Do you have any organizing tips that you can't live without?

Do you have a question that someone else might be able to answer?

I just thought this would be a good place to share some tips with each other. I've been following flylady.net for cleaning, but I just started so I'm far from the end. It helps with getting rid of things, but not necessarily with how to organize. I can do it on my own, but I thought it would be nice to find some new tips!

One thing that helped me is organizing my old letters / cards. I am a packrat and keep all of them. So, I bought some expanding folders with flaps like this http://www.officedepot.com/ddMain.do?level=FM&id=5872&location_info=SG_1_DV_7_SC_706011_FM_5872
and labeled one for letters / cards from my grandma, one for my sister, friends, etc, one for wedding announcements, one for baby announcements, one for mementoes of places we visited, etc. Having to sit down (and I had shoeboxes full of this stuff) and categorize it made me also throw out some stuff. I had Christmas cards from college signed from people that I don't even remember! I only kept the things that meant a lot to me. Granted I still have a lot but it's organized =)

Now, if I can just sit down and scan the file box full of photos that I have...

A couple years ago I bought an expanding file with sections labeled by month. I file our bills there after I pay them. At the beginning of each new month, I shred last year's bills for that particular month. That system has helped a lot, but I'm still struggling to keep paperwork organized. I recently saw an episode of Mission Organization in which a professional organizer suggested three trays/bins for mail and paperwork: Stuff to file, Stuff to respond to, Stuff to keep temporarily. We SO need to try that.

We have a drawer in our kitchen that has file folders in it. I keep everything in there from the manuals to our Kitchen Aide mixer to the recipts from my Pampered Chef purchases. Things like directions and menus to restuarants in the area. Even funny things I've printed off the internet that I want to keep. I love this! Anytime that I want to find something, I go there first.

In our pantry, I have a bunch of bins (plastic kinds without the lids) that I separate things into like baking and sweets, mixes and packets, coffees and teas, and crackers and cookies. Now, I don't always put things away nicely in these, but it allows me to keep all the "like" things together, even if the bins aren't really neat. It helps the pantry to look neater at least.

Can't think of anything else at the moment. I'll post if I do.

Baskets, bins, baskets & bins!!


We don't have a front entry closet, so the shoes we wear often are in 2 laundry wicker baskets for each of us under a shelf for mail/wallet/etc..with a small basket for odds & ends (coupons, cell phones, etc).
I have a tiny kitchen with little drawer space. I have a tiny basket on top of my microwave for pens, coupons & misc. On top of the fridge I have 2 deep baskets for Towels and the other has bags of chips.
I have a flower pot on our coffee table that holds all of our remotes and pens.
I have a silver metal photo box to hold makeup items on the bathroom counter and another metal & wicker basket to hold facial cleanser, eye glass cleaner, lotions, etc in the bathroom. I also bought a cute jewelry case with 9 tiny drawers for chapsticks, lipsticks, eye shadows, etc that sits on the back of the toilet.
In my nightstand I have a basket that holds pens, chapsticks, nail polish, etc in the drawer, so it's not floating around.

I recommend reading "The Complete Idiots Guide to Organizing Your Life." LOVE this book. I am still failing with it, but that has more to do with my lack of willpower and motivation than anything in the book.

If you have cable or direct TV I would highly recommend watching Clean Sweep on TLC, it is on at 5pm central time every day and then on weekends too in the evening I think. Lots of great organization tips and lots of suggestions on what to keep and what is just cluttering up your house. I really like it.