Frugal Ways to organise my home?

lhead123

Hi All

I find that my flat (2 bed with 2 adults and 2 kids) is always messy. It's not just kids toys, its craft materials (mine and kids) piles of washing that needs doing, paperwork, stuff I'm trying to sell (any annoyingly isn't selling) etc.

I want to have a tidy home which is impossible with the amount of stuff we have!

How do you organise your home? Where do you keep all the odds and sods that clutter everything up? I have £0 budget, so free or cheap if possible.

We only have one storage cupboard that's got the hoover, steam cleaner etc in, and our flat is quite small

Short of shoving everything in the damp garage I'm not sure what to do.

xx

RAS

This has some good ideas, particularly re fold up beds for kids etc http://www.amazon.co.uk/Compact-Living-Design-Small-Interior-ebook/dp/B00ECF7HN2

rosie383

I would think you could get a free book from the library. Especially as it would be a bit like a recipe book. Sometimes you have to try a few before you get one that has ideas that you can actually use.

monnagran

With a £0 budget you are a bit limited! Suggest you beg cardboard boxes and label them - sewing things, painting things, paperwork, toys, tools, electrical things (small separate boxes in here could be batteries, bulbs, mysterious cables etc), and finally a large box labelled MISCELLANEOUS. It's not ideal but at least you would have categories of things in one place. Then you group the boxes together and throw a blanket over the lot. A vase of flowers on the top would be a nice touch, if not entirely practical.
Don't forget the hidden storage places - under the bed, on top of the wardrobe, or a shelf over the doorways.

Good luck.

x

january_23

We have a few stackable wire baskets. You can get plastic versions that may be cheaper. See if people have something like them that don't want them anymore - with the wire ones sometimes the catches bend and people think they are busted. However you can with a bit of work fix it. That's how we got ours!
Boxes that can roll under the bed. We have three of these.
Stackable crates/boxes. We have several of the kind that can fold when not in use to save on space.
Do look of freecycle, or whatever it's called these days, for storage boxes etc.

You will probably have to spend a bit of money to organise your home. I would say you should be able to do it for £50 or under. Once it's spent though it will bring peace of mind.

PenniesMake£s

I suggest getting rid of as much excess stuff as you can. I have recently pared back so the bathroom for example is very minimalist now. One bottle of shampoo, one toothpaste etc for the whole family (obviously this is harder if individuals have special requirements such as sensitive teeth but it's a general idea to help with lots of duplicate items). Think about how many towels/sets of bedding/clothes/pyjamas each individual needs and so on. I sent loads of children's books to the charity shop because (beyond a few favourites) we always get new books to read from the library. My children seemed to have lots of backpacks for some reason now they have their one favourite and can use it til it wears out. One winter coat etc. Minimalism is the key I think. Get rid of catalogues/newspapers/magazines/ junk mail as these things can make a small space look very messy.

Can you put up a few shelves high up for things less frequently used? Sturdy boxes from supermarkets stacked up and covered or painted can do as shelving "units" for toys/ books. I would stack them between the wall and the end of a child's bed to prevent them toppling over.

SailorSam

Boxes for filing away paperwork you can use Cornflake boxes with a big diagonal cut off one of the corners and cover it with wallpaper, then they go on a shelf.

lessonlearned

There are some great ideas for getting organised on organised home.com, Pinterest and the like.

However I suggest you read up about simplifying and minimalism first. There are several blogs which are really good. Basically the first thing they are all in agreement with is before you try to organise your stuff and start buying storage solutions you should first start decluttering.

Most people nowadays have far too much stuff, especially if you have children, you just get snowed under with it all.

Pare back first, either sell or just donate it all. Stop buying for a while, just sticking to essentials. I know it's Christmas soon and there will no doubt be more toys to house but now is a good time to start.

Perhaps your children might like to give their old toys and clothes to children who won't be receiving a visit from SAnta. I used to get my boys to do this and they loved the idea.

Another trick is to do a car boot, the children get to keep the money they raise selling their unwanted stuff.

Once you have got rid of the excess then you can think about storage.

Re paperwork etc - could you scan the important stuff and then have a clear out.

Items of sentimental value that you can't really keep but are struggling to let go - photograph them.

Then get a memory box for each member of the family (Santa could bring these) for them to store All their favourite treasures.

If the children like doing crafts then they could also make scrap books for their bits and pieces, photo montages in a nice frame, that kind of thing.

In short a good clear out first, then address storage.

Storage itself can be dead cheap. Good strong card board boxes can be painted, covered in nice paper, stencilled, decoupaged etc to match your decor. Make use of nooks and crannies with hooks, shelves.

Try and get stuff off floor and onto wall shelves to make you feel less cluttered and hemmed in.

Don't try to do too much at once. Just one area at a time.

Minimalist

Are you getting the most out of your existing storage? Could your big cupboard fit a small bookcase, too - to give some extra storage space? I've found this really useful - I use a small set of bookshelves as a kitchen overspill area in my big hall cupboard, for things we don't use every day like the breadmaker. You might be able to get a suitable one from Freecycle? Doesn't matter too much what they look like, as they're hidden away!

I also managed to fit in a plastic drawer unit from Wilko (about £15) which has loads of space for my collection of food storage boxes, tea towels, kitchen roll supplies etc. Wilko also have some excellent and quite cheap options for craft materials, transparent plastic boxes with compartments like this: http://www.wilko.com/tool-bags-boxes+storage/wilko-large-organizer-clear/invt/0343099 or plastic toolboxes with multiple compartments.

Also, the backs of doors are great for stashing things - I have some hooks mounted on the inside of our big cupboard door, which takes my ironing board, and over-door hooks everywhere to give extra storage for jackets, scarves, bags etc.

I've found baskets really useful - they can look quite decorative, but are great for stashing away laundry, trainers etc (not in the same one, obviously!) and you can get them quite cheaply if you shop around. Our laundry is all out of sight in a large wicker hamper, which sits in the hallway underneath the coat rack.

What about extra under-bed storage, depending on the style of beds you have? I have a combination of various old suitcases and storage bags, for out-of-season clothes, and a purpose-made drawer from Ikea for spare bedding. I can't remember how much it was, but not much - try Ebay too for this kind of thing.

Good luck with getting more organised - just do a little bit at a time!

PS note that my username is aspirational only, I have quite a lot of clutter, not all very well organised, but I’m working on it :rotfl:

YORKSHIRELASS

PenniesMake£s wrote: »

I suggest getting rid of as much excess stuff as you can.

I second this. I went through a stage of buying boxes and baskets and putting them in every spare space convinced this would solve my clutter problems. Eventually I realised that all I was doing was hiding stuff rather than dealing with the problem.

I am slowly working my way through the house decluttering. Its not easy but its definitely worth it. A decluttered house means its easier to find stuff, its easier to clean and you just feel so much better when things are tidy.

Probably the wrong time of year but car boot sales are a great way to get kids to part with stuff.

The long term goal though is to have a home for everything and put things in the right place as soon as you are finished with them. I have just sorted out my filing so in theory I can now put paperwork away rather than letting it grow into big piles.

Good luck with it, as someone else says it takes time so you have to just keep chipping away at it.

thriftwizard

Freecycle... you'd be amazed what you can do with a £0 budget! Bookcases, tea chests, old suitcases for underbed storage, sideboards & wall units, all come up on our local groups quite regularly. And I probably live somewhere quite close to you; I'm aware of groups clear across the county as various friends of mine own or moderate them. It helps if you have a car, or a friend with a car, but someone had a double futon off us recently & turned up with a gang of mates to carry it half a mile back!