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Great Home Organizing Ideas {Inspiration for Creating Designated Landing Spots}

by | Apr 3, 2012 | Domesticity, Organization

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Great Home Organizing Ideas {Inspiration for Creating Designated Landing Spots}Paper Organization Ideas via BH&G

I need to get better organized. We have a lot going on in our lives and around our house. Like many of you, we are trying to master the art of juggling many things well. We run businesses and charitable organizations online and in our community, work with several groups and host events each week, we have three children, two dogs and lots of stuff to keep track of. Slowly but surely over the past number of months we have been figuring out systems and organizational plans for how to manage it all. We have made quite a bit of progress, but there is more I want to do to get my house and life organized.

I was on the hunt through Better Homes & Gardens website yesterday looking for some great ideas specifically for organizing my home office. Having a redecorated and organized home office is a really important part of my plans for how to juggle life. I’m so excited to be making my office not only a place I enjoy being in, but I really want to focus on fixing some of my organizational trouble spots so it never gets out of hand again. Wouldn’t it be nice to have a fully organized home and office? Well, maybe you already have that. I’m still trying to get this house into shape using many of the systems that have worked for me in the past.

Great Home Organizing Ideas {Inspiration for Creating Designated Landing Spots}

I’m so excited to create designated landing spots for several items in my home office! Landing spots are places for things like papers, invitations, reminder cards, post it note reminders, purses, cameras, chargers, keys, bills or other items to go that otherwise would just clutter up your counters or desk.

A place for everything and everything in its place! That is the plan.

I REALLY REALLY loved this idea, above, of a wire with labeled clips for each day of the week or whatever category you want. Genius! We get so many papers, invites, appointment cards and post it notes all over the house. This system would rally them all and give them a place to land. I actually bought a wire hanging system like that from IKEA for our church nursery to show off the kids pictures and artwork, so now I just need one for home too!

Great Home Organizing Ideas {Inspiration for Creating Designated Landing Spots}Creative organization tips BH&G

I also really love the idea of creating specific landing spots for things like keys and purses or whatever else you tend to bring in from the car with you. Right now when I come in the door, my purse is set up on our highest kitchen counter because if I put it anywhere else, like a chair or the floor, YOU KNOW WHO {J-A-C-K }will grab it, run, and have a joyous time chewing gum, eating paychecks and breaking all of my pens. Same with bills or pretty much anything I bring home and set within his reach. Nothing is safe.

My thought moving forward is to put my purse (and all that other stuff) in my office when I come home because Jack will not be allowed in that room now that it is getting all fancied up. But because I don’t want my office to get cluttered, I’m thinking a couple of designated hooks in my office will be the perfect safe and sound landing spot for tote bags or purses. Plus, it will keep my kitchen counter cleared off! Double bonus. Plus, I just love hooks. You can never have too many.

Great Home Organizing Ideas {Inspiration for Creating Designated Landing Spots}Cookie sheet memo board BH&G

And then this little idea I have seen before but it just reminded me of how genius and easy it is. I love the organizational possibilities of memo boards, so I’m going to go find a couple of shiny new cookie sheets in my office. I’d use the ones I have but they aren’t pretty enough (but on the plus side of using what I have, they might smell like cookies). I can see having several of these and assigning each one a specific purpose (like menu planning or school calendars) or creating one for each member of the family.

Great Home Organizing Ideas {Inspiration for Creating Designated Landing Spots}Electronic charging station in a bread box BH&G

And then this brilliant idea for a charging station created from a breadbox is so very awesome! I have a real issue with all the electronics we use every day so I’m pretty excited to figure out a good system for how to keep my brain computer, phones and camera fully charged and ready, without the unsightly tangle of cords across my desk.

If you need more creative organizing ideas, there were tons of great ones I really liked in this BH&G home office organization album! Go check it out!

So where do you set all your stuff? Do you have good designated landing spots for papers, purses, and electronics?

21 Comments

  1. Jojo

    And memory experts will tell you that having organized designated spaces are vital to keeping elderly organized and mentally crisp. The older I get, the more this matters!

    Reply
  2. Bethany

    The best thing I did when we moved into our current house was hang a hook for my purse. At our old house my purse sat on the dining room table or hung from the back of a chair. My then eighteen-month-old started getting into it and I knew I needed a better solution at our new house. While packing to move I found a decorative hook my mom had given me. There was a perfect sliver of wall in my new kitchen for the hook. Now my purse is safely out of reach of my kids (and dog) and I always know where it is. It’s a great simple solution. Can’t wait to see what you come up with.

