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14 Ways to Organize Your Life for Free (and Cheap)

March 30, 2017 by Laura Kiernan 3 Comments

What happens when you desperately need to organize your home, but can’t afford – or don’t have time to buy – all the fancy storage systems you see on Pinterest? Don’t let cost and time prevent you from getting your house in order. Learn how to organize your life with free and cheap storage ideas I use in my own home.

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My heart races and my voice’s volume reaches an unhealthy decibel – all because I can’t find my keys while I race out the door.

The inability to find what I need causes me mental and physical anguish and drives my family nuts.

When I first recognized the damage caused by my lack of organization, I looked to Pinterest for help – but instead, I found hundreds of photos of gorgeous kitchen pantries with perfectly labeled matching bins. Rather than organize my own home, I wasted hours online ogling other moms’ fantastically tidy spaces and became more and more discouraged.

At one point I had a troubling thought.

I thought I needed specialized, matching storage containers for everything in order to have an organized and tidy home.

stack of storage bins

Nobody needs this many plastic bins.

What’s so wrong with pretty, matching containers?

A few years ago my container obsession led me to acquire a whole lot of plastic bins and specialty organizers.

I thought I was so smart, but there were a few problems:

  1. The cost of bins and organizers added up.
  2. I bought organizers before purging and sorting, so when I finally took this critical step there were a lot of leftover expensive plastic organizers.
  3. I missed the opportunity to help the environment by reusing and recycling items already in our home.
Don't wait for the perfect container. Get organized right now with what you already have! Click to Tweet

So while there’s nothing wrong with (expensive) matching containers, they aren’t my first choice anymore. Why? I figured out it’s possible to organize your life with stuff you already have and a few versatile, cheap items.

Let me show you how I do it!

How to Organize Your Life With 14 Free & Cheap Storage Ideas

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1. Organize Craft Paint With an Old Shower Caddy

After we remodeled our bathrooms we didn’t need these plastic shower caddies, so I removed the suction cups from the back and hooked them onto the pegboard in my craft room. Now they’re perfect for my collection of craft paints.

14 Ways to Organize Your Life for Free (and Cheap)

Related: How to Set Up An Inspiring Craft Area in Any Room in Your Home

2. Organize Medicine With an Old Shower Caddy

Apparently, I have a thing for shower caddies because not only are they in my craft room, but there are also two in our medicine closet. Both of them are from my college days! I added a simple tag dressed up with washi tape, and now the kids’ thermometers and medicines are all in one easy-to-grab free bin.

14 Ways to Organize Your Life for Free (and Cheap)

Yup, I put washi tape right on the shelf. Find out how and why in this post.

3. Organize Drawers With a Play Food Crate

If your little kids enjoy Melissa & Doug play food as much as I do, then you probably have a lot of these little wooden crates. They cluttered up our playroom before I repurposed them in our craft room desk to hold tape, hooks, glue, and other odds and ends. Bonus: they’re paintable!

14 Ways to Organize Your Life for Free (and Cheap)

4. Use a Multi-Tier Skirt Hanger to Dry Hats and Mittens

It's easy to dry hats and mittens with an inexpensive hanger! Get more coat closet organization tips at The No Pressure Life.

After purging my wardrobe I had several leftover hangers. An extra multi-tier skirt hanger is perfect for our coat closet door to dry wet mittens, gloves, and hats after we play in the snow.

Related: How to Organize Your Coat Closet Once and For All

5. Turn Leftover Tile Into a Jewelry Tray

Don’t toss unused tile samples! There are lots of crafts you can make with tile, including a simple jewelry tray like mine.

Create a catchall tray (or a coaster or trivet) using leftover tile! See more at www.thenopressurelife.com.

Related: How to Make a DIY Jewelry Tray in Less Than 5 Minutes

6. Organize Desk Drawers With a Snack Box

Classic multi-pack snack boxes are the perfect height for shallow drawers, and an easy way to organize craft supplies, office supplies, and loads more.

14 Ways to Organize Your Life for Free (and Cheap)

7. Organize Small Kitchen Items With a Cereal Box

It’s not pretty, but this cut-up oatmeal box is a kitchen helper and works well in narrow drawers.

Easy cereal box drawer organizer. Learn how to organize your whole life for free and cheap! | The No Pressure Life

8. Store Small Bottles in a Berry Box

Little extract bottles are easily lost in the back of your cabinet, but not if they’re contained in a left-over plastic berry box!

See more of our renovated kitchen here.

9. Use a Utensil Organizer to Tidy Up China Cabinet Drawers

An old utensil organizer is a great solution in our china cabinet drawer, where it holds napkin rings, corn holders, candles, and skewers. Check your local dollar store or Good Will store for a cheap one if you don’t already have one.

