Organization Ideas

I'm usually a very organized person that doesn't like clutter.  But it can be hard to do at home sometimes, especially in a small space!  So I thought I'd share some ideas that I use to get & stay organized.  Some are my own ideas, some are borrowed from wonderful ladies.  


1.  Coupons


There are numerous ways to organize coupons.  Some work pretty well for some people, but I've never had much luck with them.  I even remember my mom's coupon holder, and dropping it in Kroger and coupons going EVERYWHERE.  (Clumsy me!)  I bought an index card sized expandable plastic file, but it was too big for my purse.  I had a smaller plastic envelope, but I dreaded flipping through every single coupon.  Neither lasted for very long. Lately I stopped using them because I would cut them out and either stuff them in my purse or leave them on the kitchen counter and forget about them until after they expire.  Recently I came across a GREAT idea on my friends blog. She uses one of those flimsy picture albums and puts the coupons in there!  Genius!  They're nicely organized and you can see them with out having to pull them out!  

I got my album at CVS for $2 (actually free with Extra Bucks I had from a previous purchase) and it has 24 picture slots.  Mine is full so I would recommend the 24 or 48 picture albums (but with the 48, it's thicker).  Target or Walmart would probably have a good selection to choose from.  


2.  Recipes 
(especially ones printed off the internet & cut out of magazines)


I had quite a bit of recipes printed from the internet and just stacked on top of my fridge.  I also had a stack of Everyday Food and Martha Stewart Living magazines because there were recipes in them I wanted.  So I had recipes all over the place that I forgot were there and didn't use them....until my friend Lindsey gave me a great idea!  She bought a binder and put the recipes in  page protector sheets and organized them in the binder.  Another genius idea!  So I made a trip to the wonderful Target & picked out some supplies.  Here's what I got:
-1 2 inch binder (preferably a sturdy one you can wipe clean if you need to)
-100 page protector sheets
-Avery Note Tabs (actually from Staples)
-Paper Cutter (you can use scissors but I can't cut a straight line to save my life so it was well worth the $15 at Staples)
-Double sided tape
-White computer paper


1.  First I sorted the recipes I had into categories.  Here are my categories:

• Appetizers/Lunches
• Side Dishes
• Beef
• Chicken/Poultry
• Fish/Seafood
• Desserts
• Breakfast
• Pasta/Pizza

2.  If the recipes were on full sheets of paper I placed those in the sleeve.  If they were torn out of a magazine I trimmed off the excess/rough edges with my paper trimmer and adhered them to computer paper with the double sided tape.  This way you can get multiple recipes on one page, and still have room to write comments if you need to!  The tricky part came when pages from the magazines had recipes I wanted on both sides!  I either stuck them in a sleeve by them self or adhered one edge of the cutout to a piece of paper and positioned it so that it  could be flipped to either side.

3. After I had all the recipes in the sleeves (which did take a while, but its a good TV activity) I used the Avery Note Tabs (they're sticky) to separate & label the categories.  I don't recommend using binder dividers, they're not as wide as the sheet protectors are so they get hidden.

Hope you like this as much as I do!


3.  Craft Supplies


If you do any crafting, then you know that you have a lot of supplies and need somewhere to store them.  And if you're anything like me you don't like using those plastic see through containers because they aren't "cute".  


During wedding planning and crafting, I began to buy photo boxes from Hobby Lobby and storing my craft supplies in there.  The great things about them:

• They're portable - It was so easy to take the wedding project over to my parents or in-laws and get some help!
• You can label them
• They're a great size
• They're cheap ($3.99, sometimes on sale for 2/$5)
• They stack nicely
• They come in different colors & patterns, cute ones! :)

This is a great organization idea if you are like me and limited on space and don't want to spend hundreds of dollars for real furniture but want those craft supplies contained and organized.


I currently have mine stacked on two 'Craft Organization' units from Michael's (purchased this spring for 40-50% off, and they actually have them on sale for 40% off right now).  Or something from Wal-Mart/Target by ClosetMaid would be good if you want more than the boxes.

2 for jewelry, 1 for ribbons, 1 miscellaneous, 1 for cards, 1 for stamps/inks and one for paci clip supplies.

I hope these ideas help you get organized or get you thinking of other ways to be Miss Organized!