Contain the Madness
One of the best ways to reduce stress is to reduce clutter and one of the best ways to reduce clutter is to toss it, but if some clutter-inducing things cannot be tossed, therefore you much “contain the madness.” This means take the “untossable stuff” and make it presentable…this comes through acquiring a variety of containers in which to present them!
WARNING – CONTAINERS ARE ADDICTIVE AND EXPENSIVE…NEITHER OF WHICH I ENDORSE NOR ENCOURAGE!
So as your budget allows, over time, I would encourage you to acquire some of the following container options…some are practical and some or aesthetically pleasing…both are stress reducing! Enjoy the list and remember…budget as you go!
Container Options
Most all of these are found at a variety of places like Wal-Mart, Target and The Container Store.
1. Dog food container with the scoop – this is so awesome – you just dump your food in and throw away the bit cumbersome bag! Talk about tidying up your utility room!
2. Plastic Grocery bag holder – you always need those little bags, but sometimes they can take over your pantry…they sell a cute little baggie holder that sticks onto the wall or a door in your utility, and it only takes up a tiny space.
3. Crystal rose bowl for tissues - consider putting tissues in something prettier than the box they come in that you paid extra for because you thought it was cute…just buy the ugly (cheaper) box and empty the entire box of tissues into a small crystal bowl or something more decorative…
4. Clear plastic hangers – no more wire hangers – your clothes hang soooo much more neatly and your closet will look amazing…promise!!!!!!!
5. Laundry bins – awesome if you do not have them built into your laundry room.
6. Wall hooks – use for purses, baby bags, backpacks, keys, and caps.
7. Cereal container – Love this one…it keeps the cereal from going stale as fast and is easier to pour and much less messy than the bag!!!
8. Water dispenser – (if you don’t have the fridge water dispenser) This is great for the fridge – the sell it at Container store for like 5 dollars..it is long and narrow and has a tap on it…it take up almost no space in the fridge and you can just push the tap and fill you glass full of fridgerator cold water!
9. I have many more…but I feel the list might be overwhelming…I would love your other ideas about containerizing!!! Enjoy!!!
Some great ideas added by our readers:
Kara submitted this idea:
Thought I might share an organizational tip I started doing over the holidays: I got a notebook, a big box of plastic sheet protectors, and gathered all the manuals for appliances/toys/etc. and put a manual in each sheet protector inside the notebook.
This alleviates drawers crammed full of various manuals, which would usually take me forever to sort through and find the right one! I have one notebook for toys and one for household items. When a friend borrows a toy, I love being able to go to my notebook, copy any pertinant info, and hand her the copied instructions with the toy (obviously only the ones that are a little complicated!). When we purchase a new item, I take the manual and immediately put it in the notebook so I always know where to find it! I even put a few extra sheet protectors in each notebook so I don't have to go and get one!
Camey submitted these ideas:
Ok, girls, I'm a container junkie, too. I do several of your ideas, and thought I'd add a few of my own.
1. Pantry baskets. I bought several of the same basket and each one holds smaller items that come in big boxes... I like to eliminate as many packages as possible. So in one I've got the instant oatmeal packets, one holds my hot tea assortment, one has all my different chocolate chips for baking, one has small chip bags for lunches...you get the idea. It makes my pantry look a little more organized, and since they all match it looks less cluttered.
2. Davis is on daily meds for asthma and allergies, so I put all of it in one basket for easy retrieval from the cabinet since it's a twice daily event.
3. You know those big popcorn tins people give at Christmas? I have one (sans the lid) in my pantry on a shelf to hold all the big bags of opened chips. It keeps them all contained, which means they stay closed...and my boys know exactly where to find them.
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