How to Organize your Home on a Budget

After browsing home improvement magazines or websites like Pinterest, you may find yourself wishing you had an extra month’s income to make your home picture-perfect. You don’t have to abandon your organized dream home completely, though. Even with a small budget, you can create a place you love living.

For starters, you can focus on organizing each room, drawer, and closet and downsizing your possessions to things you actually use. If you have a hard time getting rid of certain things, like baby clothes or sentimental objects, consider getting a self storage unit to free up space in your home.

Organize with Jars

• Use several jars to create a bathroom organizer for separating and storing bathroom essentials like cotton balls, cotton swabs, and makeup brushes.
• Use jars as storage containers for office supplies like tape, pencils and paper clips. This strategy works especially well if you don’t have much drawer space since labeled jars look good sitting on a shelf or desk.
• Instead of getting an expensive spice rack, you can use labeled 4 oz and 8 oz jars to store your spices in a drawer. It’ll look beautiful and help you find spices faster. The same concept works for pantry supplies, too.
• If you or your kids enjoy crafts projects, you can store craft supplies like glitter, buttons, and rubber bands in small jars. This system will keep things organized while also preventing spills.
• A small mason jar can be a cute storage container for matches. You put the matches inside, then cut out the striking surface of the matchbox and attach it to the lid.

Organize with Clothespins

• Organize seed packets for each month of gardening by labeling pieces of ribbon with each month. Then, use clothespins to pin the packets under the month you’ll be planting them.
• Use clothespins to organize scarves, belts, necklaces, and any other small accessories.
• Find lost socks by pinning single socks to a board with clothespins. Next time you find a single sock, you can compare it to the other socks you’ve pinned up.
• Create a chore chart by writing the names of regular chores on a set of clothespins. Then, put the clothespins on a board labeled “To Do” and “Done.” When a chore has been finished or needs to be done, simply move its clothespin from one side of the board to the other.
• If you love knitting, you can organize your stray threads of yarn by wrapping them around clothespins. Then, pin the end so the yarn doesn’t come unravelled again.

Organize with Cardboard Boxes

• Turn cardboard boxes into drawer dividers to organize clothes or office supplies. You can either cut cereal boxes down to fit the drawer, or use shoe boxes that fit the drawer already. If you have extra time, decorate the inside of the box with pretty wrapping paper, so the dividers are attractive, too.
• Create beautiful storage boxes by wrapping regular cardboard boxes with fabric, like burlap bags.
• If you or your kids are in school, you can organize assignments by making a homework caddy out of several food boxes and colorful duct tape.
• Build an imaginative cardboard masterpiece for storing toys. For example, you can keep random toys in a cardboard treasure chest or put stuffed animals in a cardboard sailing boat.
• If you need a sturdy box for your masterpiece, drop by a Metro Self Storage location to get a perfectly-sized moving box. It’s more fun and creative than a store-bought toy box, and cheaper!

Once you’ve simplified your home to the necessities, it’s easier to get organized. Getting and staying organized doesn’t require much; all you need is a system to help keep everything in place. You might also consider a self storage unit for out-of-season clothes, holiday decorations, or party supplies—anything you rarely need.

You don’t need to buy expensive supplies to create this system. Everyday items work just as well. With a little creativity, these items can really cut down on household clutter and make your home look amazing.