.  In summary, your breakdown is

• savings 20%
• living expenses 70%
• fun money 10%

Now to put those finances on autopilot.  Set up two or three bank accounts:

• savings
• checking for living expenses
• checking for fun money (you can skip this if you prefer to use cash for your fun money)

When you receive your paycheck, divide the money into the appropriate buckets.  You can use direct deposit from your employer or set up recurring transfers to make this completely automatic.

• deposit 20% ($600) into your savings account
• deposit 70% ($2100) into your living expenses account
• deposit 10% ($300) into your fun money account (or take it as cash if you prefer)

Because your setup is automatically covering savings and living expenses, you can spend your bucket of fun money -- every cent if you want to -- without worrying about how it's going to impact your financial situation. :D

Your budgeted percentages may vary depending on your personal financial situation and goals.  If you live outside the U.S., you might need to change the categories.  But I think the general principle can be useful in most cases.

Organization Tip: Convenience is Key

Here is my dirty clean little not-so-secret:  I am a neat freak.  Well, more like a neat superfreak.  Organization makes my little black heart smile.  But it’s more than liking tidy spaces; I actually enjoy the process of cleaning and organizing.  It’s very satisfying to have a place for everything and everything in its place.  I love alphabetizing, categorizing and color coding.  Show me a room overflowing with stuff, tell me I get to declutter and organize it, and my eyes light up.

Yes, I’m completely crazy.  But I like to think of it as a feature, not a bug. ;)

Enough of my gushing about organization!  Let's move on to the tip...

Organization tip:  Convenience is key 
Getting organized takes effort.  However, once you are organized, staying that way can be rather simple.  One key to lasting organization is convenience.  If you have to walk three rooms down the hall to put your dirty socks in the laundry room, you might just drop them on the floor instead.  Put a laundry hamper right where you take off your socks, and dropping them in the hamper won’t take any more time than dropping them on the floor.  If your shoes come off at the front door but never quite make it to your closet, consider putting shoe storage at the door.  Make it convenient to put things in their proper place, and you’ll be less likely to end up with a big, scary mess.

Bane’s personal example:  Hooks and hamper in the closet
I have hooks in my closet for items that I wear repeatedly, such as the bat pajama pants and sweater that I wear during the evening post-shower, pre-bed time slot.  Folding these items and putting them away in a drawer every single night would be time-consuming.  Hanging them on a convenient hook takes mere seconds; I have no excuse to leave them lying around.

bat jammies!

Similarly, I have a hamper in my closet for dirty clothes.  Having the hamper right there where I’m undressing means I have no excuse for leaving dirty clothes on the floor.

conveniently located hamper

Of course, not everyone has room in the closet for a hamper.  You might want to choose one that is decorative enough to leave in plain view.

this wood hamper is quite elegant