Real Simple Solutions for
an Organized & Efficient Home

Martha Stewart

I love the idea of an attractive, organized and efficient home. I’ll admit I am not the most organized person, but I do get inspired by the thought and creative potential of being organized! Here are some ideas we actually use at my house, and some that I am definitely going to try!

This is such a pretty way to organize small things a drawer. So much classier than those expensive plastic dividers. I have quite a few lovely little teacups and saucers that I am just not using in my decor right now. Brilliant to use them in a drawer for jewelry instead of leaving them sitting in a dark cabinet!

Martha Stewart

Color coding white towels? Yes! We use white towels at our house. We tried using different colors of towels for each family member, but I hated the bleached out hand prints on towels from teenagers using facial cleansers.

With white towels, we can keep them looking good with some bleach. To color code the towels, I love the idea of sewing on a simple colored tab or ribbon to distinguish whose towel it is. Plus, hanging the towels by s simple tab makes it more likely they will stay on the hook and allows them to dry quickly.

Speaking of towels, putting several rods or hooks on the back of a door gives you more hanging space and keeps the walls from looking cluttered with used towels.

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Martha Stewart

This idea caught my eye. Our kitchen towels are always slipping off the rod onto on the floor or falling off the counter into the sink. Then they are yucky and I have to rewash them. Velcro is pure genius.

Real Simple

This just makes my heart go pitter patter.
Organized photos on discs, filed in date order. Need I say more? Got to get on this one.  We still have a ton of prints that are not digital so I have my work cut out for me. Here are some tips from Real Simple on photo discs and organization.

Martha Stewart

My mom has a hanging rack like this with hooks on it for utensils. Anytime you can get something attractive out of a drawer and up on a wall to save space and make it more accessible, I’m all for it.

I use a white pitcher on my counter for my wooden spoons and any utensils that are pretty. It definitely cuts down on drawer clutter.

Real Simple

Oh, how I love notebooks.

I have what I call a home management notebook (because I like to sound all fancy), but I keep it pretty simple and don’t store more than is necessary in it. I know keeping calendars and doing everything possible on line (using google calendars, for instance) can save time and money, but to be honest, I do everything I can to GET OFFLINE whenever possible (for my sanity!).

I like the look and feel of notebooks and paper instead of always using a computer.  I like to write with real colored ink instead of typing everything. I have purple and green pens that make me very happy!

My home management notebook contains my calendars, various important notes and organizational things I need to keep track of

What are your biggest organizing struggles at home? I think mine is definitely paper.

Need more ideas?
Stylish ideas for home organization

Weekend project: great organizing ideas

Clever Home Office Solutions