14 Ways to Organize Your Life for Free (and Cheap)

I’m obsessed with our dining room rug!

10. Keep Coloring Paper in a Shoe Box

If you have a shoe obsession like I do, you can justify your purchases by reusing the boxes for all kinds of things. Recently I tamed the paper clutter in our kitchen’s arts & crafts cupboard with a basic box jazzed up with a little washi tape to hide the brand name and a pretty label. The bootie box is the perfect size for my kids’ coloring paper.

Organize Paper with Shoebox

Related: 8 DIY Art Caddy Ideas That Will Organize Your Creative Mess

11. Buy a Cheap Plastic Bag Holder to Encourage Grocery Bag Reuse

Although we shop with reusable bags most of the time, some days we forget. Many stores double-bag, which creates an excess of plastic grocery bags.

This cheap plastic bag holder is awesome for containing and dispensing all those extra bags when we need them. I have two: one in my cleaning closet on the first floor, and another upstairs in our medicine closet.

14 Ways to Organize Your Life for Free (and Cheap)

12. Organize Your Laundry Room with Cheap Hooks

Command hooks are cheap and incredibly versatile. I use hooks in my laundry room to hold extra hangers and a plastic bag to collect lint.

 

Quick laundry room organization tip: Hang a plastic grocery bag on a Command hook to throw away lint! Get more tips at The No Pressure Life.

Related: Two One-Minute Tips That Will Organize Your Laundry Closet

13. Use Plastic Shoe Pocket Organizers to Control Closet Chaos

These over-the-door plastic shoe pocket organizers are lifesavers in our coat closet. They not only hold our family’s gloves, hats, and mittens, but also flashlights, sunscreen, bug spray, and other little things we need on our way out the door. I also have one in our cleaning closet, where it holds loads of household cleaners, sponges, and cloths.

Organize hats and mittens with an over the door shoe organizer.

Check out all the cheap tricks I used to organize our coat closet.

14. Hang Dollar Spot Magazine Holders to Control Kids’ Papers

In our mudroom, simple wire magazine holders from the Target Dollar Spot are mounted on the wall with Command hooks. My kids’ school papers and artwork land here before they’re displayed, toss, or filed.

Organize kids paper with simple wall-mount cubbies made from magazine holders. Get more tips to stop paper clutter before it starts at The No Pressure Life.

Related: 3 Simple Tricks to Stop Paper Clutter and Curb the Chaos

Don’t Wait for the Perfect Container

An organized home doesn’t require expensive matching containers. If you wait to find the perfect matching set of containers,  you’re just living longer in your disorganized space, and then unnecessarily spending money.

Before you hit the stores, look around your home for:

  • Boxes, jars, cans and other kinds of packaging
  • Unused containers you can repurpose (like I did with the shower caddies)
  • Extra home improvement supplies like hooks and tiles

Then, fill in any gaps with versatile, cheap storage containers and organizer.

Now you know how to organize your life, spare your bank account, and help the environment.

Go ahead, give yourself a pat on the back. You’ve earned it! 🙂

My Favorite Inexpensive Organizers

Just click on an image to go straight to the product!

Get More Organization Ideas

  • 7 Time Savers for Busy Moms That You'll Want to Use Now
  • Easy Laundry Room Organization Hacks You'll Wish You Thought of Sooner
  • How to Create a Simple Command Center That Will Save Your Sanity
  • How to Declutter Toys in a Day Without Yelling at Your Kids
  • How to Organize Your Coat Closet Once and For All!
  • How to Stop Paper Clutter with 3 Simple Tricks That Keep Counters Clear
  • Smart Wrapping Paper Storage Ideas That Keep Rolls and Bags Tidy

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Filed Under: Organize

About Laura Kiernan

I'm Laura, a mom of two little humans and one furry rescue pup. As a full-time working mom, I understand how tough it is to keep your home looking nice and functioning well while juggling everything life throws at you. Check out my organization tips, decor ideas, and quick crafts that will help even the busiest mom feel more in control of her home.

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Comments

  1. amyathealthhomeandheart says

    April 1, 2017 at 9:34 PM

    Some great ideas here! I totally agree – while it would be great to have a house full of cute, matching bins for all my organization needs, I just can’t really justify the cost. I love #3. I actually have a Melissa and Doug crate sitting upstairs right now that I’m trying to decide what to do with. 🙂 I also love #14. I have been wanting to find a way to organize some paperwork and make a “command center” of sorts. This is a super cute idea. Thanks for sharing!

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I'm a working mom of two who loves making something from nothing, rearranging furniture, and finding a place for everything. Come learn more about me and my journey to a less-stress life!

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