Think Inside the Box

There is quite a market out there for home storage and organizing products. Between the decorative boxes, plastic tubs, shelving units, hanging devices and pop-up storage bins, one can get lost in an expensive and overwhelming sea of organizational purchases.

When I step back and look at a closet that needs to be straightened out, I can come up with $50 to $100 worth of purchases that would be helpful in utilizing my closet space to its fullest, but finding that kind of money in the budget to organize just one closet can be discouraging.

Rather than purchasing items to help me get organized, I look for all the free options. The main things I skip are crates, decorative boxes and Rubbermaid tubs. There is no need to make everything pretty. It is hidden behind a closet door, after all.

Instead, I reach for good old-fashioned cardboard boxes. I grab some for free at a local grocery store (you can either call ahead or arrive right when the store opens to increase your chances of finding produce and meat boxes). I also ask people holding yard sales or employees of thrift stores for extra boxes they have lying around. My husband snags printer paper boxes from his office (with permission, of course). I also save boxes from large purchases, Christmas presents or whenever I have purchased disposable diapers.

If you want dividers to further organize the contents of your boxes, cut up smaller cardboard boxes and wedge the pieces between items to create secure and protective dividers. Wrap fragile items in paper towels or paper bags for extra protection. Use grocery store plastic bags to keep smaller like items together.

Once your box is full, tape up the top and, using a permanent marker, write the contents of the box on all six sides so you always know what it contains no matter where the box gets tossed. Then stack them neatly in your closet to easily be pulled out in the future.

The next closet or space you want to organize, consider all the free items or things you all ready have laying around the house. By the time you are finished organizing your whole home you will have save hundreds of dollars. Who says you need to spend money to be clean and organized?

For more great homemaking posts, check out: Frugally Sustainable, Raising Homemakers, Life As Mom, Organizing Junkie and Women Living Well.