    Reply
    • Kim

      What a great idea!! My purse stays in my dining room chair. Mom mom in law puts hers on the kitchen counter when she visits which drives me nutz!

      Reply
  3. Inspire Me Heather

    I liked the clothspins, what a great idea! Thanks, it’s always good to see some more organizing tips!

    Reply
  4. Heather

    Love the charging station – we have a leather one that sits idle in the office – need something handier for all those electronics.

    Reply
  5. Vicky

    Using your organizational ideas for my home office. Where did you find your small secretary-desk? I like its size. Perfect fit for my small space!

    Reply
  6. mary timmers

    I love seeing all the organization ideas. I love being organized, but I have a hard time staying that way. I tend to put things in piles to do later (just ask my husband). Thanks for the encouragement!

    Reply
  7. Karen

    Melissa,
    What fresh ideas. If only I could keep the constant in flow of papers to a minimum. Your new chair and some of these details and I’m sure you study will be magazine worthy when you share it with us. :-)
    Karen

    Reply
  8. Mimi

    Love your pretty organizing tips Melissa. I realize that organizing attractively really motivates me. Love that tray turned magnetic board with the pretty magnets.

    Reply
  9. Fairfield House

    Melissa,

    These ideas are all worthy of implementing. I cannot function without order. We have a designated table that has a bowl for keys, a lower shelf for purses and a basket for mail. I think the most important piece is the garbage can located in the vestibule to toss junk mail, etc BEFORE bringing it into the house!

    Your Friend,
    Deborah

    Reply
  10. Jen

    Love these ideas.

    We’re in the middle of house hunting and one of the most exciting things (for me, at least) about getting a new, bigger home is the idea of having a place for everything…especially my stupid purse!

    Reply
  11. KATHYSUE

    I have a problem with things on my kitchen counters so I pretty much put things away in their designated spots. Paper, recycle bin, bills in bill drawer. School papers use to go in a folder in a drawer. Purse in closet. I find if I keep up on the clutter it does not over whelm me. I am kind of a neat-nik! Kathysue

    Reply
  12. Mina

    Very creative ideas! Loved all of them, but the charging station from a bread box is just amazing and so also the cloth pegs usage is too good.

    Reply
  13. Andrea

    I can’t wait until you have before and after pictures to share. THAT will motivate me. Thanks for your awesome ideas!

    Reply
  14. Lynn

    Junk mail used to be a big problem, it just ended up everywhere. Then I put a basket by the wood stove (we heat our farmhouse that way in the winter). I toss the junk mail there the minute it comes in the house. That way we always have kindling on hand and I get a little satisfaction when those credit card offers go up in smoke. This would work if you have a wood burning fireplace too. Now I just need a summertime solution?

    Reply
  15. {darlene}

    I love the thought of targeting your “landing spots.” I will be thinking on that…
    {btw, Happy Easter sweet friend!}

    Reply
  16. Tara G.

    Melissa, this issue is so frustrating to me as every move gives us a new house and new clutter spots! And when I know the location is temporary, sometimes I just don’t want to spend the money to do what it’ll take to really solve the problem. At any rate, I did buy a little desktop file folder organizer and cute folders and set it all up in the kitchen on our very long counter so that we can file various receipts and other save-worthy papers. We also have a piece of furniture the embassy provided (most of our furniture is from the warehouse here at the embassy) that we keep in our foyer and put the many pieces of change, extra keys, etc. in. My children have an area that is theirs for their treasures, too.

    Reply
  17. Maria

    Thanks so much for the inspiration, Melissa! I did some organizing today and popped over to The Container Store where I found a ton of awesome organizational solutions — and it wasn’t terribly expensive! If you have one of those stores near you, I’d say that at the very least you could get some inspiration by just poking around! :-) Good luck!

    Reply
  18. NanaDoll

    i am considering doing a velcro wall where i can hang my grandkids and all their junk…i will always know right where i put them–lol

    Reply
    • Melissa

      LOL! Now THAT is an awesome idea. Hmmm. Got me thinking. HA!

      Reply
  19. Amanda

    These are such cute organization ideas! and I love that they are so focused on not just being organized and particle but also clean and attractive to the eyes. Does anyone know of any links or good idea for jewelry organization?

    Reply

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